International Women's day

Festa della Donna in Italian

Weltfrauentag in Germany

יום האישה הבינלאומי in Hebrew

Día Internacional de la Mujer in Spanish

International Women's Day in English

اليوم الدولي للمرأة in Arabic

Whatever it is called , the sentiment is the same the world over. Today, let's celebrate . Here is my contribution for a blog post by my publisher Cranthorpe Millner', who are celebrating their women writers.

I was born at a time when life in Britain held lots of promise. The national health service was just emerging, and I could look forward to many years of good free education. There seemed to be nothing to hold me back. But of course there was. I can see more clearly now, how many times I was subjected to misogyny and sexual discrimination. As a retiree, I feel unconstrained. Thanks to my publisher ‘Cranthorpe Millner,’ through writing fiction I can take up causes that I feel deeply about, chiefly sexual and racial discrimination.

In my novel ‘Because You Were There,’ my main protagonist Tina has suffered doubly from discrimination throughout her life. She is black, and she is a woman. From the moment she arrived in Britain at the age of ten, she was unfairly classed as ‘educationally subnormal’. But Tina fought back. As a young mother she took further education classes and obtained a responsible job while bringing up a daughter single handed. Sadly, many years later, she suffered further discrimination when, as a result of Theresa May’s ‘hostile environment,’ she was threatened with deportation. Tina’s strength, as she negotiated these problems, while loyally caring for her daughter Gloria and granddaughter Alice was admirable. Misogyny stalks my other characters too. Gloria is accused of theft, while Tina’s one time teacher Felicity, suffers a ‘whispering campaign’ against her. There are many women the world over who, like Tina, have to fight to overcome the odds stacked against them. That is why ‘International Women’s Day’ is so important to me and to others. My novel ends on an upbeat note. Young Alice is fired up with ambition and curiosity. She brings hope for a better future for all women. But any woman knows that her life will never be an easy one.

'Because You Were There ' will be published by 'Cranthorpe Millner' on April 25th. It will be available through Waterstones, Amazon and other booksellers.

In Italy the Mimosa is a symbol of Women's Day.