#BristolUniWomen Shami Chakrabarti event tonight

[iLevictoiChete]

Women & Equality - the next 100 years.

Any other mumsnetters going?

It's going to be Facebook livestreamed apparently.

Guess about 200 people here so far. Room probably takes at least 750 but I'm terrible at estimating numbers.

Sounds really interesting.

Item #1 - how to boost the number of women in the Lords by writing reports for Jeremy.

I wonder if she'll define 'woman'. And if she will acknowledge why that matters.

She is vile. Total whitewash report gets her a gong. Yet nowhere to be seen during the recent anti-semetism debates. Meh.

Calling for better universal childcare to get more women able to stand for politics.

Also more assistance with fundraising for campaigning.

She's mentioned all women shortlists several times so far

I wonder how she imagines observant Jewish women will cope with her Party's new 'self-ID' ideology. It hardly leads to increased societal participation for those women.

She's weak on models of prostitution, too. Weak on pimps and traffikers.

But very WOKE.

If you can’t afford a ticket try dressing as an antisemite: they won’t see you sneaking in.

It’s like an invisibility cloak to them.

@AutumnCrow

I wonder how she imagines observant Jewish women will cope with her Party's new 'self-ID' ideology.

What?

Ooh. She just said "it is sex not gender" and "biology is real". Way to go sister!

Hope you don't mind me placemarking.

I’m not a fan - but she’s gone up in my books if she said ‘sex not gender’ (assuming she actually believes it).

Ooh. She just said "it is sex not gender" and "biology is real". Way to go sister!

It’s a sign of how low the bar has been set by politicians that I’m pleasantly surprised to hear this.

Thanks for the heads-up OP, watching the live stream now.

If she actually means biology is real, and that that scientific fact must affect Labour policy around women's rights - including women of all religions and none - then I hope she states that loud and clear in Parliament and on her social media.

Just had a proper gender critical comment from the audience.

My God her reply disgusted me though. Can't give it word for word but something like "if you lock the house of your gender so tight that refugees can't get in, then you might just die in a fire" - I am sure she chose those last 4 words very deliberately.

Item #1 - how to boost the number of women in the Lords by writing reports for Jeremy.

^ this

'Lock the house of your gender so tight ...' That doesn't make sense without acknowledging the male-led patriarchy that informs constructions of gender around women's biology.

One person on the panel mentioned the disruption at last night's event of the Free Speech Society where Dr Heather Brunskell-Evans was due to speak. In response to her comment, Shami waffled on about her book and being sympathetic towards "migrants to our sex", and the other person said something to the effect of "GRA doesn't concern us".
What about freedom of speech?

This thread started so positive & has gone to shit. Do you get a sense the audience is in agreement?

I realise that could require ESP

It's always so sad when your heroes turn out to have feet of clay. I used to really rate Shami Chakrabarti, right up until she basically did a complete white-wash job on Labour's antisemitism problem (the TL:DR version of her report "nothing to see here, move along, move along").

Fermats
It's an odd one - I've never known anyone comprehensively junk their own reputation to that extent and yet her shifty demeanour when questioned on it show she's acutely aware of it and embarrassed by it (which begs the question why she did it in the first place).

I used to respect her until I find out she sent her son to a private school; the base hypocrisy!!
(I don't have an issue with parents whose kids attend private schools if they haven't preached about the ills of segregated education)