Wāhine Māori MPs Willow Jean Prime and Hana Rāwhiti Maipi-Clark talk about life in public office

Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke.

New Zealand’s youngest MP, Te Pāti Māori’s Hana Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke and Labour MP Willow Jean Prime admit taking a public job has its upsides and downsides.

But Maipi-Clarke said she knows how to defend herself from online hatred directed at women of colour.

Her predecessor in Hauraki Waikato, Nanaia Mahuta, and Kiritapu Allen and former Green MP Golriz Ghahraman were subject to relentless online attacks.

Maipi-Clarke says it’s a problem wāhine MPs face not only online but in non-Māori spaces all over Aotearoa.

She won’t let it faze her.

“For me being it’s owning who I am and if you don’t like it, well, that’s your problem because kāore au kite, I won’t come down to your level because I’ve seen it throughout my whole campaign – and having a strong community force behind us, like going to these kaupapa makes us stronger,” Maipi-Clarke told Waatea.New.Com.

Willow Jean Prime with her children Heeni, who was 7 months old when her mum entered Parliament, and Hihana.

Prime agrees and said the abuse women politicians - Māori and non-Maori - face, can take its toll on the soul.

Prime says when she entered Parliament six years ago with a 7-week-old baby in her arms, she drew some savage comments about being a breastfeeding mama.

Her use of te reo Maori in the House also brings a hostile response.

“The comment we often hear is ‘that’s just politics, you have to have a thick skin, you just need to suck it up, it comes with the territory.’ All those sorts of things are not helpful when you are on the receiving end of those person attacks and those sorts of comments and it takes a huge amount of energy to manage those, to not let those negative comments penetrate and impact on your wairua.”

Atereano Mateariki - Waatea.News.Com