This thesis is an attempt to take up the challenge, to begin to make sense of the 'baffling inconsistencies' encountered by Maori women in their everyday lives.

The Balance Destroyed presents a Maori woman's perspective on the roles of women within their whanau, hapu and iwi prior to colonisation, and the effects of colonisation on those roles.

The Balance Destroyed was first submitted as a Masters thesis in 1995; and published in 2003 by the International Research Institute for Maori and Indigenous Education as part of the Mana Wahine Monograph Series. This revised edition includes a new preface and is complemented by the artwork of Robyn Kahukiwa.