Two women dancing and menstruating. Rock art by Indigenous Australians from the Upper Yule River, Pilbara, Western Australia. Image from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_and_menstruation

This article was submitted from the Wellington NCWNZ branch:

My name is Giuls (they/them) and I recently joined the Wellington branch of the National Council of Women of New Zealand. Thank you for having me!

I am a period advocate on a mission to educate people about the menstrual cycle. I grew up knowing nothing about periods - specifically how cool they are! But now I know how incredibly empowering it is to understand your cycle.

Recently, I have conducted a survey with two main purposes:

• to get an understanding of how familiar people are with periods and the menstrual cycle
• to find out how people prefer to access information and learn about periods and the menstrual cycle.

I posted the survey on different Facebook pages, and I collected 147 responses by 7 February 2025 (177 responses at the time of writing).

NCWNZ Wellington Branch were honoured to host our 'Spilling the tea' high tea fundraiser for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

High tea attendees wearing pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

In September, the Wellington Branch of the National Council of Women New Zealand co-hosted a panel intending to put women and gender at the centre of a conversation about the economy.

Annual Women’s Debate organising team with the panel

The Wellington Branch of NCWNZ had a fantastic time co-presenting an encore screening of Marimari with P.A.C.I.F.I.C.A. at the end of August as well as interviewing the people behind the film for the Conversations with Wāhine podcast.

From left to right: Mele Wendt of P.A.C.I.F.I.C.A., Sophie Kelsall and Katherine Dickerson of NCWNZ, Evelyn Kunda, Director of the film, Paul Wolfram, and Eleonora Bello of NCWNZ.

At the end of August, the National Council of Women New Zealand’s (NCWNZ) International and Climate and Environmental Sustainability Action Hubs, Wellington Branch, and the Council for International Development, came together to co-host a panel discussion focused on ‘Women at the table on Climate Change’.

Two members of the NCWNZ Wellington Branch have been recognised for their volunteer work and leadership.

Harita Gandhi-Kashyap receiving her award at the Volunteer Wellington Mahi Aroha Awards 2024

Harita Gandhi-Kashyap has received a number of awards and honours in 2024. Harita’s contributions to NCWNZ include being the Wellington Branch Treasurer, founder of the Conversations with Wāhine radio show and podcast, and member of the Parliamentary Watch Committee. Harita also volunteers with Wellington Indian Association, Crohns and Colitis NZ, and runs another podcast Coconut Chats. She is an accountant in her day job. Congratulations to Harita for receiving the following awards and honours, recognising her unwavering commitment to her volunteer work:

• Vibe Lifter Award from Raglan Food Co
• Top 40 under 40 for 2024 for the Indian Achievers Club
• 3rd Place for the Mitre10 MEGA Wellington Volunteer of the Year Award at the Volunteer Wellington Mahi Aroha Awards 2024

NCWNZ members have had a busy week hanging out with Deborah Frances-White, host of the internationally acclaimed The Guilty Feminist podcast. They did live shows in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland. 

Read about this award-winning podcast at the website: https://guiltyfeminist.com/.

The list of tour dates for The Guilty Feminist Down Under 2024 series and panelists can be found here: https://guiltyfeminist.com/aus-nz-tour2024/

This International Women's Day 2024, the Wellington Branch of the National Council of Women NZ held the Gender Equal NZ Speaker Series. The GENZ Conf was a one-day virtual event for rangatahi to design their gender equal future for Aotearoa and think about how to achieve it.

A screenshot from the Gender Equal NZ Speaker Series: IWD 2024 recording.

Members of the New Zealand delegation before the CSW68 closing ceremony.

CSW68 was a jam-packed, eye-opening, invaluable opportunity to learn about the complexities of foreign policy, the inner workings of the United Nations, and how it all intersects with the global mission to achieve gender equality.

A key highlight for Wellington Branch President Aleisha Amohia, the NGO delegate to the New Zealand Government delegation for CSW68, was having quality time and conversation with the talented, passionate NGO representatives from Aotearoa. It was also a blessing to spend so much time in the magic of New York City.

Manatū Wāhine Ministry for Women selected Aleisha Amohia, President of the Wellington Branch of the National Council of Women New Zealand, as the non-governmental delegate to join the official New Zealand Government delegation to the sixty-eight session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) from 11 – 22 March 2024. Applications were assessed by a selection panel comprising representatives from the International Women’s Caucus.

Aleisha earned two degrees from Victoria University of Wellington: a Bachelor of Science (Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence) and a Bachelor of Commerce (Management and Information Systems). She is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion in the STEM (Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) sector. Much of her volunteer work is to ensure more women, Māori, and other marginalised groups, look for and stay in STEM careers.