We are living through a time of turbulence, instability, and uncertainty. The decades long neoliberal dominance within Western-European patriarchal capitalism is under extreme pressure. The four biggest political parties in NZ have all been infected to a greater or lesser degree by neoliberalism, with National and the ACT parties being the most deeply contaminated.

This is the WLA submission to the NZ government, Safer Online Practices and Media Platforms Consultation. The government was asking for feedback on their proposal, which is to be made into a Bill in 2024.

They are proposing to have a government appointed regulator to set codes of practice for social media and the NZ media. But, who will be watching the watchers?

The embryonic coalition between the religious right and the secular ultra-right, and women angry about being silenced over what they perceive to be a range of threats to sex-based rights and to children’s safety, has focussed on the phenomenon of drag queen story hour.

Statistic NZ’s consultation on sex, gender, sexuality: deadline Fri 20 January 2023

Statistics NZ is still open to feedback on its inclusion of sex, gender ID and 'sexual identity' in the upcoming 2023 census. Census forms will be going out some time in February for collection in March. Consultation about the sex, sexuality and gender variables in the 2023 census has been extended to next Friday, 5.00pm 20th January 2023.

womb – Janet Charman

A poem by New Zealand poet Janet Charman.

Guest Post: Women, the Taliban and sex based rights

Think what is happening in Afghanistan couldn’t happen in ‘civilised’ countries? Do you believe women’s rights here are secure?