International Women’s Day

Baroness Verma Excerpts

Friday 6th March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Verma (Con)]

My Lords, I start by thanking the Minister for this important debate on International Women’s Day.

I begin my contribution by paying tribute to my right honourable and noble friend Lady May, a former Prime Minister, and to my right honourable and noble friend Lord Hague. I joined the Conservative Party in 1999 because they asked me to help make the party look more reflective of the country we lived in. It was because of their support, their mentoring, and their desire to make sure that politics was reflective of all, that I stand here this year celebrating 20 years of being in this House and able to help bring change. I am also very privileged to be able to say that I was the first South Asian female in Parliament to sit on the Front Benches. That really shows what a fabulously brilliant country this is. The ability to grow and contribute is a great honour for anyone, and particularly to act as a role model for others.

Following on from the noble Baroness, Lady Shah, my first role model as a child was Jhansi Ki Rani. In the history books, for those who do not know, she tied her baby on her back to fight against the British during their colonisation in India because the men had decided that they did not want to fight. She said, “Well, wear the bangles and stay at home”. It was those sorts of people in history who helped shape the things we see today. I was born in India and came to this country aged nine months. I was born in Amritsar, one of the most spiritual cities in India. My mother went into labour sitting in the Golden Temple, so I feel that my entry into this world has always been very blessed.

When my mum came to this country in 1960, she wanted to be part of this wider community of countries and knew that she had to learn to speak English. Every time I have stood up in this Chamber to speak about minority communities, I have always emphasised the importance of being able to communicate in English. So many of our communities remain left out if they cannot communicate, and that is really important for women and girls.

I say that because I live in a city which is rich in ethnic diversity, but also, unfortunately, in many women who cannot contribute because they are not able to communicate. I urge the Minister to look at how we can make sure that every person in this country can be part of the wider community because they can communicate and engage—not just by speaking but through literacy, including financial literacy and digital literacy. These are the big dividers that keep communities poor, if they are not part of the wider discussion. I do not say that because I feel we should make special cases, but because I genuinely believe that every single person has an entitlement to fulfil their maximum potential.

As the noble Baroness, Lady Gohir, said, women of all ethnicities suffer racism every day. I can honestly assure noble Lords that it is not just the Muslim ladies. Some of the cases that come to me are awful—they are vile—but most of the problems lie with the way in which we respond to them. We need to make sure that we talk as a collective and do not separate communities out, because gender-based abuse of any kind for anyone from any community is unacceptable.

I finish by paying tribute to two people in my life. One is my mum because, against all odds, when she came here, she was a foul cook when we grew up and remained a foul cook, because the only things we ate growing up were Irish stew and broth, because that is what our neighbours cooked for us. Secondly, my husband has stood stalwart with me against a lot of people within our communities who felt that my place was not in this House.