Southsea hub champions women all year round

The first Women’s Day was in New York City in 1909, then a year later it was proposed that March 8 be honoured annually in celebration of working women.

In those early years of campaigning for suffrage, equal pay, and better working conditions, women fought hard, were imprisoned, and even died to achieve rights we take for granted today.

Now, more than a century later, women are still coming together to support each other.

The 2020 International Women’s Day celebrations will look a little different to 1909.

The marches and protest have largely been replaced by supportive social media hashtags and inspirational quotes on Instagram.

So, is there still a need for an International Women’s Day?

Professor Tamsin Bradley, a women and gender expert from the University of Portsmouth, thinks there is still work to be done.

‘There is a perception that feminism is no longer needed because there is nothing that women can’t do’, says Prof Bradley.

‘But, despite global efforts, we are still a long way off achieving gender equality.

‘There is a mistreatment of women in senior roles too – there is much more scrutiny because they’re still not the norm and they stand out.

‘It is a great shame when I hear that feminism is no longer needed, if anything we need it more, because we’re at the point where we are starting to understand the need for it.’

In a quiet corner of Southsea, it is Women’s Day all-year round.

There is a group that go above and beyond to celebrate and empower the women of the city at The Liberty Lounge on Grove Road South, Southsea.

From the outside it is the epitome of femininity – flowers framing the doorway and beams of pink and orange light shining out from the floor-to-ceiling windows.

But on the inside it is a hub of female empowerment which bends the rules of femininity, creating a safe space for women – and men – to find their path through education and wellbeing.

Owner Jennifer Sanchez and her girl-gang of dozens of the city’s best creatives host workshops seven days a week on everything from yoga and iPhoneography, to spell-casting, and moon cycles.

Those looking to become more mindful can take part in relaxing group meditation.

But if that sounds a bit too new-age, there are also technical workshops.

Women who want to improve their business or are looking to set one up can learn how to design and create their own website at one workshop, or learn how to be a social media whizz at another.

It was an idea borne out of Jennifer’s photography business, Liberty Photography, through which she has used picture-taking to inspire and empower hundreds of women by pushing them right to the edge of their comfort zones.

Jennifer founded her first photography business, Dimples and Daisies after her ex-husband bought her a camera.

She says: ‘I found being a stay-at-home mum really lonely even though I thought being a mum would fulfil me.

‘When I realised it wasn't going to I felt engulfed by loneliness.

‘Sometimes life isn't about ticking the box and having kids.

‘When he (ex-husband) gave me a camera I was bored out of my brain and I started taking pictures of my kids and then people asked me to take pictures of them and their kids, so I did.’

The big trend in photography now is for outdoors-y filtered photos, but when Jennifer started, she was the only one doing it.

‘It was all studio-based, so I was doing something different’, she says.

‘I carried on and within a few months I was booked up for three months in advance. Within a year I realised I had to either take more people on or slow down my workload.

‘That’s how Dimples was born, and Liberty was born a year later.’

The photography sessions are somewhat unusual.

There are trips to lavender fields where women are encouraged to sit in a circle and reveal their most precious inner secrets to each other – having only just met.

The next step is stripping off completely and running through the fields for a group photoshoot, in a bid to shed inhibitions.

Jennifer says: ‘A lot of the time people come out of curiosity and just to share something, or they come to see the lavender fields.

‘At first they think there is no way they’ll be running through the fields naked but by the end of it they are stripping off with everyone else.

‘It’s about feeling liberated and doing something spontaneous that we haven’t had to think about, but in a safe and healthy environment.

‘They all say it makes them feel really alive and connected.’

It was this feeling of playing around, being creative and doing something different in a safe space that spurred Jennifer on to open The Liberty Lounge.

‘But these women didn't need photoshoots’, smiles Jennifer, ‘they needed a safe space to play.’

She adds: ‘I'm one of those people who has been lucky – if I feel like being playful I have the space and people around me to do it.

‘But a lot of women haven't played since they were kids and they've forgotten how to, so the Lounge is creating that sense of play.

‘We need to play more and be more ridiculous.’

To find out more go to thelibertylounge.com.

What’s happening and where

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is #EachforEqual – an equal world is an enabled world.

There are events happen across the UK celebrating this theme.

Thousands of women are expected in London this weekend for the main event – a march, beginning at Whitehall Place, near Trafalgar Square, and ending with a rally in Parliament Square.

Author and television presenter Sandi Toksvig will host the rally at the end and there will be speeches and music from the likes of Emeli Sande and equality campaigners  Helen Pankhurst and Bianca Jagger.

For more information go internationalwomensday.com.

Closer to home, Portsmouth Film Society is showing a special screening of Icelandic film, Women at War, Saturday, March 7, from 1pm at Eldon Building, University of Portsmouth, Winston Churchill Avenue.

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is holding a special tea party with former WRENS, who will share their stories. There will also be a performance about the lives of women during the Second World War by Red Sauce Theatre.

At The Princess Royal Gallery from 2pm on Monday, March 10. Tickets are £2.50. Go to historicdockyard.co.uk.

EBP South is hosting a Create your Career conference at Lakeside North Harbour, welcoming inspirational females to help and inspire girls aged 13-16 to explore their professional potential.

It takes place Monday, March 10, from 9am. To get involved go to ebpsouth.co.uk.