Translation: Lajla Mlinarić Blake TRANSLATION Lajla Mlinarić Blake
ILLUSTRATIVE PHOTO


PAPUA NEW GUINEA

DECEMBER 1 2008 10:55h

Women Killing Male Babies to Stop War

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The men of Papuan tribes spend most of their time in battle fields as people are starving. The women, thus, decided to kill their children.

The killing of male children of a tribe in Papua New Guinea could end a tribal war that has raged for over 20 years, the tribal women believe. During a three-day peace and reconciliation meeting in Goroka, the capital of the Eastern Highlands province of Papua New Guinea, two women from the conflicting tribes spoke about the mass killing of male children with the aim of stopping further tribal fighting, the Australian News reported.-.--.-Papua New Guinea

If the women stop giving birth to male children and kill their born male babies, that would force the men of the tribes to stop the fighting, the two women, Rona Luke and Kipiyona Belas, claim.

All the women in the tribe agreed to kill all their born children because they are tired of the suffering brought on by men fighting, Rona Luke told Australian media.

There is a shortage in food supply because only women and small children are in the villages, while men spend most of their time fighting, Belas said.

One of the conflicts began in 1986 over sorcery accusations. After 22 years of conflict the women decided for such radical acts to stop further killing.

The number of children killed remains unknown.