This 1932 march of unemployed people through Christchurch is led by women. Elsie Locke, then Elsie Farelly, belonged to the unemployed women's movement in the 1930s. Here she recalls women's part in the movement, and why they organised separately from men.
Transcript
I can remember one very fiery little Welsh woman, jumping up on a chair in a meeting of the unemployed and shouting out, you men, you men. You get up there and make speeches and say, bring your wives into it. Bring your wives into it, but for God's sake don't take mine, I want her there when I come home in the evening.
Interviewer: Did the women help organise marches?
They did help. But in order to get themselves heard more and to be allowed to help more and to assist more they did form their own committees to a large extent. There were women's committees attached to the National Unemployed Workers movement and the Women's Auxiliary to the Canterbury Unemployed Workers Association which was a separate one. And in 1934-35 we formed working women's committees through the country. I was thinking over those I was secretary of this little movement which didn't get very big but which was fairly widespread. And we had a couple of study camps. Now today you have the phrase with the women's liberation movement of consciousness raising. We didn't use that phrase but that is exactly what we were doing with our study camps.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Reference: 24167
Image: Hocken Collections, University of Otago, SO7-185
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