Hadley Freeman talks to For Women Scotland

[ProfessorIDareSay]

“Politicians are “thwarting” the Supreme Court ruling on women’s rights and are putting women at risk, according to the feminist group For Women Scotland (FWS).”

“Ruling in favour of the campaigners, who brought the court case, the judges said in April that the term “sex” in the Equality Act refers to biological sex, when it comes to the provision of single sex spaces. This means the term “women” refers to — hold onto your hats — women, and women-only spaces are lawfully provided for women. The term does not mean, as the Scottish government insisted, and spent at least £374,000 arguing, a man who identifies as a woman, known as a trans woman.”

We won the Supreme Court sex ruling. The PM is subverting it
www.thetimes.com/article/911f839d-06dd-47e6-a008-a65de99f2112?shareToken=d322617a017f7f72890c2ea9e954d160

The share token link is just archiving, the site is busy and it may take a few minutes.

Thanks for posting that. I'd seen the headline but the Times has got wise to me and just tries to sell me a subscription if I click on a link. Which is fair enough.

FWS are amazing. I read an article before Christmas of a council that was visited by a bailiff because they hadn't paid the costs on a case they'd lost.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8988d490yzo

I don't know if it would achieve anything but imagine the headlines if FWS did something similar and the bailiff seized a..oh!..a campervan.

Thanks for the share token.

Brilliant women. I’d put them in charge of everything

Last year the Scottish government gave the Equality Network £465,258.

Freedom of information requests have shown Scottish politicians exchanging emails with activists from the Equality Network on how to draft bills that respect — in one example — “gender expression, through the medium of clothing”.

“It’s like politicians have outsourced their brains to the third sector so they don’t have to do their thinking, and it all becomes a circle jerk,” says Calder.

You know how the military industrial complex is when the defence industry uses money from Govt contracts to fund its lobbying of said Govt? So you basically have the Govt paying the defence companies to lobby the Govt to benefit the defence companies with more and bigger contracts.

What we have here is a EDI industrial complex. The Govt gives EN money, which EN then spends part of on lobbying the Govt to change laws so that EN get even more EDI training contracts as orgnaisations scramble to keep up with the ever-changing laws.

Unlike the mil-ind complex, we don't even get jet fighters out of the EDI-ind complex that we can use to defend the country. It's very much a scam.

Good to read Hadley Freemand doing well researched journalism.

And also nice to have mumsnet credited with helping women to become activists through making links here!

Especially as another article this week, not so well researched, also pointed out that the activism (Man Friday etc.) happened because of women making links via mumsnet.

Although sadly mumsnet or rather FWR does not get the recognition for the role it plays in helping women learn from each other, keep up to date with developments, and as 2 recent articles have shown enabled women who want to turn their virtual feminism, into IRL activism and campaigns.

FWS definitely need to get the bailiffs into Holyrood! You can guarantee if the ruling had gone the other way Scottish Government would be demanding the money

Great piece from Hadley - what amazing women they are. They should be feted across the country for their remarkable achievement. Instead we have this pathetic, mean-spirited government refusing to meet them and trying ti undermine their victory.

Thanks to Hadley for her great pieces on this issue. Her ‘why I stopped being a good girl’ is one of the breakthrough pieces of GC writing. Keep up the great work - all of you brave, brave women. Herstory has your back on this. You will never be forgotten.

They also get a mention here:

https://www.thetimes.com/article/sunday-times-alternative-honours-list-2025-zrwvsrc9f

Lovely article by Hadley, right at the top online.
The Alternative Honours List they're credited in is also very moving.

Give it twenty years.

FWS made history.

Thanks for sharing this.

I'm still in awe at what they did. They set a milestone in history. They've emboldened and empowered other women. I couldn't admire them more for what they've done for all of us.

Not that I believe this to be the case, but is there a possible theory that Bridget Phillipson (or even someone more senior) is actually playing the longest game possible and ensuring the guidance is completely and utterly watertight, in order that we can all just move on with clear rules and examples and there can't be yet another tedious round of whataboutery and wilful misunderstanding?

Does anyone in this government (or the last, I hold all parties in equal contempt) have a long game? They twist and writhe around pressure from parliamentary activists and the loudest voiced public opinions like the bunch of noodles they truly are.

The long game relates to after dinner speech circuit and a column in a suitable paper, as far as I can tell.

Yes and not forgetting the podcasts.
I've been thinking of names for the inevitable Nicola Sturgeon winge fest. Possibilities: WIAARAEECDO -Why I Am Always Right And Everyone Else Can Do One, or YIAFRB -Youse Is All Fascist, Racist Bigots. My favourite: HEEHAW -Her Election Effectively Harmed All Women.

This article has made it onto the usual Reddit.

The venom is palpable.

Does anyone have a share token for the Alternative Honours article please?

@DuchessofReality here
https://www.thetimes.com/article/f653feb0-dd6e-4067-809b-771bd3508003?shareToken=44654d5d2c685794904fe1786d99be18

Here's the archive link for the first article in the OP, and the second one is just archiving now.

archive.ph/UARCU

Wasn't sure where to put this, it kind of fits here:
https://www.thetimes.com/article/d848a987-86d3-4f0c-8622-a21ab3d94118?shareToken=b5ba829d9361c3f347f3440c7fd51ab3