I see the discrimination everywhere, it’s in the cracks of education, the underlying lies of society, the decisions in parliament. I see the looks from men way above my pay slip of the minimum wage, the creases of old eyes and greedy smiles. I hear the things on the street, the things at school. “You’re not truly a man until… I bet she’s making that up for attention… Surely just get her drunk.” The poisonous jokes spread from mouth to mouth; the lies made to degrade and humiliate. I hear the casual remarks that seem so cruel and the sound of younger minds ticking and turning and learning. I feel the pressure on the weekends and the judgement and unwanted attention. The feel of betraying my safety when I try on an item that shows I am indeed no longer a child.

Aotearoa what has happened? What has happened to liberating women? What has happened to supporting the female race? I see girls on early buses before dark and guys on the streets at the unholy hours of midnight. I see the hinting looks and the meaningful gestures between two guys at a party towards a girl. I hear the suggestions at a two year relationship and the surprise at the lack of intimacy in a one month friendship. I feel the need to cover up late at night when I’m at dinner with friends and the need to avoid Courtenay and the strip clubs that line the sidewalks. I feel the carefully chosen outfits of women in power, the way the tv stylists ‘dress to not distract’.

Aotearoa where is your fight? Where is your right for women’s rights? I ask you where is your fight for gender equality? It did not stop when Kate Shepard fought for the women’s vote. It did not stop when the abortion law was introduced. It. Does. Not. Stop. Are you not content with unequal pay? How can we sit here as women and men and pretend that your male colleague next to you is not being paid 9.5% more than you even though he arrives late everyday? Women you’re letting society tell you to be grateful during a job interview, don't be damn grateful. Demand that respect, demand that pay, demand that position. You are worth more than a second rate salary check.

Aotearoa are you not mad? Are you not mad at the female fees and the lack of female freedom?I see the pink tax sugared like sweets on aisle shelves and on clothing racks, are you not mad for paying more just because you’re female? Does it not bother you that we have to pay for sanitary products even though it’s a necessity that we demand every month with or without our choice? It’s preventing girls from going to school; I see the people I care about missing from classes because they can’t afford basic health products. Does it not make you angry that girl’s are missing out on an education? That they’re missing out on a basic human right? That they’re being put down because you won’t acknowledge the fact that we shouldn’t have to pay for our reproductive rights? You won’t acknowledge the fact that you’re costing girl’s their future. You won’t acknowledge the fact that there is gender discrimination in this country.

Aotearoa let me ask you, where is your female empowerment? Where is your female leadership?This country holds more than one gender. It is made of more than one gender, and yet I see only one gender being promoted. I see the faces of men at the head of businesses, not men and women and them and they, men. Does it not bother you - the females employed - that your male secretary is more likely to be promoted before you? Is this not inequality at the heart of employment? We are not living in the 1950s  where women cook dinner every night and are taught to be grateful for a sexualised air hostess job. Women I ask you, are you not frustrated that this society you live in expects you to have children before you hit 40? I am yet to hear a man being asked if he wants kids in a work environment, I am yet to see the paternity leaves beside maternity leaves in every firm in every city. Is it not aggravating to be asked to sideline your career and think about starting a family every time you meet a new male colleague? We deserve more. The women of this country deserve more than your nosy personal questions. We deserve more for the work we do, the work we can do better if the system was in our favour to succeed.

Aotearoa what has happened to your morals and values? When did it become acceptable to teach young girls to feel uncomfortable in their own bodies? I hear many things every week about the biased behaviour of schools and the trustees that run those schools. It is not okay to sexualise young girls in a primary school. It is not okay to teach girls to dress ‘appropriately’. It is not okay to make women feel ashamed for living in their bodies. It. Is. Not. Okay. Why are you the parents of this nation happy to accept that your daughters are being taught to hide their bodies, to be ashamed of them? Why are you the parents of this nation allowing the old teachings of the past be pressed onto your daughters? Those daughters are being taught they are the problem. Young girls are being blamed for the lack of respect boys show in a classroom. It is not our fault. It is not our fault that some males seem to not be able to hold a professional mindset and stop sexualising women both in the workplace and at schools. We are using a system outdated for 2021, stop teaching women to cover up and start teaching men about respect. 

Aotearoa when did the safety of your citizens become compromised? When did it become okay to teach young girls not to go out after dark? Women I ask you, do you really feel safe? Is the knowledge that Courtenay Place has ten times the crime rate average in NZ comforting? Is it nice knowing that high school girls are being assaulted in your city centre? The safety of half the population is being compromised and yet I see nothing being done about it. My male friends offer to accompany me if I need to walk somewhere after dark. I am lucky I have friends who consider the risks of being a female walking alone at night. Imagine that, I feel lucky to have a male friend walk beside me. I should not have to feel lucky. The safety of the women of this country is not being prioritised. It is not being looked at and changed and made better as it should be. We as women deserve better. We deserve this country to treat us better. We deserve to feel safe on the streets of our city after 5pm. 

Aotearoa I am tired of asking. I am tired of asking for the respect, the safety, and the gender equality us women deserve. I am only 16 and yet I understand all this. I am only 16 but I see my friends coping with the aftermath of sexual assault. If I, a year twelve student of New Zealand can recognise this problem then why can’t you? You who have had many years to live and you who have the power to change and protest. I cannot vote, you can. I hold so little power and yet I am angry. I am angry. I am angry at the unfairness of this country, of its systems. I am angry that I am fighting an uphill battle, that I have already faced sexism in the workplace, that I have already been harassed multiple times in our CBD. I am angry that nothing is being done. I will not ask Aotearoa, I will not ask again. Today is when we as women and men need to demand gender equality. For the sake of future generations and for the sake of mine. How can we sit here content with the way things are? How can you lie in bed knowing your daughter, sister, niece or friend could be the next rape victim because the boys in this country have not been taught respect? I as a woman deserve respect. We as women deserve change. We as women demand gender equality.