The “Authentically Unapologetic” 21-Year-Old MP Of New Zealand (image@ hana_rawhiti)
Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke is making headlines with her maiden speech in the New Zealand Parliament. Maipi-Clarke, the newly elected youngest Member of Parliament of the Maori cultured country appears to be headstrong in making her community’s voices heard. She is the representative of Te Pati Maori party.
In last week’s election, Maipi-Clarke was elected as the MP, making her the youngest MP in 170 years. The 21-year-old defeated Labour party’s Nanaia Mahuta, who was one of the most senior and respected MPs of the country, and was the first Maori woman Foreign Affairs Minister of New Zealand.
She started her maiden speech in the House of Parliament with Kapa Haka, which is a traditional Maori posture dance, and the Maoris perform it as an expression of pride, showcasing the powerful energy within the person. When Maipe-Clarke performed Kapa-Haka, others, including the audience joined with her.
She said, it was not the plan for her to be the MP at 21-years-old, but the House of Parliament “keep tampering with things they shouldn’t be touching”. The youngest politician said the reason behind the young population refusing to turn to politics is because “the narrative is actually quite disgusting, and the culture, rhetoric that comes out of these spaces and places are quite traumatizing”
Maoris are the indegenious people of New Zealand. On her first day in the Parliament, Maipi-Clarke went straight to the wall of photographs, from where she proudly sought out an image of her ancestor, the first Maori minister. She said she was “relieved” to see his picture, said The Guardian.
Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke wears many hats. She is an author turned politician, who runs mara kai – a Maori community garden that teaches children to gardening or planting in accordance with maramataka (the lunar calendar of Maori). She is also a business woman. Maipe-Clarke is not new to politics. It runs deep in her blood. Wiremu Katena, the youngest MP’s great-great-great-great-grandfather, was the first Maori minister to the Crown in 1872.
Hailed from Huntly, the small town that lies between Auckland and Hamilton, she does not see herself as a politician but rather as a kaitiaki (a guardian) of the Maori language, the traditional knowledge and the land. She believes that it is now time for the new voices of the Maori to be heard.
Maori, or te reo Maori, which is commonly known as te reo, is a member of Austronesian language. The Eastern Polynesian language is spoken by Maori people, the indigenous population of New Zealand. It is one of the official languages of New Zealand, apart form English. The language gained its official status after the Maori Language Act was passed in 1987.
