Update from President Janet

Remember the dignity of your womanhood,

Do not appeal, do not beg, do not grovel. Take courage,

join hands, stand beside us, fight with us.

Christabel Pankhurst

Tena koutou katoa

After 132 years of women’s suffrage, we still must fight for women’s rights and human rights. This is very real today with the pay equity challenge and the referendum to keep or remove Māori Wards from local government, the proposed changes in the electoral amendment bill eroding democratic rights for many, as well as changes to school curriculums and health services.

On 19^th September events were held around the motu to celebrate Suffrage Day and Women’s Day of Action followed the next day.

I congratulate Rural Women New Zealand for celebrating 100 years and holding a birthday lunch with guest speaker the Rt Hon Dame Patsy Reddy. It was a privilege to attend and meet like minded women in all fields of the community.

On the Women’s Day of Action, many walks and rallies were held highlighting the challenges faced by both women and men to be paid fairly and stand in solidarity with women, workers, and whānau across Aotearoa.

News from the United Nations states that as it prepares to mark its 80^th anniversary the world reaffirms that gender equality is the foundation of peace, justice, and human rights for all. In the strongest multilateral stand for women and girls in 30 years, 106 governments from all regions have stepped forward with 191 commitments to accelerate progress for all women and girls by 2030.

Sima Bahous, UN Women Executive Director said, “This act of showing up for the rights of women and girls affirms a powerful truth: gender equality remains a unifying force for the world. And multilateralism is still committed to delivering an equal world for all women and girls.”

The “Gender snapshot 2025” sounds the alarm: if current trends continue, the world will reach 2030 with 351 million women and girls still living in extreme poverty, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) particularly SDG 5 – to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls – missed! This is not inevitable: it would be a political outcome, shaped by systemic neglect, stalled investments, and a retreat from equality.

But the data also make clear that a different path is still possible. If we chose to invest even in just one concrete action on closing the gender digital divide, 343.5 million women and girls globally could benefit, lifting 30 million women and girls out of poverty and generating US 1.5 trillion windfall in global GDP by 2030.

In a moment shaped by both resistance and resolve, the simple truth is that gender equality is not an ideology; it is foundational to peace, development, and human rights. (Information taken from United Nation sources)

I invite you all to be aware of opportunities to support women’s rights initiatives whenever you come across them. Our Suffragettes did not give up. They kept trying to achieve the right for women to vote – they succeeded. Let us not let them down.

Ngā mihi nui

Janet