Scottish historian Hamish Dingwall is working on a book about New Zealand suffragist Mary Ann Müller and wrote this essay as bait, basically. If you have any sort of archive (letters, photographs, a diary) regarding Mary or her life, no matter how small the snippet, Dingwall would love to hear from you. Email books editor … Read more
The family of pioneering New Zealand suffragist Kate Sheppard kept an important secret – one that possibly explains a lot about her life, her beliefs and her motivation. Kate Sheppard’s secret involved her father, Andrew Wilson Malcolm, and what happened to him after she was born. An extensive and painstaking quest by her great great … Read more
New book Protest Tautohetohe: Objects of Resistance, Persistence and Defiance explores our history of protest through objects symbolising the power and lasting legacy of activism in New Zealand. From Hone Heke cutting down the flagpole to the 1981 Springbok tour protests, New Zealand has always been a country of activists. Movements led by Māori, by … Read more
Aren’t Can’t Don’t: 125 years after New Zealand women won the right to vote, we take a look at what the first polling day looked like for Māori women… sort of. Today is the 125th anniversary of women taking to the polls to vote in the general election for the first time, 10 weeks after … Read more
While the suffrage anniversary offers real cause for celebration, in 2018 not everyone has the right to vote. In the first of two films in our Aren’t Can’t Don’t series, made with the assistance of NZ On Air, women explain what it meant to be denied an opportunity to vote while imprisoned. One hundred and twenty-five … Read more
Controversial American academic and writer Christina Hoff Sommers is coming to New Zealand in 2019 for #FEMINIST, a talk with Roxane Gay about 21st century feminism. Alice Webb-Liddall spoke to her about what it means to be a self-styled ‘equity feminist’. With the self designed nickname “factual feminist”, Christina Hoff Sommers has defined her brand by … Read more
As we celebrate Suffrage 125, let us not forget that just as disabled people were excluded in 1893, many continue to feel excluded from society today, writes Hannah Gibson. This week, we celebrated 125 years of women finally getting the vote in Aotearoa. It’s indeed something to celebrate. It took a petition of 32,000 individuals … Read more
Why did a global first happen in a small and isolated corner of the South Pacific? Historian Katie Pickles has the essential primer One hundred and 25 years ago today, Aotearoa New Zealand became the first country in the world to grant all women the right to vote. The event was part of an ongoing international … Read more
To celebrate 125 years of women’s suffrage in Aotearoa today, Jacinda Ardern edited a special commemorative edition of The NZ Herald. Alex Casey, Madeleine Chapman and Leonie Hayden reviewed her work. Alex Casey: Happy suffrage 125. Here’s a pic of me extremely excited to be writing the first sentence of this essential review. Madeleine Chapman: … Read more
To mark the anniversary of women’s suffrage, we republish this essay from International Women’s Day 2018 by Ātea editor Leonie Hayden – how Māori women can find their way back to equity through the stories of the past. 1893 was the first time New Zealand women were given access to the Westminster vote, but traditionally Māori … Read more
The status of women in New Zealand universities as academic and professional leaders still has some way to go, writes Judy McGregor The good news is that women have seized the opportunity to enrol in university in unparalleled numbers in the 141 years since Kate Edger graduated in Auckland with a Bachelor of Arts in … Read more
A new book from Te Papa features essays inspired by exhibits held in the national museum. Sue Bradford writes about a Medal for Valour awarded to suffragette Frances Parker – a heroine who blazed with “an exquisite madness”. EXHIBIT: Women’s Social and Political Union Medal for Valour, awarded to Frances Parker PRODUCTION: Toye & Co., 1912 … Read more
Journalist Mihingarangi Forbes was the MC of Wednesday’s launch of #Suffrage125 – the 125th anniversary of the Women’s Suffrage petition. There were oysters, cakes and many prominent New Zealand women. But there was an important voice missing. Why on International Women’s Day did I wake up feeling hōhā? My great-great-grandmother Jennie Lovell-Smith was part of … Read more
As New Zealand prepares to mark 125 years of women’s suffrage there is plenty to celebrate – but as the #metoo movement shows, there is still much to be done, says Governor General Dame Patsy Reddy On the 19th of September, 1893, my predecessor Lord Glasgow, officially signed the bill giving women the right to … Read more