With International Women’s Day being celebrated worldwide this week (officially it was Friday March 8), it seemed appropriate for the Wanaka App to talk to the woman behind next month’s much anticipated local series of public lectures entitled ‘Her Voice’.

This isn’t the first event Amy Pearl has held in Wanaka. Some years ago she formed an organisation called The Weaving House - with the mission statement: “Gender equality is a precondition for peace, for the eradication of poverty, for sustainable and equitable development and for the protection of our environment”.

Under the auspices of The Weaving House Amy organised Te Whare Pora in 2016 – a convention on gender equality and women’s empowerment, which featured many remarkable speakers including Louise Nicholas (campaigner for the rights victims of sexual violence), and Dame Margaret Sparrow (reproductive rights advocate and author), and comedian and writer Michele A’Court.

Next month’s event, Her Voice, has attracted an equally impressive line-up of speakers including Professor Marilyn Waring (author and former MP), Lillian Tahuri (UN Women Aotearoa board member), Professor Juliet Gerrard (the Prime Minister’s chief science advisor) and Traci Houpapa (named by the Listener as one of New Zealand’s top 10 influencers).

The Wanaka App started by asking Amy how she managed to persuade these high-powered women to come to Wanaka.

“I think the many serious issues at stake persuaded the speakers to come, and they are gifting their time, so it’s a huge privilege to have them here.

“I've had the opportunity through advocacy work to develop relationships with most of them or the organisations they represent. I think The Weaving House has a good reputation for upholding important values in the fight for gender equality and on most social issues.”

Amy herself became aware of feminist issues as a small child.

“I remember the many occasions of not being allowed to play like the boys, so as not to ruin my frock, or scrape my knees, or get too rowdy. Boys would run and climb and find the mud, [and] tears would roll down my face. I understood as a three-year-old there was something inherently unfair about that. Girls being treated differently and confined by specific rules that boys didn't have. But as a toddler you're not thinking feminist theory, you're thinking 'that's unfair'. Girls have a whole life-time of ‘unfair’. It's a man's world.

“If I had a lightning bolt moment, it was when I realised the best way to help bring about change was through feminism. I found if I focused on looking at the world through a gender lens, every issue was a feminist issue. I slid into my new vehicle and joined the feminist movement.”

Amy is an unashamedly self-taught feminist.

“I've not done a lot of study through the usual channels, I could never sit still as a youth so classrooms never suited me and I've no qualification to my name. But I wholeheartedly love and find great joy in learning.

“In my work for The Weaving House it's easy to read up to 30 articles a day. There are numerous publications from various women's and human rights groups globally. And I'm ever thankful we're living in an era where there's a lot of literature being produced by women writers who really know their stuff. Being able to access them has left me forever grateful.

“For that reason, whenever possible The Weaving House donates feminist literature to our local library, like Barbara Brookes's The History of New Zealand Women or Marilyn Waring's latest book, Still Counting.”

Amy’s eclectic education is getting another boost in June when she’s been invited to attend an Advocacy Academy offered by Women Deliver.

“Women Deliver is a leading global advocate that champions gender equality and the health and rights of girls and women.” After the academy, which Amy says will be a “few days of intense study”, she will attend the Women Deliver Global Conference in Canada with about 6000 people.

“I'll be meeting women there from all over our world who I know and work with online but have not had the opportunity to meet in person.”

So how did Amy come to be living in Wanaka, when all the real feminist action is, arguably, taking place in big cities?

“I grew up in a rural community and my love for our natural environment evolved there. Twenty years ago I passed through Wanaka for a few hours at the end of a mountaineering trip, and when I went back I found myself pining for Wānaka. I'd never experienced that physical pull to anything before, it couldn't be ignored. So I moved here, and the rest as we say is herstory.”

PHOTO: Supplied