Flying With Two Wings? Justice and Gender in Vanuatu

Miranda Forsyth's book offers a lucid account of the relation between state and non-state systems of justice in Vanuatu, as prospectively like a 'bird that flies with two wings'. It is equally informed by a strong command of the theory and practice of legal pluralism and the history and anthropology of Vanuatu. While acknowledging the complex diversities of the archipelago it affords a national but not a state-centric perspective. But how realistic is this image of the future complementarity and parity between kastom and state justice, and how might the challenges of gender hierarchy and gender violence skew that hope of flying with two wings?