A Parliamentary petition to declare 19 September, Suffrage Day, a public holiday is to be launched on International Women’s Day this weekend [2pm, Saturday, 8 March] at Ferndale House in Mt Albert.

The petition has been initiated by the Women’s Rights Party and Life Member Sandi Hall, a former leader of the New Zealand Women’s Political Party women, a feminist political party founded in 1982 that contested the 1984 snap election.

The petition is on the Parliamentary website: https://petitions.parliament.nz/9bd40aff-c0ba-4b28-507b-08dd4631dc24 The petition closes on 18 September when it will be presented to Parliament.

Says Sandi Hall: “Suffrage Day celebrates the achievement of our foremothers of the 19th Century who fought for and won democratic equality, and reminds all New Zealanders, in particular our young people, of the ongoing struggle for women’s rights.”

She says having a public holiday would be an opportunity for women to come together to share their experiences and campaign to create a society in which we can all live in harmony with each other and the natural environment to protect the future for our children and their children.

Currently, Suffrage Day is commemorated on 19 September to acknowledge the contributions of women who have fought to advance women’s rights and the betterment of our society. However, because the day moves around each year and is not a designated public holiday, not all women are able to participate.

Women’s Rights Party Co-leader Jill Ovens says she and a few others have turned up to Parliament in the last two years with a suffrage flag, but you wouldn’t know from Parliament grounds that the day was so significant in the history of our country.

Ms Ovens says there has been a tradition of women attending early and expensive breakfasts on Suffrage Day to listen to speeches from high profile women celebrating the successes of women in business, the Public Service and politics.

“But while women at the top are doing well, little has changed for those women who clean the halls of power, sole women bringing up their children, or women in retirement struggling to survive on the pension with little or no savings.”

She says women’s rights have been eroded in recent years by legislation that puts women’s and girls’ privacy and safety at risk, the erasure of the word “women” from our language, and workplace policies that prevent women from speaking out.

“We need to reclaim our heritage by designating Suffrage Day as a public holiday!”

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