For Australian women they’re a fact of life. For Pacific women, a single bra can be a game changer
It’s a plight that affects many women across the Pacific. Well-made bras are usually too expensive and women often have to travel from remote villages into cities if they want to buy one.
Every night after Maylalani Maafu gets home from work, she washes the one bra she owns, hoping it will dry for the next day.
Her job as a customs broker on the Vava’u islands in Tonga pays her 25 Pa’anga ($16) a day, one dollar less than the cost of a mid-range bra. It’s a plight that affects many women across the Pacific. Well-made bras are usually too expensive and women often have to travel from remote villages into cities if they want to buy one. Even when bras are available, they are often imported from China and are sometimes too small or illfitting for Pacific women. Those working to bring the highly sought-after undergarments to the Pacific say the gift of a decent bra can make all the difference — without them, women can be discouraged from being active in the sporting arena or even in local community matters.
Not just any item of clothing — it’s about dignity
Fifteen years ago Liz Baker, a chiropractor based in Melbourne, started the Uplift Project to help get bras to women in the Pacific. She told the ABC during that time the not-for-profit organisation has collected around 2.5 million bras. Through the help of local rotary clubs and a team of 300 volunteers, Uplift organises drop off points around Australia and New Zealand for people to donate bras. They are then sorted and sent on shipping containers to Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji. Naomi Roberts, the Fijian coordinator for Uplift, moved to Australia from Fiji when she was 17.
“So we would go to the markets and buy second-hand bras to take because we’d definitely be asked for one.”
Last week the Uplift’s New Zealand branch received more than 1500 bras from women’s networks in Government departments, which are now set to be shipped to Fiji. Belinda Waters, from the New Zealand Ministry of Justice, said she was stunned by the mountain of donations.
“The thing that really got me was that a lot of these women will never own another bra in their life — this is the only one they will ever get,” she told Radio New Zealand.
Ms Roberts said the bras provide support especially for women with bigger bust sizes who tend to hunch in order to hide their breasts.
“In the village they will stand at the back and not say anything because they don’t want them to be seen,” she said.
She added the need for affordable, good quality bras is not just about having an extra clothing option, but about dignity.
Giving women a sporting chance
The bras aren’t just important for women who have breasts but for those who have lost them.
Ms Baker told the ABC Uplift also sends out breast forms and silicone breast prosthetics for women who had lost one or both breasts to cancer.
It can restore their confidence, she said, rather than being a painful reminder of what they have been through.
“Some women weep, especially if they have been given a breast form,” she said.
Sports bras are also particularly in demand with young girls wanting to get involved in sports.
It can even impact women competing at elite levels, with Ms Baker saying the issue impacts women wanting to play for Papua New Guinea’s AFL team.
“When they came to visit Australia a while back, we noticed that it was only people who had A and B cups that were playing,” she said, adding it was hard for those needing larger cup sizes to find the right support.
The ABC has reached out to the PNG women’s AFL team, but did not receive a response by deadline.
Importing white women’s norms?
However, the initiative is not without criticism. In the past, the Aloa Foundation in East Timor has criticised Uplift for undermining local businesses with its charity.
Belinda Roselli is the founder of Mamma’s Leaf Vanuatu — a charity that delivers washable sanitary pads and raises awareness around menstrual health with women in the villages.
She has helped distribute bras for Uplift and says she has faced some backlash.
But Ms Maafu said the bras have been warmly welcomed in Tonga, especially by those who need them most. She said specialised mastectomy bras were particularly appreciated by women who have suffered from breast cancer, as were maternity bras for new mothers. “You can’t believe how excited they are to receive those bras, because it’s more expensive than the normal bra,” Ms Maafu said.