I have passed by this building every day of my life for the past twenty-odd years on my way to my office in the Central Government Offices. But I have to confess I have not as yet stepped inside this building. Indeed, I would like to think an advertisement that appeared in the Ladies Home Journal in 1957 was a more accurate portrayal.
Women have higher voices, longer hair, smaller waistlines, daintier feet and prettier hands.
They also invariably have the upper hand. The punchline may be slightly exaggerated, but it does reflect our progress since the time the suffragettes first chained themselves to the railings outside the British Prime Minister's front door, that was, in 1908 in their fight for the right to vote. Of course, International Women's Day commemorates much more than securing voting rights. It recognises the long struggle of women over many, many decades for equality, justice, peace and development. In its own small way, The Helena May has charted that progress, playing its part in promoting the interests of women.