International Women’s Day is always a meaningful moment in the NLCS calendar, a day when global principles meet the lived experience of our students. This year’s UN Women theme, Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls, resonates deeply with our community: bold, outward‑looking and unafraid to ask the difficult questions.
At NLCS, we marked the day with a programme designed to turn those values into something active, accessible and inspiring for our students. On Tuesday, we welcomed author Sufiya Ahmed, whose novel Secrets of the Henna Girl explores autonomy, agency and the power of young voices. Sufiya delivered a talk to Year 10, a lunchtime reading in the Library, and a workshop focused on how young people can campaign for girls’ and human rights through democratic means. Her sessions were bright with energy and honesty — a reminder that activism begins with confidence, curiosity and the courage to speak up.
We were also delighted to be joined by students from The Sacred Heart Language College, who participated in both the talk and the creative writing workshop. Their presence strengthened the message at the heart of the day: that action becomes more powerful when it reaches beyond our own gates, widening the circle of conversation and impact.
Alongside these events, we launched a community reading list, shaped by recommendations from staff, students and alumnae — books that challenge assumptions, shift perspectives and encourage readers to move from awareness to meaningful action. Contributions range from feminist classics to contemporary explorations of identity, power and justice, including:
Women & Power — Mary Beard (recommended by Vicky Bingham, Headmistress)
Invisible Women — Caroline Criado Perez (Charlotte Edgeworth, ONL 1994)
The Power — Naomi Alderman (Sara Gamsu, ONL 1993)
Universality — Natasha Brown
Endling — Maria Reva
Mother Mary Comes to Me — Arundhati Roy
Indignity — Lea Ypi (Anjali Pathiyath, Head Librarian & Archivist)
Our school community are encouraged to add their own recommendations, reflecting an NLCS community that reads widely, thinks deeply and stands confidently for the values it believes in.
This International Women’s Day was more than an observance; it was a celebration of the intelligence, generosity and courage that define our students. Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls. Today, and every day.
International Women’s Day – Book Recommendations
