Staff Reporter –
The importance of women in a progressive society and their increasing role in business and community in New Zealand were among the highlights at special event held in Wellington on March 5, 2015.
Organised by Daya Trust, the programme marked International Women’s Day, which Trust Founder Rochelle Stewart-Allen said was ‘a prime opportunity to not only celebrate how far women have come in New Zealand and overseas but also recognise how far women still have to go to overcome the inequities they continue to face.’
According to her, Daya Trust believes that education is an empowerment tool for women and girls because it enables them to make choices and become change-makers in their lives.
The obstacles
“Education gives opportunities to improve their job prospects and significantly increases their earnings when they leave school. Access to education for girls means economic growth. Investing in girls’ education benefits everyone including families, communities, businesses and the government,” Ms Stewart-Allen said.
Special Projects Administrator Anita Ravji said that the Trust has been working in India and New Zealand over the past six years to build young women leaders and support its Indian Charity partner.
“The aim is to empower women and girls through a sustainable development model for people living in slums in Mumbai,” she said.
Action Plan
Ranjna Patel, about who Indian Newslink has published several reports and feature articles spoke of the efforts that she is undertaking to combat the menace of domestic violence through the Nirvana Health Group of which she is a Director, the National Focus Forum of the New Zealand Police and the South Asian Advisory Board of the Counties Manukau Police (of which she is a Member) and the New Zealand Indian Central Association Women’s Group (of which she is the Chairman) voiced her concerns.
“It is time we came together as women and supported each other in practical ways. WE have had enough of ‘boys clubs.’ We need ‘Women’s Clubs’ where women leaders support women to work in positions of decision-making and authority,” she said.
Quoting statistics relating to women in leadership positions in New Zealand and elsewhere, Ms Patel said that a lack of access to education, violence and stigmatised cultural norms were barriers that women face all over the world.
Photo :
Inspector Rakesh Naidoo, Rochelle Stewart-Allen, Ranjna Patel, Bal Devun and Angela McLeod at the ANZ International Women’s Day Cocktail Evening in Wellington on March 5.
