Court hears claim Māori women have less say than Gloriavale women

By Ryan Boswell | 1News Reporter |

Gloriavale is being compared to living on a marae, with one commune member claiming Māori women have less say than Gloriavale women.

At an Employment Court hearing to decide whether six former residents are employees or volunteers, Treasure Stedfast introduced herself in te reo Māori, identifying her whakapapa (heritage) and links to the land at Gloriavale near Lake Haupiri.

She had spent a couple of days at a marae as part of her studies to be a teacher and said she felt “really at home” as it had many similarities with Gloriavale.

Stedfast said the children would go to the marae’s kohanga reo while the women would cook and clean.

“I think something that struck me there is that women had absolutely no say, so at Gloriavale, in the women’s realms on the teams, everything is directed by older women.

“Just like at Gloriavale, the Matua, head man made all the decisions, even down to which teams we (the women) were on and what each team was doing at each time of the day.

Further reading: https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/02/21/court-hears-claim-maori-women-have-less-say-than-gloriavale-women/