It may have taken 140 years but finally Fanny Mendelssohn’s Easter Sonata has its UK premier on International Women’s’ Day. Culturally, politically and financially we still live in a patriarchal society and the only we can gain equality is through persistence.

Silence is what allows people to suffer without recourse, what allows hypocrisies and lies to grow and flourish, crimes to go unpunished. If our voices are essential aspects of our humanity, to be rendered voiceless is to be dehumanised or excluded from one’s humanity. And the history of silence is central to women’s history. – Rebecca Solnit

Whether it is Elizabeth Warren refusing to be silenced in the US Senate, women MPs in the House of Commons speaking out against domestic violence or women all over the globe protesting about misogynism, FGM, trafficking, abortion rights or access to education they are using the only weapons they have – loud persistence.
Many of us are privileged, we have been able to fulfil our aspirations, use our talents and enjoy opportunities that are denied so many women. It is now easier than ever to use your voice – whatever your method of choice – blogs, social media, protest marches, writing to your MP, heckling your local councillors, please be persistent and loud. Please don’t be silent on International Women’s Day use your voice on behalf of the women whose voices are not allowed to be heard.