NSW women will come together at Parliament House this morning to celebrate International Women’s Day 2016 and ‘pledge for parity’ – the theme of this year’s IWD. The event will be hosted by Greens NSW MP Dr Mehreen Faruqi, with guest speakers beingAboriginal actor and writer Nakkiah Lui, Lebanese performer Candy Royalle and Muslim Palestinian/Egyptian writer Randa Abdel-Fattah.

Greens NSW MP and Status of Women spokesperson Dr Mehreen Faruqi MLC said:

“International Women’s Day has been celebrated for more than a century and it’s an important annual acknowledgment of how far we have come, and what more we have to do to achieve full equality.

“This year’s ‘pledge for parity’ theme is a call for a new focus on achieving full equality between women and men, but we should also be looking to pledge for parity between and among women. Migrant women, refugee women, Indigenous women and transgender women, for instance, face unique challenges and their voices must be heard.

“I am delighted to be joined this morning by Nakkiah, Candy, and Randa to celebrate International Women’s Day.

“NSW women have a lot to be proud of, but we have so much more to do and today we renew our passion, determination and hope for full equality,” she said.