Over 150 Putney Women Descend on Parliament

Fleur Anderson invites constituents to celebrate International Women's Day

Fleur Anderson MP addresses the women of Putney in Parliament

March 10, 2023

More than 150 women from the Putney constituency came to the Houses of Parliament this week at the invitation of their Fleur Anderson.

They were there to celebrate International Women’s Day 2023 on 8 March which is a day set aside to give recognition of women’s struggle for equality.

To make the occasion, the MP invited over 150 women from the Putney, Southfields and Roehampton areas into Parliament, to hear from speakers including Harriet Harman MP, Orode Faka, Munawara Mujeeb, Lynne Capocciama, local student Sasha and Wandsworth Council Deputy Leader Kemi Akinola.

Ms Anderson said, “It was a welcome and refreshing sight to see a Parliamentary Committee Room filled to the rafters with brilliant, inspirational local women. The 150 women who attended my International Women’s Day event in Parliament reflected the diversity of the women I represent in Putney, Southfields and Roehampton – diverse in ethnicity, religion, age and lived experience. It was brilliant to hear about how all of the women present were thankful for the women who have paved the way for us, and fierce in our determination to continue to make progress towards true equality.”

Harriet Harman opened the event, reflecting on her 40 years as a Labour MP. She was elected in 1982 and holds the record for the longest continually serving female MP.

Orode Faka founded R.O.C.K.S International Arts, a social enterprise based in Roehampton, that uses the arts for sustainable social innovation in services for marginalised communities at the Alton Community Centre on the Alton Estate.

She said, “International Women’s Day for me means reflecting on the various ways that women live different lives according to their class, race and age, and ensuring that they can feel that who they are is 'enough'. I spoke in Parliament about my lived experience as an artist, community activist, educator and organiser. I would like International Women’s Day to create safe spaces to talk frankly about decolonising gender and all the barriers to safety and equity women continue to face despite our accomplishments.”

Fleur Anderson MP (centre) with two of the delegates

Campaigners have highlighted the hardship being experienced by women as the Cost-of-Living crisis hits households in Wandsworth. Centrepoint research has indicated that over 73,000 young women across the UK contacted their local authority to report themselves at risk of homelessness. The number of women in temporary accommodation has increased by 88% over the last 10 years.

Ms Anderson said, “International Women’s Day is a call to political action. It was pertinent that I spent the day demanding that the Government provide proper childcare for women and families. A local mother recently wrote to me to let me know that the cheapest nursery that she could find in Wandsworth within a 30-minute walk of her home cost £26,000 per year. This is totally unaffordable for too many women, who have to leave work or cut back on hours – as I did when I had small children. The Government must not just talk the talk on women’s empowerment and equality – it must take action to tackle the issues which really affect women’s lives.”