Local recipients of the IWD scholarships inspired with their personal stories of devotion and passion; the Illawarra Women's Health Centre was given $20,000 for their violence Preventing Violence – Supporting Mothers program; and keynote speaker Rabia Siddique received a standing ovation for her story on suing the British military for discrimination and winning.

It wasn't just the landmark case that was extraordinary - this woman has overcome discrimination, childhood abuse, chronic illness and PTSD.

She explained telling her story of going "to hell and back" was not for therapy, but in the hope to change the world.

"[It's a] vehicle through which I hope to shine a light on issues on subject matter that will resonate," Ms Siddique said.

"Unless we talk about these things they will never change. It is only through the brave sharing of stories that we have been able to change the narrative around things like child sexual abuse and mental illness."

Ms Siddique - who went on to become Crown Advocate in the British Counter Terrorism Division and was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in 2006 - was born to an Indian Muslim father and Anglo-Saxon Australian mother and moved as a child from India to Perth.

Read more: Meet Wollongong's International Women's Day scholarship winners

Abuse as a primary-aged girl by a close family friend was swept under the carpet because her parents were trying to "fit in" with Australian society.

Years later the lawyer found herself a hostage in Iraq while serving in the British Army, but her superiors also wanted to sweep that under the carpet. At the same time they give her male counterpart all the glory.

"No acknowledgement, no slap on the back or handshake, no recognition of what I had been ordered to do that day or what I had endured, no counselling - ever," Ms Siddique said.

Her anguish intensified when the military gave her a written order, a "gag order", forbidding her to speak of the role she played in the al-Jamiat incident.

"I had an involuntary flashback … 20 years earlier, when I was told for the first time never to speak of the injustice I was suffering and I knew this was happening again," she said.

"I knew I had to stand up and I had to right this wrong. Because not to do so, would have meant everything that I had stood for and everything that asked of others to do, a complete hypocrisy."

Ms Siddique said her biggest life lesson was the power to create change if you choose to embrace it.

Read more: International Women's Day events around the Illawarra in March