Janus women's convention

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The Janus Women’s Convention was held in Wellington last weekend, thirty years after the United Women’s Convention in 1975. The theme of the convention was Titiro whakamuri, haere whakamua: Looking Back, Moving Forward. All women who could afford a $377 registration fee and a weekend off were welcome to attend the convention, although a few free places were available to women who wanted to jump through hoops to prove their lack of income.

The key themes of the conference were billed as ‘Changing Workplaces’, ‘Sustainable Development’ and ‘The Changing Faces of New Zealand’. However the exclusion of low income women and the dodgy sponsors – including Wellington City Council, Westpac and 2004 Roger Award winner Telecom – suggest that sustainability and workers’ rights are not issues the convention organizers take too seriously.

An alternative (free) meeting organized by women who couldn’t afford to go to the Janus Convention was well attended. Many of the convention attendees who also came to the alternative meeting expressed frustration at the way the Janus Convention had been structured. One young woman commented that she would’ve liked an opportunity to get to know some of the more experienced feminists there.

On the last day of the convention the young women’s caucus gave a very well received presentation. They pointed to the lack of voices of Maori, Pacific Islander, refugee, new migrant, student, beneficiary, and low income women as a major failure. They also discussed issues that must be addressed in order to end patriarchy, including poverty, student debt, violence against women, media projections of women, militarization, environmental destruction and sexual, reproductive and mental health. They emphasized that contrary to popular belief, many young women are passionate about feminism. They also announced a young women’s convention will be organized for 2006.

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