NZ Maori women write about the Let Women Speak events in NZ

[Whaeanui]

This is from Mana Wahine Korero, the group who organised the Let Women Speak NZ leg of the tour, along with LOUT, a lesbian group. This is excellent and I’ve been waiting to see if they’d write something like this. It’s long and actually I found it very sad. They organised the events with a lesbian group, they had spent lots of time organising and prepared some very special gifts from our culture to present to Posie. I feel so heartbroken for them. Their moment to have their say and share our culture with someone they hoped would help them let NZers know what was happening. Give them an actual voice. I haven’t finished reading, but I just wanted to share with you all who supported them so much.

Please read this for all the women who didn’t get to speak and those including Posie who were assaulted for wanting to be heard.

Mana Wahine Korero

Thank you for sharing this

Important part on security:
Our work was not wasted. The bravery of women who were there on the day was not in vain. The Kindness and Inclusion façade has been torn away, and we can all see the misogyny and cruelty underneath. But we had wanted to run a safe and enjoyable event, and what unfolded instead in Albert Park was more like a nightmare. Women were hurt; bones were broken.
We knew of course that there would likely be a noisy and potentially aggressive group of hecklers, as had happened in other places. We had attended the ‘March for Trans Rights’ protests in Pōneke and Auckland on the 11th of February, to ascertain the likely number of protestors we could expect. At each event there were between 150-200 people.
Our security planning was based on this and was altered as we reassessed the risks after what had happened in Melbourne. It is noteworthy that not one women’s rights activist screamed abuse of any kind at their February ‘Trans Healthcare’ march, or assaulted anyone, and the ‘trans folk’ were extremely well-protected by police

Sad to read, but also encouraging to see their strength and DIGNITY, which cannot be lost.

Thank you for sharing, OP. A very moving account.

'Our received wisdom tells us that when we are concerned about a public issue, we should participate in our democracy; write letters, contact our MPs, make submissions and start petitions; alert the newspapers and contact our school boards.
Mana Wāhine Kōrero have tried all the above and much more besides. Hundreds of New Zealand wāhine and several other women’s groups all have. Some of us have been doing nothing but this for half a decade or more. We have been ignored and silenced throughout. '

😞

'Thousands of volunteer hours, donations, time, and effort was all undone in thirty minutes of frenzied, unadulterated hatred of women, and the manaakitanga we had wanted Kellie-Jay to experience, and the respect we wished to show her, was not realised.
Ultimately, no woman spoke about how she felt about any of the new ideas around our spaces, new education guidelines, and our sex-based rights. Attendees were injured and some are still recovering. It was a traumatic experience for many. Many wāhine are now feeling unsafe in New Zealand, and deeply concerned for what it means for our children, ourselves, and our nation. Women’s voices are important in a healthy democratic society. '

I understand how awful this must feel. Your work has not been undone. All that has been undone is the facade and the mask of the violent mob who attacked. The event you had planned sounded so beautiful and thoughtful. I'm sorry it didn't happen. There will be more.

Sending you love and respect from the other side of the world. Courage calls to courage, and women will not wheesht.

Women’s voices are important in a healthy democratic society.

100% this.

Countries that pride themselves on being progressive are going backwards.

I'm neither Maori nor Scottish, but what I share with you I share with no man. Wahine won't wheesht.

Thank you so much for sharing that. Those women are incredibly courageous and their treatment shameful. How blind are those in power that they cannot see how severely these women are being oppressed by those who falsely claim they want peace and inclusivity?

The silencing of these women is a strong indicator that something is going very wrong.

Sending love from the other side of the world to those brave women.

Thanks for the wonderful messages of support. This is a great read as sad as it is, I know their fighting spirit will never die, and we indigenous have always carried sadness about the plight of our people and our Wahine. They received a lot of support that helps them carry on. The way we welcome others is incredibly important to us, a welcome is a very big deal to Maori and as their guest this hurt them deeply that they could not do that and that their guest had to flee the country brought a great deal of embarrassment and sadness. Thanks again for reading and showing them you care. We can get forgotten sometimes over there!

That was very moving. I am sorry they did not get to welcome KJK how they wanted to.

I have literally just finished reading this, as it was shared in a private (NZ-based) Facebook group I belong to @Whaeanui (I wonder if you’re in that group, too - although if I recall you’re not currently actually in NZ).

Brilliantly written.

I hope this is shared far and wide.

@SargentSagittarius hey! No I’m not on Facebook, was never really into it! Great that it’s getting shared hopefully widely.

That was a very moving read, thank you Whaeanui. I don't know much about Maori culture but was interested to read many of your posts around the time of KJK's visit and reading today, not only about all the practicalities of arranging the events but the special efforts to give a Maori welcome and special gifts.
Those women have nothing to be embarrassed for - we all know who should be carrying the shame, and it isn't them.

Thank you. Yes, they’ve explained to others the cultural significance of what they had been planning really well and I think it’s important to note it here because of the complete lack of respect for our culture from those who protested against them.

Thank you Whaeanui.

And thank you to all those wonderful and brave women who had put so much care and detail into what would have been a most amazing two women's events.

It’s disappointing and disingenuous to suggest that wāhine Māori weren’t also standing on the other side of the barricades to defend their whenua and whānau against Posie Parker and her toxic worldview.

I admire and applaud every person who stood up and pushed back against the small minded wickedness of the Ingarihi nauwhea.

Thank you for sharing this.
Noise torture is exactly one of the methods employed, I have noticed it in many videos from other events as well.

It is not hateful to maintain that women is their own sex class and need rights and spaces for women only.
The only hate I have witnessed are the frenzied protesters shouting obsceneties at the women. That is spectacularly hateful.

Of course you do. Supporting violence is wrong no matter what side you’re on.

The only hate I have witnessed are the frenzied protesters shouting obsceneties at the women. That is spectacularly hateful.

Yes, I agree.

The only hate I have witnessed are the frenzied protesters shouting obsceneties at the women. That is spectacularly hateful.

Yep. And thanks, land, for popping up to give us a live demonstration of this dynamic in action, reproduced in miniature right here on this thread.

A thread full of women offering support and compassion for each other, and here you are, butting in to sling insults and accusations.

Maybe since you are so keen to be here, you should explain who exactly you are talking about when you say Ingarihi nauwhea.

landOFconfusion - how can you condone the violence meted out to women at that event in NZ? Why was it ok? I have previously seen you justify it with reference to a road traffic ACCIDENT where someone else was hurt, as if that makes it ok
As ever, I don’t expect you will answer the question directly, which is always informative for other readers

You 'admire and applaud' violence against women?

Thank you, OP.

I understand how frustrating it is to have people condone the violence but I don’t think we should give it too much of our time. These women never got to speak, here they are speaking to us and we should not let people once again stop the conversation being about them.