As well as following events to mark International Women’s Day readers have been sharing their thoughts on the long-term effects of Tory austerity and where people moving to the UK go for a taste of “home”.



To join in the conversation you can click on the links in the comments below to expand and add your thoughts. We’ll continue to highlight more comments worth reading as the day goes on.

Readers around the world have been following our live blog and sharing their thoughts on events marking International Women’s Day.



‘I think today of every woman who had to suffer because she is a woman’

I think today of every woman who had to suffer because she is a woman – which means I think about every single woman that ever lived. Since the moment patriarchy began to choke us, not one woman ever lived free and safe. Many had the luck to be only affected in small ways by patriarchy, many did never notice that they had not the same rights and safety as every free man has, but still, they were denied their right and a place on the table.

reading99

‘I will try to ensure that female students get the opportunity to make contribution’

As an educator I will try to ensure that female students get the opportunity to make contributions in proportion to their numbers in class discussions rather than, as can still sometimes happen, be silent while make voices predominate. As an aside I read the link to the article where famous women talk about women’s issues. Rebecca Walker’s answer to the question about the biggest issues facing women is an absolute belter. I’ll try to look out for more of her writings in future.

shanecois

‘The mood this year feels different’. YES IT DOES! At last, so glad I’m around to see this very tangible phenomenon. Happy International Women’s Day 2018.

SophiaMcGrane

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Then chancellor George Osborne speaks during a Conservative press conference with Theresa May in 2015. Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PA

Frances Ryan says David Cameron and George Osborne’s austerity programme has left lives in ruins. You’ve been sharing your thoughts.

‘The only people suggesting austerity measures were doing so on ideological grounds’

I remember when austerity was first spewed forth it was sold as economic necessity. This seemed counter to what I knew about economic theory so I spent 4 months reading nothing but books on economics (thanks Lancaster University).

From what I found, the actual best evidenced reaction to the crisis of 2008 would be to encourage economic activity and ensure that consumers were able to be active economically. The only people suggesting the austerity measures were doing so on ideological grounds and the only economic theories proposing it were untested hypotheses by, again, ideologically driven ideas.

Scott B



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Shoppers on Rye Lane in Peckham, south London. Photograph: Antonio Zazueta Olmos/Antonio Olmos

As well as offering tips for global places to eat around the UK, readers have been sharing foodie anecdotes in the comments.

‘There was no shortage of good, wholesome Nigerian food to be had in London’



During my time in the middle east, a Nigerian colleague took his family to the UK for a vacation. I expected tales of visits to all the usual tourist traps along with photos, so when we met up following the holiday I inquired as to how they had enjoyed their sojourn in England, London to be exact. He said they had the absolute best time and that unlike the middle east, there was no shortage of good, wholesome Nigerian food to be had in their holiday locale. I was stunned into silence when he told me they’d spent 4-weeks in Peckham and were disappointed that the food wasn’t available all over the capital and thus hadn’t travelled too far from there.

snakeandpygmypie

Comments have been edited for length. This article will be updated throughout the day with some of the most interesting ways readers have been participating across the site.