To the women of the CNMI that lost their chance at reform

In 1962 Saipan was a typical, peaceful, beautiful, sleepy tropical paradise. There were a couple guest houses, some small bungalows for rent at the golf course, Joeten and MSV stores and four or five others, one for each village, and a couple of bars run by Palauans. Fishing, farming, eating, making and drinking tuba, playing, sleeping, and having babies were the main activates. Idyllic is a word that comes to mind. When I got back in 1979, it was still idyllic but change was in the wind. The first elected governor was a year into his term, federal money was starting to come in and people were taking positions with the new government. The next couple of years saw the solidifying of the CNMI government departments and the expansion of the hiring of residents, mostly Chamorros because more of them had traveled off island for school or training and were more qualified.

In 1982 girlie bars sprouted like tangan-tangan and the industry grew apace. In 1983 the first garment factory opened, followed by three more the following year. I was walking on Beach Road in CK one day in ’84 (I think it was) and heard a lot or singing and clapping and laughing coming from the road from San Antonio and, my goodness, 60 to 80 Chamorro women were marching up the road toward Susupe and the mayor’s office. They had signs saying, “Close the bars,” “Bar girls out” and “Send the bar girls home.” As far as I know that was the first protest ever on Saipan by women and I don’t even remember who the participants were but they were very courageous. Chamorro custom allowed them to say or do pretty much whatever they want inside the household but public displays of any kind were verboten and, for the most part, still are. I never heard or saw these marchers again so I asked a Chamorro lady friend what she thought might have happened. She said: “This is what probably happened that night—the husband came home, slapped his wife and shouted, as she fell backward into the kitchen counter, ‘Don’t ever embarrass me like that in public again.’ Her hand grabbed a frying pan and slapped him upside his head with it and, as he falls backward into a chair, she looks at him and says, ‘OK, honey, oh, what would you like for supper?’”

The 2010 Census indicates that women outnumber men 53 percent to 47 percent so, naturally, my question is this: Why have you only elected one woman in the past 30 years to the CNMI Senate? And to you Maria T. Pangelinan, why did you let the men make you “legislative secretary”? That’s a pretty demeaning, stereotyped position. You have the power but you are still just kept, basically, barefoot and pregnant, “stay in the kitchen, woman,” housewives. Ladies, it ain’t 1814 anymore. What happened to the courage your moms and grand moms showed in the ’80s? The CNMI desperately needs about 50 women’s hands on the tiller of our government right now. We men have messed it up for 32 long years and with eight, men only, pictures on gubernatorial billboards going up all over the islands, I guess you are still regulated to the kitchen.

Gary DuBrall
Chalan Piao, Saipan