The NCWNZ Wellington Branch recently hosted a free Women’s Self-Defence Workshop as part of our events raising awareness for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, and it was a fantastic success. A huge thank you to everyone who attended and to the Wellington Hapkido Academy for leading such an engaging and empowering session.

In July, the Wellington Branch of the National Council of Women New Zealand, Graduate Women Wellington, and Zonta Club of Wellington, came together to co-host the Annual Women's Debate 2025: "Parity in Politics."

The panel, moderated by award-winning journalist and broadcaster for RNZ Susie Ferguson, featured:

• Susan Freeman-Greene, Chief Executive of Local Government New Zealand
• Tory Whanau, Mayor of Wellington City
• Rebecca Matthews, Wellington City Councillor
• Afnan Al-Rubayee, Senior public servant and community leader

This year's debate resulted in a powerful kōrero about the challenges and barriers women face in local government and what is being done to address these and make a #GenderEqualNZ in our local politics.

For International Women’s Day 2025, NCWNZ Wellington Branch organised a climate-focused panel and workshop event "How to talk about climate action" with support from Council for International Development and UN Women Aotearoa New Zealand, and generous support from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The event was an opportunity for fellow climate and gender activists to come together and discuss how to have positive grassroots conversations about climate action.

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