Empowering women through the written word

City of Melbourne libraries have partnered with non-profit organisation Hotham Mission to provide Womempower book club sessions.

Sessions are conducted on the fourth Tuesday of every month at the North Melbourne Library for young women between the ages of 15 and 25, and will celebrate books written by or about strong young women.

The books selected will primarily be from the young adult and new adult fiction genres, with all books carefully chosen to serve the purpose of empowerment.

“The Womempower book club is designed to be a safe and inclusive space for young women and gender diverse people to come together, read and celebrate the best in female-led literature,” Deputy Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece said.

“Programs like this not only educate but empower our up-and-coming generation of fearless women with the knowledge and skills they need to go on and make a real difference.”

The latest session was conducted on August 23 and explored Wai Chim’s The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling, which delves into the experiences of mental illness, paired with culture, love and family.

The Womempower program was started by Hotham Mission as a participant-led program aimed to empower young women by building community through social connections.

The program continues to provide young women with online meeting sessions, and strives to be a space for friendship, fun and opportunity.

Due to school holidays the next session will be taking place on Friday, September 23, and will explore Ali Hazelwood’s romance novel The Love Hypothesis which was published last year.

Sessions are conducted between 4.30pm and 5.30pm, and the October and November sessions are already scheduled, with How We Love by Clementine Ford and One Hundred Days by Alice Pung on the reading list. •