A call by eight-year-old Malia Knox (pictured) to have more women and girls represented on public statues, pictures and plaques has the support of Minister for Women, Shannon Fentiman.
Ms Fentiman said there were only three statues of women in Brisbane.
“It’s fantastic to see young Queenslanders like Malia are passionate about gender equality, speaking out and calling for change,” Ms Fentiman said.
“We know there is a huge disparity between male and female representation across our public monuments thanks to Malia’s work.”
“I always say ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’, and if we can honour women’s achievements and have them on display for young girls everywhere, then we are helping to show young girls that they can do anything.”
Malia’s project started on a visit to Sherwood Arboretum when she asked her mother, Kelley Knox, why all the plaques at the central promenade were for men.
After further research, Malia could find only three statues of women in Brisbane; this sparked her idea to start a Parliamentary Petition which attracted almost 800 signatures.
Ms Fentiman said the Government was committed to making sure Queensland’s public monuments were contemporary and reflected the community.
She noted that the Queensland Government Framework for Considering Proposals to Establish Memorials and Monuments of Significance had been amended.
“This will ensure submissions for proposed monuments or memorials on State Government land will need to include a response advising consideration of inclusion and diversity principles,” Ms Fentiman said.
