Girls’ High marks 125 years of suffrage victory
Palmerston North Girls’ High School hopes to inspire a new generation of Kate Sheppards with a symbol of the hard-fought victories for women’s suffrage.
The school planted 17 ‘‘Kate Sheppard’’ camellia bushes outside the school hall to in a ceremony yesterday marking the 125th anniversary of women being granted the right to vote in New Zealand.
Lara Harjes, 14, one of the students chosen to plant a camellia, said New Zealand suffragists sent camellias to MPS who supported the fight for women’s rights and the camellia flower became a symbol of the movement.
‘‘So they’ll remind us to always see what we can try and do to change things for the better.’’
Reflecting on all the changes in New Zealand society since women got the vote in 1893, Lara thought the suffragists would be pleased to see how successful they were and the effect they continued to have on young women 125 years later.
‘‘I think they’d be happy that we’re still thinking of them and we’re still wanting to be like them.’’
Ellie Lovegrove, 14, said Kate Sheppard was an inspiration and the world still needed more people like her.
‘‘It’s important to remember the hard work put in before us, but obviously there’s still a lot of inequality in the world and more work to do.’’
Sheppard’s spirit lived on in modern struggles like the fight for equal pay, more woman on company boards and the #metoo movement, she said.
The #metoo movement and the activities of young activists such as the Parkland school shooting survivors in America showed platforms like Facebook and Twitter had become crucial in rallying support for modern movements.