Miraka Szászy

Miraka Szászy

A prominent Māori leader who made significant contributions in education, broadcasting, social welfare and small business development.

LIFE & EDUCATION

Miraka was born in Waihopo on the 7th of August 1921 and died at 80 on the 20th of December 2001.

Miraka graduated from the University of Auckland in 1945 with a Bachelor of Arts, diploma in Social Science. Making her the first Māori women to graduate with a degree from the leading New Zealand university as well as one of the first Māori women to graduate with a degree.

Auckland University as of 2018 has a 8.7% makeup of Maori undergraduate students and 6.3% makeup of Maori postgraduate students. (AoU Equity Profile 2018)

She was then the first Māori women to win a fellowship to the University of Hawaii and once she returned to New Zealand she joined the Ministry of Māori Affairs as a welfare officer.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO MAORI WOMEN AND PEOPLE - MWWL

As a Māori women Miraka made strides developing crucial programmes such as the Māori Women's Welfare League to this date, the only National Maori Women's Organisation.

The league was established in response to the urbanisation of Māori during 1930s and 1940s and addresses issues with discrimination.

Miraka served as the Leagues secretary from 1952 to 1957 and acted as a representative at Pan-Pacific Women’s Association conferences in Christchurch in 1952 and Manila in 1955.

Mira believed the role of Māori women and the League was challenged by the establishment of the New Zealand Māori Council. The New Zealand government came to view the Council as the National voice for Maori. She also saw the council’s formation as reaction of Maori men against ‘Māori women running the Māori world’ for ten years, and the ‘beginning of the dichotomy of power and development’ between Māori men and women. The status of Māori women was being undermined. This view is seen in the video embedded above.

MIRAKAS' VIEW ON MAORI WOMEN AND THEIR ROLE IN SOCIETY

Miraka viewed race and gender as combined and from this stance saw Maori women as being left behind.

Reflections:

Miraka is extraordinary to me, she was the 'first' in so many ways. Being from New Zealand and even more closely, from Auckland (the city of her university) seeing the difference and the amount she has contributed to it is phenomenal.

Now there are scholarships to encourage Maori women to study across New Zealand, these are even funded for by organisations such as MWWL.

Her contribution and at the time nuance to the ideas surrounding race, gender and how this is linked with oppression is also seen in even my views today despite me not knowing of her prior to this assignment. These ideas and way of thinking are fascinating and complex.

Bella Lawrey