International Women’s Day

Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent Excerpts

Friday 10th March 2023 Lords Chamber

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

My Lords, this is an incredibly important debate. It is a privilege, and not one that I take for granted, to be in your Lordships’ House as one of the 226 women who have the right to sit in this hallowed Chamber. As this debate has demonstrated, my fellow noble Baronesses are both extraordinary and completely intimidating.

On Wednesday, for International Women’s Day, I addressed students on behalf of the Anne Frank Trust. I highlighted not only the importance of telling women’s stories but the power of amplifying their lived experiences, wherever they may be. Collectively, we all made a promise that this week—and, I hope, in future weeks—we would seek to tell the stories of the women who have made a mark and ensure that the world knows their names. I seek to deliver on that promise today.

I refer noble Lords to my declarations of interests. I am proud to be the chief executive of Index on Censorship, a charity that endeavours to provide a voice to the persecuted and campaigns for freedom of expression around the world. I work daily with dissidents, both men and women, who risk everything to change their societies and communities for the better. But today, I would like to read the names of some of those women who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the past year for the supposed crime of doing something that we take for granted every day: using the human right to freedom of expression.

Deborah Samuel, a student, was brutally murdered in Nigeria after being accused of blasphemy on an academic social media platform.

Nokuthula Mabaso, a leading human rights defender in South Africa and the leader of the eKhenana Commune, was assassinated outside her home in front of her children.

Shireen Abu Akleh, a veteran Palestinian-American correspondent for Al Jazeera, was killed while reporting on an Israeli raid in the West Bank.

Jhannah Villegas, a local journalist in the Philippines, was killed at her home. The police believe that her murder was linked to her work.

Francisca Sandoval, a local Chilean journalist, was murdered, and several others hurt, when gunmen opened fire on a Workers’ Day demonstration.

Mahsa Amini’s name is all too familiar to us as her murder inspired a peaceful revolution that continues to this day. She was murdered by the Iranian morality police for “inappropriate attire”.

Oksana Baulina, a Russian journalist, was killed during shelling by Russian forces in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

Oksana Haidar, a 54 year-old Ukrainian journalist and blogger better known as Ruda Pani, was killed by Russian artillery north-east of Kyiv.

Oleksandra Kuvshynova, a Ukrainian producer, was killed outside of Kyiv while working with Fox News.

Petronella Baloyi—I apologise for my pronunciation—a South African land and women’s human rights defender, was gunned down while in her home.

Yessenia Mollinedo Falconi, a Mexican journalist who was the founder and editor of El Veraz as well as a crime and security correspondent, received a death threat a fortnight before she was shot. She was killed alongside her colleague, Sheila Johana García Olivera.

Vira Hyrych, a journalist for Radio Free Europe’s Ukrainian service, was killed by Russian shelling.

Cielo Rujeles, wife of the socialist leader Sócrates Sevillano, was shot and killed alongside her husband in Colombia.

Luz Ángela Quijano Poveda, a delegate of the Community Action Board in Punta Betín, Colombia, was murdered at her home.

Sandra Patricia Montenegro, a PE teacher and social leader, was shot and killed in front of her students in Colombia.

Clemencia Arteaga, a Colombian indigenous social leader and prosecutor, was murdered by gunmen at her home in the reservation of the Nasa people.

Melissa Núñez, a transgender activist, was shot dead by armed men in Honduras.

María del Carmen Vázquez, a Mexican activist and member of the Missing Persons of Pénjamo, was murdered by two men at her home. She was looking for her son, who disappeared last summer.

Blanca Esmeralda Gallardo, an activist and member of the Voice of the Disappeared in Puebla collective, was assassinated on the side of the highway in Mexico as she waited for a bus to take her to work.

Yermy Chocué Camayo, the treasurer of the Chimborazo indigenous reservation in Colombia and a human rights defender, was killed as she headed home.

Dilia Contreras, an experienced presenter for RCN Radio in Colombia, was shot dead in a car alongside her colleague after covering a local festival.

Edilsan Andrade, a Colombian social leader and local politician, was shot dead in the presence of one of her children.

Jesusita Moreno, otherwise known as Doña Tuta, was a human rights activist who defended Afro-Colombian community rights. Facing threats against her life, she was assassinated while at her son’s birthday party.

María Piedad Aguirre, a Colombian social leader who was a defender of black communities, was violently murdered with a machete. She was found by one of her grandchildren.

Elizabeth Mendoza, a social leader, was shot and killed in her home in Colombia. Her son, husband and nephew were also murdered.

María José Arciniegas Salinas, a Colombian indigenous human rights defender, was assassinated by armed men.

Shaina Vanessa Pretel Gómez, who was known among the LGBTQI+ community for her activism, was shot dead early in the morning by a suspect on a motorbike.

Rosa Elena Célix Guañarita, a Colombian human rights defender, was shot while socialising with friends.

Mariela Reyes Montenegro, a leader of the National Union of Workers and Employees of Public Services, was murdered in Colombia.

Alba Bermeo Puin, an indigenous leader and environmental defender in Ecuador, was murdered when she was five months pregnant.

Mursal Nabizada, a former female member of Afghanistan’s Parliament and women’s rights campaigner, was murdered at her home.

This is not an exhaustive list by any stretch of the imagination; I apologise for going slightly over the time limit. Compiling the names and profiles of women who have been killed as a result of their right to exercise freedom of expression is almost impossible, not least because of the nature of the repressive regimes they live under. Every name I have just read out represents thousands of others who put their lives at risk day in, day out to speak truth to power. They were mothers, grandmothers, daughters, nieces, granddaughters, sisters, aunts, friends, partners and wives. To their families, they were the centre of the world. To us, today, their stories bring fear and inspiration in equal measure. They are heroes whose bravery we should all seek to emulate.