Champion of equality not finished
There can be few people in New Zealand who have committed as much time and energy to community service as Vanisa Dhiru.
She has led the National Council of Women (NCWNZ), Volunteering New Zealand, and chaired a United Nations meeting on gender rights, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Dhiru has been made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to community and gender rights as part of the New Year Honours.
She credits her work ethic and sense of community to her parents. Her Indian father emigrated to New Zealand and married her Kiwi-born Indian mum.
Together, they owned convenience stores in Palmerston North, which Dhiru worked in while growing up.
‘‘They were asked many a time to be on the school board or help out in the community, and they couldn’t really give the time because they worked seven days a week for really long hours,’’ she said.
‘‘I saw them want to give the time but couldn’t, and I always thought maybe I would be able to give some time back and do the volunteer work they weren’t able to do and give back to the country we’ve been privileged to live in.’’
Dhiru sat on her first board of directors at age 24. She has sat on 11 boards as a volunteer, and on another 11 government panels and advisory groups.
As president of NCWNZ, she led the Gender Equal NZ campaign and the Suffrage 125 programme, and headed a delegation to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination againstWomen.
Among other roles, she has also chaired the Inspiring Stories trust and the YWCA of Greater Wellington, was a trustee of Trade Aid Wellington Trust and is a commissioner for the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO.
Despite her achievements, she’s humble when asked what career moment she’s most proud of. ‘‘In Indian culture, it’s not really about what you’ve done for yourself but what you’ve done for the greater good,’’ she said.
She sees her New Year Honour as a sign that there is more work to be done in the fight for equality and equity.
In the coming years, she planned to continue her efforts.
‘‘I’ll be really fighting for this country to be equal for all, where everyone has equal opportunity.’’