‘New Right’ women disturb Minister

Press, 10 August 1985, Page 4

‘New Right’ women disturb Minister

PA Wellington Members of the Women for Life group told the United Nations conference on women in Nairobi last month that the New Zealand Government was “pushing” women into the workforce, said the Minister of Customs, Mrs Shields. She told the Wellington branch of the National Council of Women that Women for Life was part of the “New Right” anti-femin-ist movement. “As women outside usual spheres of activity for women, we (women politicians) are always subject to extra surveillance and in some cases outright prejudice. “It is important that women members of Parliament are not intimidated by these forces,” Mrs Shields said.

“There is an anti-feminist

movement in New Zealand—part of the "New Right." “Women for Life is part of that movement and they sent representatives to Nairobi last month. “These women said New Zealand was ‘pushing’ women out to work,” she said. That was not what was being done. “What is happening is we are presenting women with options, not directives, and hopefully ensuring that those options are upheld by appropriate support systems. “The women involved in this New Right movement use rhetoric which is heavily laden with words such as ‘mother’, ‘family’ and ‘children’. “These are highly emotive so that when you negate the views they are wrapped in,

you are seen by the less informed to. be negating family, children and motherhood,” Mrs Shields said. “A good example is the emotional attacks by this group on the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. N.C.W. and a number of other women’s groups did an excellent job in refuting some of their more bizarre criticisms.” Feminism was not about the rejection of children, family or men, and no woman member of Parliament promulgated those views. “We all care deeply about the need to support core human values and are in the privileged position of being able to do something about , it,” Mrs Shields said. I