Background document on the Women’s Health Strategy

Abstract

This paper centres Māori women’s health needs and rights to inform Aotearoa New Zealand’s (NZ’s) overarching Women’s Health Strategy. In doing so, this paper foregrounds the Indigenous rights of Māori women that are reaffirmed by te Tiriti o Waitangi alongside the long-standing and significant health inequities experienced by Māori wāhine within NZ. This paper draws upon mātauranga Māori understandings of wāhine Māori in terms of definitions and social contextualisation that reflect both traditional and contemporary Māori realities. Understanding te āo Māori concepts of the role and power of wāhine Māori allows for strengths-based positioning that is anchored within traditional Māori values and worldviews. This paper also draws upon the evidence base documenting inequities between Māori and non-Māori wāhine using quantitative and/or qualitative data where available. Kaupapa Māori research and epidemiology principles outline how this evidence base can be used to support a strengths-based positioning for wāhine Māori. Historical misuse of data and research to undermine Māori Indigenous rights and realities is specifically rejected. Rather, the application of high-quality research methods and evidence framed from a Kaupapa Māori lens, is analysed within this report to inform te Aka Whai Ora’s positioning.