Tēnā tātou kātoa,

It is with regret the Board has accepted the resignation of Anmar Taufeek, who has stepped down because of increasing personal and professional commitments. We acknowledge that this was not an easy decision for her, and the Board is sad to see her go. Anmar has been able to bring a diverse perspective to the Board, reminding us all about the contributions and needs of ethnic women in Aotearoa New Zealand. Her dignity, positivity and approachability have been much appreciated by the Board. We wish her all the best for the future, and Anmar is keen to remain in touch with the kaupapa of NCWNZ – in her words, ‘cheering from the sidelines’.

March was a busy month, as it always is with International Women’s Day (IWD). There were events around both motu | islands, as we spread the word both about women’s rights and about the work of NCWNZ. Wellington branch shares their IWD event in this Circular, along with news from Manawatu and Hibiscus Coast branches – remember we just LOVE to hear your news, so send in your reports to [email protected].

During March Eva Hartshorn-Sanders, Convenor of the International Hub, and Dellwyn Stuart, NCWNZ Board member and CE of YWCA, attended CSW69 in New York, along with a large number of other representatives from Aotearoa New Zealand including from PACIFICA, Māori Women’s Welfare League, Graduate Women, Zonta, and Soroptomists, to name only a few. This is the largest regular global gathering of women’s organisations, and while the government delegations try to come up with some suitable agreements, the NGOs network and connect, raise awareness and discuss common and different issues. A major theme was the global conservative push-back against recent gains in gender equality. It will be interesting to see how this agenda develops and how women’s groups can stand firm in the face of this push-back.

Talking about push-backs, in March Aleisha and I presented NCWNZ’s oral submission on the now-defunct Treaty Principles Bill. Such a privilege for us to stand alongside so many others and tell the government in no uncertain terms that Te Tiriti o Waitangi must be honoured! You can listen to our oral submission here.

NCWNZ sent representatives to the March 2025 Cook Islands NCW biennial meeting in Rarotonga – Beryl and I have written a Circular article to tell you about the fabulous welcome we received. This is part of the Board’s strategy to establish and maintain better connections with our Pacific neighbours, Australia included. Fiona Dorman, the new President of NCW Australia, was recently invited to attend an NCWNZ Board meeting to introduce herself. Fiona will be attending the International Council (ICW-CIF) General Assembly in Marrekech, Morocco, later in June and has agreed to be our proxy for voting. NCWNZ has just submitted our country report for the General Assembly, helpfully translated into French by our intern, Amandine Chabrier. Alongside this, Aleisha Amohia has submitted a youth report from Aotearoa. Aleisha is our appointed representative to the ICW-CIF Youth Group that has been operating this past year. We look forward to more developments in this space, as we seek ways to be more inclusive of young women in our organisation both globally and within Aotearoa.

Some dates for your diary. The tentative date for the AGM this year is Saturday 27 September, afternoon. We have started the process of compiling the annual report, including financial statements which BVO will review. Please can all branches and action hubs (and Board!!) respond promptly to requests for information, so we can meet our deadlines. You can also consider who make a good Board member, as we will be calling for nominations soon.

The other thing to look out for is the Constitutional amendments. The Constitution Committee, consisting of Anmar Taufeek, Julie Thomas, Christine Low, Margaret Cook and Beryl Anderson, have been working hard at considering the feedback on the Constitution and suggesting suitable amendments to improve the ‘pain points’. You can expect an opportunity to give feedback on these amendments before the final wording is finalised, although it will be a quick turnaround time because of fast-approaching deadlines.

The other tentative date is Wednesday 17 September for the launch of the 2025 Gender Attitude Survey results. We are planning to hold a short evening event at the Tiakiwai venue at the National Library in Wellington, which will also be livestreamed. We will confirm this as soon as we are able.

As we head into winter, try to keep warm and stay positive – and look after yourself as well as those around you. Together we can do this. I leave you with a quote supplied by Amandine, that we used to sign off the ICW-CIF country report:

Never forget that it only takes a political, economic, or religious crisis for women's rights to be called into question.
Simone de Beauvoir

Suzanne Manning

To read more articles from The Circular (March-April 2025) issue 651, click on the tag below.