Stratford woman speaking in House of Commons Wednesday

Four Island women are in Ottawa this week to take part in a conference about the past, present and future of women in politics.

It's called Daughters of the Vote, and it recognizes 100 years since women started getting the right to vote in federal elections.

A young woman from each riding in the country was chosen for the conference, including Taya Nabuurs, a UPEI political science student from Stratford.

"I really think that women can have such a great impact on the policies and practices of our current government," said Nabuurs. "And I'd really like to see more women in government to make those changes."

She said the women at the conference are passionate about politics and change.

"We're discussing things like reconciliation with Aboriginal peoples in Canada," said Nabuurs. "We're talking about violence against women, and they're tough conversations, especially because a lot of the women in these spots have personal experiences and personal ties to the policy issues that we're discussing."

Invited to Parliament

As today is also International Women's Day, it will be filled with special events for the group, including a symbolic trip to Parliament.

"We're doing our march in the morning up to the House of Commons, and that's when we're taking our historic seat in the House of Commons, so all 338 seats will be filled with young women," said Nabuurs.

It will be even more special for a smaller group, including Nabuurs.

Just a handful were chosen to speak in the House of Commons during their visit, on topics important to them.

Nabuurs chose electoral reform.

"I've done a lot of study in my academics at university in terms of how our electoral system has serious impacts on the representation of women and minorities in government," she said. "So I'm actually going to have the opportunity to rise and speak."

Although she describes herself as a "policy nerd,"Nabuurs does admit this experience is helping give her more confidence and inspiration, and won't say no to the idea of a career in politics in the future.

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