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Original poster

Vigil for Afghan Women & Girls disrupted by abuse-hurling from a city councillor

93 replies

CarobBean72 · 04/02/2025 17:30

So there we were on Saturday, holding a silent vigil in the centre of Norwich in solidarity with Afghan women & girls - a group of us including Jewish & Muslim women and a baby in a pushchair.

And we got a torrent of abuse from… no, not actually the Taliban, but an elected City Councillor, a trans-identified woman, shouting that we were Nazis & “transphobes” (she knows some of us to be Jewish).

Not that the vigil, which lasted all of 30 minutes, was anything about “trans”.

Except in the terms of that meme “It’s transphobic! What was the question?”

OP posts:
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Original poster
CarobBean72 · 05/02/2025 23:21

ArabellaScott · 04/02/2025 19:38

I'm so sorry, OP.

As an ex GP member I feel embarrassed and ashamed.

There are good people in the party, I promise. Unfortunately currently being held hostage by very loud and very unhinged TRAs.

Oh, I know! I’m an ex member too!

Absolutely tragic what’s happened to them.

OP posts:
Grammarnut · 05/02/2025 22:39

I might have found an angle on the abuse of the support Afghan women protest. There is a book out by Rafia Zakaria,Against White Feminism: Notes on Disruption, in which Zakaria blames white feminism for colonialism, the invasion of Afghanistan, imperialism, equating honour killing with partner killing in the US (I marginally agree here, both are a result of patriarchy - the difference is that hardly anyone in the US thinks partner abuse is fine, nowadays, whereas many men and women in some developing countries will support/collude with honour killing - and FGM is carried out by women). Possibly this book/article is the origin of the 'Nazi' insult? It's the sort of thing some intersectional feminists would take on board.
https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thecut.com%2F2021%2F08%2Frafia-zakaria-against-white-feminism-book.html&data=05%7C02%7C%7C8321a87ed5fe4e87114808dd4624c024%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638743845838125539%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=0dWqD%2ByR51G4HOSnEWIa58IZZQ3ivdMl1wD3aSNWWh4%3D&reserved=0
Sorry link is so long.

Grammarnut · 05/02/2025 09:57

cariadlet · 05/02/2025 05:26

No, she's a transman ie a woman pretending to be a man.

I think the confusion is partly because some articles and tweets refer to her using male pronouns and also because while men don't pass as women, women pretending to be men do sometimes pass and look male in photos.

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Thank you, I did not pick that up. And she should be much more ashamed as a woman, not supporting women in the direst straits.
It also brings up something I have come across in my family. DS quite obviously thought that 'trans women' were women who thought they were men, and got quite cross when I explained, and said 'whatever it means' - though he did seem to imbibe the information.
I hope this particular misconception is disappearing!

AgnesX · 05/02/2025 07:05

Grammarnut · 04/02/2025 23:37

He should be ashamed of himself. He's a transwoman i.e. a man.

Show quote history

Fair point.

cariadlet · 05/02/2025 05:36

Of course, Norwich Greens have the equally deranged Alec Catt as deputy leader.

grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/norwich-confidential

cariadlet · 05/02/2025 05:33

She's showing as a councillor on this list - scroll down to Norfolk.

eastern.greenparty.org.uk/councillors/

cariadlet · 05/02/2025 05:28

EdithStourton · 04/02/2025 21:56

The charming individual doesn't seem to be here:
https://norwich.greenparty.org.uk/councillors/
Purged?

And OP, sorry you had to put up with that behaviour. Shocking.

Interesting. She was elected in May 2024, according to this.

x.com/NorwichGreens/status/1786689175648956713?t=R9LZRisspbTPhKQTDo3h8g&s=19

cariadlet · 05/02/2025 05:26

Grammarnut · 04/02/2025 23:37

He should be ashamed of himself. He's a transwoman i.e. a man.

Show quote history

No, she's a transman ie a woman pretending to be a man.

I think the confusion is partly because some articles and tweets refer to her using male pronouns and also because while men don't pass as women, women pretending to be men do sometimes pass and look male in photos.

WillIEverBeOk · 05/02/2025 02:27

Anything that doesn't CENTRE transpeople, is 'transphobic.

lcakethereforeIam · 05/02/2025 01:26

Charlie Caine seems to be a woman who claims to have a trans-identity.

Grammarnut · 04/02/2025 23:37

AgnesX · 04/02/2025 17:33

That's appalling. I've no idea who you can complain to however - or what the solution to this kind of behaviour.

They should be ashamed of themselves.

He should be ashamed of himself. He's a transwoman i.e. a man.

Noparticularplacetogo · 04/02/2025 22:28

In a time when the world seems more fractured than it's been for almost a century, we have women of all faiths and none coming together in solidarity and this privileged arse makes it all about them.

Shameful.

Noparticularplacetogo · 04/02/2025 22:23

cariadlet · 04/02/2025 21:17

I understand that the councillor is a woman who identifies as a man.

I wonder if all the testosterone shots are why she has behaved in such an aggressively male way.

So they'd have no problem strolling down the streets of Kabul unaccompanied then.

Hmmm, wonder how that'd turn out.

EdithStourton · 04/02/2025 21:56

The charming individual doesn't seem to be here:
https://norwich.greenparty.org.uk/councillors/
Purged?

And OP, sorry you had to put up with that behaviour. Shocking.

cariadlet · 04/02/2025 21:17

I understand that the councillor is a woman who identifies as a man.

I wonder if all the testosterone shots are why she has behaved in such an aggressively male way.

SinnerBoy · 04/02/2025 21:00

Oh. I thought it was an actual bloke and used male pronouns in my Twatter rant.

Either way, them is a vile, thoroughly reprehensible scumbag.

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 04/02/2025 20:58

Mittens67 · 04/02/2025 18:03

TRA’s like this councillor deplore any focus on actual oppression of actual women such as the atrocities faced by women in Afghanistan which continue in plain sight whilst the rest of the male dominated world doesn’t give a fuck and happily play cricket.
They think it detracts attention from the clearly much more important and intolerable pain of their hurty feelings caused by not everybody agreeing to make believe they are women.
We should all know that men’s feelings obviously trump women being excluded from education, work, not being allowed to speak outside their own home, not being allowed to look out a window, having to cover themselves from head to toe and punishments including beatings, rape, and murder for any who disobey.
How very dare you have a women led vigil which does not include several men who claim they are women? Clearly you are an enormous bigot!
The Green party is a joke and a disgrace with their recent focus on men in frocks rather than the climate they supposedly exist to protect. I hope they are proud of their councillor.

If I understand correctly, this person is female but identifies as a man.

MummytoE · 04/02/2025 20:51

So was it more about WHO was on the protest rather than WHAT they were protesting??

FumingTRex · 04/02/2025 20:31

Make sure you report to the council as its a breach of the code of conduct for the councillor. Not just the green party.

AlisonDonut · 04/02/2025 20:26

Surely to goodness this would be hate speech?

DuesToTheDirt · 04/02/2025 20:03

Why the hell would any political party (yes, even the Greens) not be ashamed of their councillor behaving like this, and use some kind of discipline on them?

FlowchartRequired · 04/02/2025 19:42

Can 'jumped the shark' be used for a political party, because it isn't about the environment now?

ArabellaScott · 04/02/2025 19:38

I'm so sorry, OP.

As an ex GP member I feel embarrassed and ashamed.

There are good people in the party, I promise. Unfortunately currently being held hostage by very loud and very unhinged TRAs.

PerkingFaintly · 04/02/2025 19:29

Echoing what @IwantToRetire , well done to Women's Rights Network. Thank you for being out there today.

UrsulasHerbBag · 04/02/2025 19:29

What a shocking and disturbing thing to happen although not all that surprising. What has he achieved? Who has this outburst helped? It just shows people like this up to be the self obsessed, callous and small minded woman haters that they really are.