I maea ake a Mira Szaszy i te pōharatanga kia tū ko tētahi kaihautū Māori rangatira katoa, hei kaikōkiri anō mō te mana wahine i roto i te rautau rua tekau. Mō tōna oranga katoa, i kōkiritia e Mira ngā take o te mātauranga, o te hauora me te whakatikatika āhuatanga pāpori. I āwhina anō ia ki te tārai i ngā take tōrangapū taha ahurea, taha ira, me tana para huarahi hou mō ngā wāhine Māori. Mō ōna rā katoa, i pūmau tōna ngākau ki te ao Māori, ki te wahine Māori, me te tautinei i ngā mātāpono mō te tangata, mō te ōrite o te noho a te tangata me te mana ōrite.
I whānau mai a Miraka (Mira) Petricevich ki te hapori Māori tūhāhā o Te Hiku-o-Te-Ika, ki Waihopo, i te 7 o Ākuhata 1921. Ko tōna whaea, a Makareta Raharuhi, he uri nō Ngāti Kurī me Te Aupōuri, ko tōna matua a Lovre (Lawrence) Cvitano Petricevich he manene Tararā nō Dalmatia, i tau mai ki Aotearoa i runga i te tūmanako ka puta he huia ki a ia i ngā mahi keri kāpia i Te Tai Tokerau. Nā, pērā anō i ētahi atu Tararā i moe i tētahi nō ngā iwi o te rohe, ka tino matatau a Lovre ki te reo Māori. Horekau i kitea e ngā mātua o Mira he ara whai rawa mō rāua, nāwai ka uaua te whāngai i tō rāua whānau. E toru ngā tau o Mira i te matenga o tōna whaea, waiho ana mā te tuakana o Mira me te whānau nui tonu ia e tiaki i te wa e keri kāpia ana tōna matua i nga koraha kāpia.
Ka hoki ngā mahara o Mira ki te tamarikitanga 'e korekore ana te kai', ki te ketuketu haere i te māra mō te kāreti, ki te kākahu taretare kotahi noa mō te tau, horekau he hū, me te mau tarau pēke parāoa'. Heoi, i mahara anō a Mira ki te 'tino kaha o te ngākau tangata' i tō rātou hapori, me te pūmau tonu o te tuakiri Māori.1 Otirā, ko Mira tētahi o ētahi tamariki tekau mā tahi, ka ako ia ki te whakaputa i ōna whakaaro e rangona ai tōna reo. I arohia ake ngā pūmanawa mātauranga o Mira e ōna māhita o te Kura Māori o Te Hāpua. Ka āhua 15 nei ōna tau, ka kōwhiria rāua ko Merimeri Rapata (nō muri ko Penfold) kia whai tonu i te mātauranga ki Tāmakimakaurau. I mahara ake a Mira ki tana wehe rawakore atu i te kāinga, ko tōna hoa haere ko te taimaha o te tūmanako o te hau kāinga kia eke ia ki ngā taumata o te mātauranga.
I Tāmakimakaurau, kātahi anō a Mira ka noho papa i te aukati iwi, nā tēnei ka mea ia kia kaha ake ia, kia kitea ai te rite o tōna pai, tana pai ake rānei i ngā tauira Pākehā. I haere ia ki te Kāreti Kōtiro Māori o Kuīni Wikitōria me te Kura o Auckland Girls' Grammar, kātahi ka haere ki te Fagan's Coaching College mō te tau kotahi. I te tau 1942 ka hou atu ia ki te Auckland Teachers' Training College me te Auckland University College. Tae rawa ki te tau 1944, kua riro i a ia tana tiwhikete kaiako. I te tau 1945 ka tutuki i a ia tana BA, ka noho ko ia tētahi o ngā wāhine Māori tuatahi kia whiwhi i te tohu whare wānanga.
I whakaako a Mira mō tētahi wā poto ki Kaikohe i mua i te hokinga ake ki Tāmakimakaurau i te tau 1947, i tana whiwhi mahi i te Tari Take Māori hei āpiha toko i te ora. Nā te whakahounga o ngā kaupapa here, ka whakatūhia ētahi komiti ā-iwi puta noa i te motu. Ka roa ngā haora e pukumahi ana a Mira ki te āwhina i ngā mahi, haere atu ana ki ngā marae me ngā hui i waenganui o Wellsford tae rawa ki Meremere. Ka mahara ia ki te mīharo o tēnei mahi. Kī katoa ana ngā komiti ā-iwi nei i te tāne, korekore ana he huarahi mō ngā wāhine ki te whakaputa i tō rātou mārama ki ngā wero i mua i te aroaro o ngā whānau me ngā hapori, me te tāpae rongoā anō
Kāore e kore i tupu tonu ngā whakaaro o Mira mō te wāhi ki te wahine i a ia ka whiwhi tūranga paewai i te Whare Wānanga o Hawaii i te tau 1948. Ka whakawhiwhia ia ki te Tohu Mātauranga Pāpori i te tau 1949, ka mutu, i a ia e whai ana i te mātauranga i Hawaii, ka kite ia, i a ia i tētahi huihuinga, i te kaha o ngā wāhine ki te wānanga tōpū i te tōrangapū taha ira o te ao, i tētahi hui nui a te Pan-Pacific Women’s Association. I tana hokinga mai ki Aotearoa, ka riro i a ia tētahi tūranga āpiha tukumahi ki te Tari Take Māori i Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara. Tae rawa ki te tīmatanga o ngā tau 1950, māmā noa iho tōna tipi haere i waenganui i te ao Māori me te ao Pākehā, me tana whakakoi anō i ōna pūmanawa whakapāpā, pūmanawa hēkeretari, i te taha o ētahi kaimahi kāwanatanga manaia katoa, rongonui katoa o waenga i te rautau rua tekau, pērā i a Rangi Royal, i a Michael Rotohiko Jones, i a Ralph Love, i a Charles Bennett me Tipi Rōpiha. I roto i tēnei horopaki, ka noho a Mira ko tētahi mema whakahaere matua o Te Rōpū Wāhine Māori Toko i te Ora, i whakatūhia i te tau 1951.
Nā ngā pūmanawa whakahaere o Mira, nā tana mātau ki ngā tikanga whakahaere me tana whakaaro nui ki te noho ora o ngāi Māori, e tika ana pea ko ia hei hēkeretari tuatahi mō Te Rōpū. Heoi, ka tohea tōna tika mō te tūranga, ko ētahi Māori hoki i whakapono kua 'Pākehā rawa ia, kua 'nui rawa te mātauranga ki a ia ki te kōrero ki ōna ake iwi.2Horekau i roa ka kitea te hē o te hunga whakahē i a Mira, i tana whiri taura kaha ki te whakaruruhau tuatahi o Te Rōpū, a Te Puea Hērangi, me te perehitini o te motu tuatahi, a Whina Cooper. Me te whaea tonu rāua ki a Mira, ko te aroha me te ngākau tuwhera tā rāua ki a ia. Ko Mira ki te taraiwa haere i a Whina ki te motu ki te hopu i ngā kōrero o ngā hui, me te kōrero Māori ki ngā wāhine o ngā iwi Māori katoa. E titiro ana ki ngā take e pā ana ki te hauora, ki te whare, ki te mātauranga me te ture, he mahi auroa, he hiranga. Me kī pēnei ake, ko Mira te kaiwhakahaere o Te Rōpū i tēnei wā, nō muri ka noho hei māngai mō rātou ki te Māori Education Foundation, i whakatūhia i te tau 1961. Pau katoa ana ngā whakaaro o Mira me ōna hoa whakahaere o Te Rōpū ki te mahi i te mahi.
I a ia e noho hēkeretari ana mā Te Rōpū i waenga i te tau 1952 me te tau 1957, ko Mira tō rātou māngai ki ngā hui a te Pan-Pacific Women’s Association i tū ki Ōtautahi i te tau 1952, ki Manila hoki i te tau 1955. He wahine marutuna, he wahine huatau, piki ana i a ia te mana o te wahine Māori i te atamira o te ao. I kīia ia he wahine 'Ātaahua', he tau ki te kōrero ki te hunga tūmatanui, ka pōtihia ia ko te 'wahine rerehua' o te hui o te tau 1952.3Engari ki a ia, ko te tōrangapū ki mua i te rongonui o te tangata, e toru tau ki muri, i a ia e kōrero ana mō te hui ki Manila, ka kōrero ia mō te takarita o ngā māngai Māori ki te tū ki te taha o ngā wāhine Pākehā hei 'māngai mō Aotearoa'. Ko te tikanga o tēnei kua kore e taea e rātou te tuku whakamoemiti ōkawa me te tuku aroha atu ki te hunga manaaki i a rātou, hei tā te tangata whenua ki te tangata whenua. Taupatupatu ana te whakaaro o te 'iwi kotahi' i whakapono ai ngā māngai Pākehā ka tohu i te ōritetanga, ki te whakaaro o Mira kia wātea ngā wāhine Māori ki te whai i ā rātou ake tikanga me ō rātou whakaaro tōrangapū. Ki a ia, he tāmitanga tahi te kore e ōrite o te mana ā-iwi me te mana ā-ira.
He rerehua a Mira, he mātau, he pukumahi, he pūkeke, he wahine Māori mātau ki te ao tōrangapū. I āna mahi whakahoahoa, ka kitea tōna māia, tōna kakama me tōna tau. I a ia e rangatahi ana he mema ia o te kapa haka Māori o tana whare wānanga me te tīma netipōro, i rite tonu hoki tana haere ki ngā kanikani ōpaki me ngā kanikani ōkawa, pārekareka ana ki a ia te mau kākahu nō ao kē noa atu i te ao i tipu ake ai ia. Whakakitea ana e ia te tau o ana kākahu me tōna mātau i te tau 1947, i te tohua tuaruatia ōna i te whakataetae o Miss New Zealand.
Tae rawa ki te paunga o ngā tau 1950, kua noho hoa rangatira, kua noho whaea a Mira. I moe ia i a Albert Szászy, tētahi kaikaute nō Hanekeria, i Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara i te 19 o Mei 1956. Ka wehe atu a Mira i te Tari Take Māori i te tau 1957; ka whānau mai ana tama a Mark rāua ko Philip i ngā tau tata i muri mai, tae rawa ki te tau 1961 kua hūnuku te whānau ki Tāmakimakaurau. I whakatōkia e Mira te hua o te pukumahi ki roto i āna tamariki, ka tekau tau ia e whakatupu ana i a rāua. Heoi anō, i whai haere tonu ia, i kōrero tonu mō ngā take e pākaha ana ki ngā wāhine Māori. I te tau 1969, e mahi ana ia i te taha o ētahi whakahaere e 22 ki te whakapai ake i te noho a ‘ngāi Māori me ngā wāhine Māori’.4
Ko tētahi āhuatanga i whakakaha i a Mira i ngā tau 1960, ko tana whakapono ko te wāhi ki ngā wāhine Māori me Te Rōpū, i whakapātaritia i te whakatūnga o te Kaunihera Māori o Aotearoa, me te whakapono o te kāwanatanga ko rātou te reo o te motu mō ngāi Māori. Ki a Mira, ko tētahi wāhanga o te whakatū i te kaunihera, he tohe nā te tāne Māori ki ‘te whakahaeretia o te ao Māori e ngā wāhine Māori’ mō te tekau tau, me te ‘tīmatanga o te tōtara-wāhi-rua o te mana me te whanaketanga’ i waenga i te tāne me te wahine Māori. E takahia ana te mana o te wahine Māori i roa nei e whawhaitia ana.
I aro tonu a Mira ki te mātauranga me Te Rōpū hei huarahi whakamana i te wahine Māori. I te tau 1972 ka kopoua ia hei pūkenga mātauranga i te Auckland Secondary Teachers’ Training College, ka mutu, i te tau 1979 ka noho ko ia te whakataka o te tari hapori i Ngā Tapuwae Community College. I pōtihia anō ia hei perehitini mō Ngā Wāhine Māori Toko i te Ora i te tau 1974, tae noa ki te tau 1977. I tino pukumahi ia i te tūranga ki te hāpai ake i te mana o Te Rōpū, ki te whakapiki ake i te puna mema kua mimiti haere nei, me tana ārahi i tētahi arotakenga whānui o ā rātou mahi, kia tūturu ai te whai tikanga, kia whai painga tonu, kia motuhake tonu. Ko te mahi ko te āta whakahou i ngā kaupapa here katoa a Te Rōpū me te whakariterite i ētahi tikanga whakahaere, tētahi huinga mātāpono me ētahi matatika mō rātou. I te tau 1979 ka uhia e Te Rōpū te taitara o Te Whaea o te Motu ki runga ki a Mira.
Kahore i rite ngā whakaaro o ngā wāhine Māori katoa ki ō Mira, arā, ka whai mana rātou i Te Rōpū. I whakaaro ngā kaiwhakatūtū Māori, tae atu ki te hunga kōkiri mana wahine, he whakakumu rawa.5 Ahakoa te kaha tautoko a Te Rōpū i te Hīkoi Whenua o te tau 1975, i whakapono a Mira nōna anake te reo o Te Rōpū mō te kore e ōrite o te mana ā-iwi, ā-ira, tae noa ki ngā tau o te 1980. I tana kauhau matua i te hui tuatahi a te United Nations Decade on Women i te tau 1973, ka whakahē ia i te tānga a ngā wāhine kōkiri i te mana wahine o Aotearoa, a Broadsheet, mō te hē o tā rātou whakaatu i ngā kawenga tuku iho, me ngā wero o te ao hou kei mua i te aroaro o ngā wāhine Māori. I tohu anō ia, pērā anō i tāna i tohu ai i muri o te Pan-Pacific Women’s Conference ki Manila, e whiri tahi ana te tāmitanga ā-iwi me te tāmitanga ā-ira – kei te ahu whakamua ngā wāhine Pākehā, kei te mahue ngā wāhine Māori ki muri.
He wahine tika a Mira mō tōna wā, engari kei mua noa atu ngā whakaaro e haere ana. Kua roa kē ia e mārama ana, e whawhai ana, hei tāna, ki ngā ‘take haere kōtui', arā, te whakaparahako i te tangata mō tōna ira, mō tōna iwi rānei, engari i manawa pā ia ki te kī ake he 'kōkiri mana wahine' tāna mahi.6 Kīhai i kitea e ia he kupu taurite mō tēnei āhua i te reo Māori, me tana whakapono kei ara kē ōna whakaaro e haere ana, tēnā i ō te reanga wāhine Māori kōkiri i te mana wahine i tīmata tō rātou rongonui i ngā tau o te 1970 me te 1980. Hāunga anō ia, i mārama tonu, i whakaae hoki ia ki ngā āwangawanga o ngā wāhine pērā i a Donna Awatere rāua ko Ngāhuia Te Awekotuku. Kua kite hoki ia i te aupēhia o te wahine e te tāne Māori, me tana kite anō i te āhua o te whakakōmautia o te reo o te wahine e ngā komiti ā-iwi me ngā tikanga o te marae. I whakapono a Mira he rerekē anō ia i ngā wāhine Māori kōkiri i te mana wahine, mō te taha rautaki anake.
I te tau 1983, i tana kōrerotanga whakamutunga i tētahi huihuinga a Te Rōpū, i aro nui atu a Mira ki te kaupapa o te whakatoiharatia o te wahine i roto i te ao Māori, me tana māia anō ki te whakahē i te aukatia o te wahine Māori kia kōrero i te nuinga o ngā marae. I whakapono a Mira kua 20 tau ia e pēhi ana i ōna whakaaro, kua eke ki te wā e puta ai ōna whakaaro, ki te whakahēngia ia i muri iho, koia tērā.
'Kahore pea au e paingia ana e ētahi tāne. E whakapae ana au kei te tūāpapa o ētahi whakahēnga mai, ko te tītengi o te tangata mō tōna tūnga, me te hiahia pea kia mau tonu ki te paepae whai mana whakamutunga kei a rātou. Kei te mārama au kua ngaro ō rātou pae wānanga, tō rātou mana i te porihanga. Kahore rātou i te ao ahumahi, kahore rātou i te ao tōrangapū, kahore ō rātou mana. Ki te kore ō mana, kua tahuri koe ki te aha? Ka aupēhia e koe ko te hunga ka taea e koe te aupēhi.'7
Kua whānui te whakamihia o te takoha a Mira ki te ao Māori, ki te motu. I te tau 1978 ka tohua ia hei CBE, i te tau 1990 ka tohua ia ki te Dame Commander of the British Empire. I whakamihia anō tana ngākau pūmau ki te mahi tahi me te whakatairanga i te wāhi ki te wahine Māori, i te whakawhiwhia ōna ki te tohu kairangi hōnore mō te ture e Te Whare Wānanga o Wikitōria o Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara i te tau 1993. E whakamihia ana hoki e te Whare Wānanga o Tāmaki Makaurau ngā mahi i tutuki i a Mira i ōna rā me tana tautoko i te whanaketanga pakihi, mā roto i te Mira Szászy Research Centre me te Dame Mira Szászy Māori Alumni Award. I noho mai a Mira ki ētahi poari ārahi me ētahi komiti mō ētahi whakahaere huhua tonu, tae atu ki te New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation, a Radio New Zealand, te Women’s Convention, te New Zealand Race Relations Council, te New Zealand Council for Protection of Citizens’ Rights, te Social Welfare Commission, te New Zealand Anglican Synod, me te Māori Women’s Development Fund.
I te tau 1984, ka rītaea a Mira i tana tūranga i Ngā Tapuwae Community College. Ka mate tana tāne i te tau o muri mai, ka hūnuku whakateraki a Mira ki Ngātaki, te wāhi i hangaia ai e rāua ko Albert tō rāua kāinga ahungarua. I hiahia ia ki te ‘rapu i a ia anō’, kua pau hoki ōna rā katoa o tōna pakeketanga ki te mahi i roto i ōna anō kāhui. Kua eke ki te wā e ‘haere ai ia ki te hī’. Heoi, i kori tonu ia taha tōrangapū nei. I te tau 1993, ka noho mai ia ki te Waitangi Tribunal Fisheries Commission, i kōrero ki te hui mōtika tangata a te United Nations ki Vienna, me tana huri i te motu ki te uiui haere mō tētahi pukapuka e pā ana ki te hītori o Ngā Wāhine Māori Toko i te Ora. I taua tau anō, ko ia tētahi o ngā kaihautū Māori i ‘whakatakoto kerēme ki te Taraipiunara o Waitangi [te Kerēme Mana Wāhine] e pā ana ki ngā mahi, ki ngā kaupapa here me ngā hātepe a te Karauna e takahi nei i te Tiriti o Waitangi, me tā rātou whakapono e takahi ana i te rangatiratanga o te wahine Māori.8 Kahore anō te kerēme i tae ki te aroaro o te kōti i te matenga o Mira ki Ngātaki i te 20 o Tīhema 2001, e 80 ōna tau. E ora tonu ana āna tama, a Philip rāua ko Mark, me tana tamāhine, a Kaye (i whāngaihia e Jean, tuakana o Mira) me ana mokopuna tokoono. I nehua ia ki Ngātaki. Kī pai ana ōna rā katoa i runga anō i ngā mātāpono i whakatakotoria e ia:
My first love is my family but I love my tribe
I know my tribe but I am proud of my race
I am proud of my race but I am not racist
Therefore I belong to my race but I would serve my nation
I would serve my nation but I have a reverence for humanity.
Because I have a reverence for all humanity
I would oppose inhumanity anywhere and everywhere
It is because I have this reverence for humanity that I grieve for all who now suffer,
and pray for all mankind9