Maori incarceration statistics go from awful to appalling when the rate of Mana Wāhine in New Zealand’s prisons is considered. Currently at 68%, it is the highest per capita incarceration rate of indigenous women in the world.

On reflection, I’m happy that I drove the 120 kilometre round trip in last Thursday’s filthy weather, to hear Speak Up For Women present their arguments against controversial proposals for sex self-identification (Sex Self ID) in the Births, Deaths, Marriages & Relationships Registration (BDMRR) Bill at Wellington’s Michael Fowler Centre.

WLA submission to the Safer Online Practices and Media Platforms Consultation

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?

AN IDEOLOGICAL DRAG RACE: Part Three

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.

AN IDEOLOGICAL DRAG RACE: Part Two

Gender identity as an issue and a movement was created and marketed in the first world. In that context, a leader of women opposed to gender identity, who “channels her inner Monroe” while surfing a wave of anger on social media, is unsurprising. I don’t know if Kelly-Jae Keen believes in her brand, but I do know that many of the women who support her are well-intentioned and genuine in their beliefs and concerns.