International Women’s Day

Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent Excerpts

Friday 8th March 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

My Lords, before I move on to the substantive part of my speech, I want to touch on the impact on women of war, of which we have seen too many examples in the past 12 months, in Ukraine, Gaza and Israel. We have seen graphic examples of the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, in Israel on 7 October; the horror faced by mothers in the war in Gaza; and the fear faced by yet more mothers and women, terrified at the fate of the hostages taken by Hamas and the children stolen by Putin. As always, it is the women who are desperately seeking to protect and hold their families together in the face of horror.

I remind your Lordships’ House of my entries in the register of interests, specifically, my role as the chief executive of Index on Censorship, a charity which works with political dissidents.

I know that this debate is specifically about the role of women in the economy, and we have heard some extraordinary speeches, but economic equality and freedom is available only to those whose voices can be heard—to those who remain with us. I beg your Lordships’ indulgence as today, I remind the House of the women who have paid the ultimate price in the last 12 months because they dared to speak truth to power, dared to challenge the status quo, dared to fight for their communities using the only tool at their disposal: their voice.

Last year, I read out the names of 32 women who did extraordinary things in life which led to their deaths. Today, I shall build on those names and say the names of those who, devastatingly, have joined their ranks. These women are no longer with us, but we have a responsibility to say their names, to remember them and to be inspired by them.

There is Halima Idris Salim, a Sudanese journalist who was run down while covering the conflict by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Mossamat Sahara, a photographer for the daily Alor Jagat in Bangladesh, was killed while documenting a smuggling operation. Farah Omar, a Lebanese correspondent, was killed in a rocket strike in southern Lebanon, near the Israeli border, while reporting on hostilities in the region. Vivian Silver, a Canadian peace activist who founded Women Wage Peace, was killed on 7 October by Hamas. Ángela León, a Mexican activist leading a group of volunteers searching for some of Mexico’s more than 100,000 missing people, was shot dead for conducting her own investigations. Olga Nazarenko, a Russian anti-war activist, died in unexplained circumstances.

Maria Bernadete Pacífico, a 72 year-old black community activist in Brazil, was murdered by gunmen at her home after receiving threats. Armita Geravand, a 16 year-old Iranian girl, was reportedly assaulted by morality police for not wearing a hijab, just like Mahsa Amini. Tinashe Chitsunge, an opposition activist in Zimbabwe, was stoned to death by ZANU-PF activists. Samantha Gómez Fonseca, a Mexican transgender politician, was slain days before she was due to lead a demo demanding security for trans people in Mexico. Rose Mugarurirwe, an opposition activist in Uganda, was brutally murdered.

Heba Suhaib Haj Arif, a Syrian women’s right activist, was murdered two weeks after receiving death threats. Ludivia Galindez, a social leader and human rights defender, was shot dead by a group of unidentified armed men at her home in Colombia. Bahjaa Abdelaa Abdelaa, a Sudenese human rights defender, was shot and killed at a funeral in South Darfur. Teresa Magueyal, a Mexican human rights defender, was shot dead by a group of unidentified men.

This heartbreaking list is not exhaustive. In authoritarian regimes every day, women are harassed, detained and murdered because they dare to speak out. We do not know all their names so we cannot state them for the record today, but we can take a second to remember them—to remember the mothers, grandmothers, daughters, nieces, granddaughters, sisters, aunts, friends, partners and wives who decided not to be silenced, who tried to fight back. The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is “Inspire Inclusion”. Let us be inspired by these brave women and include them in our prayers. May their memory be a blessing.