Suffrage Day 2015: Women parliamentarians urge further action for gender equality

The Co-Chairpersons of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) New Zealand Group, Louisa Wall MP and Jo Hayes MP, say we need to make further progress to improve the status of women and girls. The CWP New Zealand Group is part of one of largest international women’s organisations founded in 1989. It is a unique forum for women parliamentarians from across the political spectrum to come together and promote gender equality.

It is 122 years since women in New Zealand gained the right to vote, yet CWP note that research just released by the National Council of Women New Zealand reveals that we still have a way to go to achieve gender equality. The CWP understands that low rates of women’s participation in political life, violence against women, and economic disadvantage are inherently linked factors. The CWP works towards increasing female representation in Parliament and the mainstreaming of gender considerations in legislative and policy decisions.

Promoting human rights, particularly those articulated in the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), is a focus for the CWP. There is cross-party support spearheaded by the CWP New Zealand to make legislative change that ensures the safety of women and girls from violence. Co-Chairperson Jo Hayes currently has a Members’ bill in the ballot to achieve this, the Marriage (Court Consent to Marriage of Minors) Amendment Bill. The CWP is also supporting the petition to end child brides and forced marriage, to be presented by Parliamentarians for Global Action and Girls Not Brides to the United Nations next week.

“We see this as a modern global suffrage issue, which continues to reflect the less than equal status women and girls have in many countries. We urge all countries, including New Zealand, to take decisive action to end gender inequality in all its forms - our families, societies, economies and parliaments will be the better for it,” the Co-Chairpersons said.

ENDS

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