Stirrings of Revolt

From the late 1960s to today women's rights have featured prominently in every sphere of New Zealand life. This is partially due to the revival of the women's movement in the United States, sparked off by Betty Freidan's book on suburban neurosis, "The Feminine Mystique" published in 1963, the resurgence in critical thinking unleashed by the anti-Vietnam war movement, and the rapid development of light manufacturing in New Zealand in the late 1950s and the early 1960s which drew women into the workforce to a greater extent than ever before.

Since 1974 New Zealand has been gripped by a severe economic crisis. Again the Government has tried to created more jobs for men by pushing women out of the workforce rather than facing the real problems of New Zealand's economy. Through the D.P.B. cuts and the changes in the D.P.B. law women have been attacked for leaving bad marriages, through the Abortion Legislation women have been denied their right to decide for themselves whether or not to have a child. In reaction to the viscious attacks on Women's Rights the Women's Movement has grown stronger and stronger. This trend will continue, for women now recognise that in times of economic deppression it is women who suffer most.

Leonie Morris