Ngā pou wāhine: A framework of empowerment for Māori women and gambling misuse

Ngā Pou Wāhine is a culturally embedded mana wāhine framework that addresses the complexity of Māori women’s gambling experiences, and provides an empowering process for behavioural change to regain their power and status. A key element of Ngā Pou Wāhine is the potential to encapsulate and endorse women’s stories by drawing on te ao Māori to facilitate analyses of Māori women’s gambling and their need to gamble. The theoretical framework of Ngā Pou Wāhine is based on well- known Māori artist Robyn Kahukiwa’s “Ngā Pou Wāhine” series. It draws on traditional and contemporary beliefs and assumes that a culturally gender- specific framework provides a sociocultural context for Māori women to reduce or cease their gambling behaviour.
In this paper, the background and signifi cance of Robyn Kahukiwa’s “Ngā Pou Wāhine” series is discussed, key elements of the framework outlined, and concluded with the rationale for further research.