A Women’s Rights Party of women and men who see a growing and urgent need for a strong voice to advocate for and protect women’s rights in Aotearoa New Zealand, is organising to register for the General Election in October.

The Women’s Rights Party has launched a social media campaign to sign up the required 500 members in order to register as a political party.
The Party’s National Secretary, Jill Ovens, says that women’s concerns about the erosion of their rights are being actively shut down by a loud and vocal minority.

A former union leader and women’s advocate, Ms Ovens says the Women’s Rights Party calls for women’s and girls’ sex-based rights to be maintained and protected in law. “We would like this Election to be an opportunity for people to discuss different ideas and perspectives respectfully and safely,” she says.

Ms Ovens, until recently a Labour Party activist, says women who took the time to share their concerns to the Select Committee about legislation such as self-ID on birth certificates, were treated by Labour and Green Party women MPs with disdain, if not outright hostility.

“That needs to change. Women have the right to speak and to assemble freely in a
democratic society.”

Ms Ovens says thousands of women have joined Facebook groups to give voice to their concerns about the prevention, by violent means, of any discussion or debate of the need for women to have safe spaces, among other concerns.

“The academic and political questioning that should be occurring around gender has been largely shut down by politicians, the media, and the transactivist cancel culture.”

Ms Ovens says many of the younger women on the social media groups are concerned about the world their children are growing up in. “Parents are concerned about messages that confuse children’s understanding about biological sex by conflating the words, ‘sex’ and ‘gender’,” she says.

“The new emphasis on sexuality and gender in the school curriculum confuses young people at a challenging time in their lives.”

Ms Ovens says the use of the words to describe women such as “pregnant people” is also a hot button issue amongst women who do not describe themselves as ‘political’. “These common-sense, every day women and men are among those who will support our Party,” she says. “Very few are actively involved in any of the mainstream parties, while others who are more politically aware are disillusioned Labour and Green voters who have found themselves to be politically homeless.”

“The Women’s Rights Party will give such voters an option on the ballot paper and send a message to the mainstream Parties which have been captured by gender ideology.” The Women’s Rights Party is a political party that honours the women of Aotearoa New Zealand who won the right to vote in 1893, and for this reason, the Party is campaigning under the colours of the women’s suffrage movement.

The Party will contest Parliamentary and local body elections as an Independent Party of women candidates.

Ms Ovens says the organising committee is in the early stages of establishing the Women’s Rights Party and is currently focusing on building its membership numbers. An official launch will take place at the inaugural Conference in June.

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NOTE: Those interested in joining the Women’s Rights Party can contact

membership@womensrightsparty.nz
For further information, contact Jill Ovens on 027 446 4966