Wāhine Inside

Poetry and prose from wāhine in Christchurch Women’s Prison

He pānui / Information:

From 2022 to 2025, Te Kāhui worked with writers at Christchurch Women’s Prison, both through our remote booklets and in-person creative writing programmes on-site. Wāhine Inside is a sharp, stunning reminder of the power and fierceness of wāhine; the stories they weave throughout their lives and the passion and purpose through which expression builds connection.

Guided by the Editorial Advisory of Deborah Smith and designed by Kaan Hiini, Wāhine Inside features powerful prose and poetry from 22 writerswāhine. The pukapuka was first launched at Christchurch Women’s Prison in December 2025, where several contributors read out their pieces.

Wāhine Inside is just a selection of the incredible work from these imaginative, creative, strong and talented storytellers. Some works were shared in person during our creative expression workshops on-site, while others were submitted through our remote booklet programme.

This anthology contains poems, stories, essays, lyrics, letters, recipes and illustrations. Some pieces contain tender details of treasured memories, while others articulate simple, powerful mantras in a fight for collective liberation. Whatever the subject or approach, we wish to honour these storytellers.

Tō mātou kaupapa / Our Purpose:

Te Kāhui is a dynamic kaupapa that equips storytellers with the skills, space and support to realise their creative voice. We achieve this by facilitating equitable and accessible tailored programming for rangatahi and wāhine in consultation with the communities they hold close, using poetry, spoken word, rap, prose, and other mediums.

Tautokohia / Support Us

Physical copies can be purchased here for $35.

Digital copies of the anthology are available through a pay-what-you-want model here

We are still locating a few contributing writers. If you are a contributing writer, please contact us directly so we can send you your contributor copies.

If you are a values-aligned community centre or independent bookshop and would like to stock our pukapuka, please contact us for wholesale inquiries.

Your generosity, no matter the amount, goes a long way toward sustaining our mission to empower rangatahi through the arts and to support initiatives serving tangata whaiora, those in prisons, and their families.

Open book showing a poem titled Sadness on the left page and an abstract illustration on the right page. The illustration depicts a group of people in an urban setting with tall buildings.

Open book with large white text on pink background, phrases in Maori language, and small white text in English reading 'Pay heed to the power of women,' on a teal fabric surface.

Open notebook with handwritten notes on both pages. The left page has dense cursive text, the right page has a structured list titled 'I See, They See' with bullet points and expanding thoughts.

"The transformative power of storytelling from unguarded voices threads the journey of justice and self awareness beyond circumstance. In raw recognition of possibility, resilience and hope, this anthology is a korowai of connection, bridging the readers understanding of isolation, incarceration and community."

– Editorial Advisor, Deborah Smith

Here’s what a few people had to say about it:

The wāhine of Christchurch Women’s Prison have a life of knowledge from an array of backgrounds, demographics and experiences. The pieces recorded in chapbook are a snapshot in time whilst in our care. While some pull on old memories, some create new.”

– Education Tutor, Christchurch Women’s Prison, Vivian Hanrahan

“I hope that more of these tasks are made available for men and women to learn to dig deep within and embrace the mind’s ability to express on paper what we think and feel… They allow me to open up and be honest about what I think and feel rather than everything just being 'FINE."

– Foreword from a contributor,
RG