Susanna Ounei
Kanak Independence Activist and Feminist · 1945–2016
Who is Susanna Ounei?
Susanna Ounei, also written Susanna Ounei-Small, was a Kanak independence activist and feminist born on 15 August 1945 in Ouvéa, in the Loyalty Islands of New Caledonia. As a young woman she joined the Foulards Rouges (Red Scarves), the radical youth movement formed in 1969 that first publicly demanded independence from France. In 1974 she was arrested and beaten by police for opposing official celebrations of New Caledonia's colonization, an experience that hardened her political commitment. While imprisoned she helped develop the Groupe de femmes kanak exploitées en lutte (GFKEL), a feminist organization that became one of the founding member groups of the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) when it formed in 1984. Having lost her job in Nouméa because of her independence activism, she moved to New Zealand in 1984 and later completed a sociology degree at the University of Canterbury. Through the Omomo Melen project she carried the voice of indigenous and colonized Pacific women to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. She remained based partly in New Zealand until her death on 21 June 2016, remembered as one of the most outspoken voices linking Kanak independence to the liberation of Kanak women.
Sources: English Wikipedia, "Susanna Ounei" · Susanna Ounei, For Kanak Independence: The Fight Against French Rule in New Caledonia (1985 pamphlet), archived at ProleWiki · Scoop News (NZ), "Tribute to Kanak independence activist Susanna Ounei" (2016)