Aliʻimalemanu Alofa Tuuau
Aliʻimalemanu Alofa Tuuau in 2016
Member of the Samoan Parliament
for Alataua West[lower-alpha 1]
Assumed office
17 May 2022
Member of Parliament
for Alataua West
In office
4 March 2016 – 9 April 2021
Preceded byLafaitele Patrick Leiataualesa
Succeeded bySeuula Ioane
Personal details
Political partyHuman Rights Protection Party

Aliʻimalemanu Alofa Tuuau is a Samoan politician and member of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa. She is a member of the Human Rights Protection Party.[1]

Aliʻimalemanu was an accountant before entering politics. She had worked as chief accountant for the Samoa Public Trust Office for thirteen years, as a finance manager for the University of the South Pacific in Fiji for thirteen years, and then as finance manager for the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in Samoa, where she had worked for fourteen years.[2]

Tuuau was elected to Parliament in the 2016 Samoan general election, representing the constituency of Alataua West.[3][4] She served as Chair of Parliamentary Committee for Finance and Expenditure.[3] She lives in Apia, but regularly returns to her village on the island of Savaiʻi.[5]

Aliʻimalemanu has said of women's empowerment: "I don't believe in this saying, 'promoting equal rights', because there are equal rights of women everywhere but it's just that they are not using it" and suggested "we are the problem because we put ourselves down. When I was growing up until I started working, I never struggled because of the non-equal rights...It is us. We don't use it and we have no self-confidence, but it is an issue that we can deal with because it's easy."[2] In parliament, she criticised the language a proposed constitutional amendment that would officially define Samoa as a Christian state on the basis that it was "insufficient, as it apparently lacks real power to limit the spread of potentially fanatical denominations within the country".[6]

Tuuau lost her seat in the 2021 election,[7] but was declared elected on 20 April 2021 by Samoa's electoral commission due to the requirement that a minimum of 10% of seats in parliament must be held by women.[8] On 17 May 2021, the appointment was overturned by the Supreme Court of Samoa.[9][10][11]

Following the 2021 Samoan by-elections Tuuau was again appointed to Parliament under the women's quota as an additional member for Alataua West.[12] However, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly decided to postpone her swearing in until all legal matters regarding it were settled.[13] The Supreme Court later ruled against the speaker's decision and Ali'imalemanu was sworn in 17 May 2022.[14]

Notes

  1. ↑ elected under the women's quota

References

  1. ↑ "Delegate bios". Pacific Parliamentary Forum 2016. Parliament of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 4 August 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  2. 1 2 "'Equal rights but we're not using it,' says new Samoan woman MP". Asia Pacific Report. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Hon. Aliimalemanu Alofa Tuuau". Pacific Women in Politics. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  4. ↑ "INDEPENDENT STATE OF SAMOA PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS OF 4 MARCH 2016". Psephos. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  5. ↑ "WOMEN AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION: THE 2016 ELECTION IN SAMOA" (PDF). Centre for Samoan Studies, National University of Samoa. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  6. ↑ "Why Samoa Wants to Make Clear, It's a Christian State". CBN News. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  7. ↑ Soli Wilson (13 April 2021). "Principal takes out former Parliamentary Committee Chair". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  8. ↑ Renate Rivers (20 April 2021). "H.R.P.P. secures majority with extra seat". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  9. ↑ Lanuola Tusani Tupufia - Ah Tong (17 May 2021). "F.A.S.T. wins case, majority". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  10. ↑ "Extra seat thrown out: FAST win Samoa election". RNZ. 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  11. ↑ Marieta H Ilalio (17 May 2021). "Additional Parliamentary Seat Declared "Unconstitutional and Void"". Samoa Global News. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  12. ↑ Matai'a Lanuola Tusani T - Ah Tong (29 November 2021). "H.R.P.P. wins two women seats in Parliament". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  13. ↑ Matai'a Lanuola Tusani T - Ah Tong (10 December 2021). "Speaker defers swearing-in of two women M.P.s". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  14. ↑ "New era for women's representation in Samoa". RNZ. 17 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
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