Thread by @Womans_Place_UK

An anniversary thread

Today marks four years since our first meeting in Cambridge, 23rd November 2017.

Even at this very first event, we had to overcome significant and sustained attempts to obstruct our organising. /1

womansplaceuk.org/2021/11/23/wom…

The impetus for this meeting came when Linda Bellos was ‘uninvited’ by a student society of a Cambridge college at which she had been due to speak.

We decided to invite her to speak in Cambridge and we were honoured when she agreed. /2
varsity.co.uk/news/13638

In the weeks leading up to the event, we heard of more women being shunned, intimidated, smeared and silenced for their views about gender and we asked them to speak too.

Helen Steel had been threatened at the Anarchist Bookfair. /3

helensteel12.wordpress.com/2017/11/22/my-…

Anne Ruzylo was subjected to an orchestrated campaign against her, prompting the entire executive committee of her Constituency Labour Party to resign in solidarity. /4 thetimes.co.uk/article/labour…

Just days before the meeting, Heather Brunskell-Evans was placed under investigation by the Women’s Equality Party. She came to the meeting and spoke without any notice at the event. /5 thetimes.co.uk/article/barred…

The meeting was a great success despite efforts to obstruct the event including vexatious bookings and complaints to the venue.

All three of the planned speakers were filmed and gave powerful speeches that moved and angered those present. /6 economist.com/britain/2017/1…

Linda Bellos spoke about her history in the movement as well as her preparedness to defend herself if attacked.

She later successfully defended herself against legal action for comments she made at a different meeting in York. /7

Helen Steel spoke movingly of the relentless abuse women are subjected to in our daily lives & how it restricts our freedom. /8

Anne Ruzylo spoke about her experiences of working in women’s prisons and the campaign to have her thrown out of the Labour Party. /9

Since then we have held 27 more public meetings across UK, 10 webinars & a conference for 1,000 people at UCL @UCLwomenslib

The meetings are open to men and women; respectful dialogue & debate are encouraged. Read a record of all our meetings here. womansplaceuk.org/2019/08/29/a-r… /10

Speakers include campaigners, women working in women's sector, academics, lawyers, journalists, sportswomen, trade unionists. Meetings have been subjected to intimidation, aggressive and abusive protests, pressure on venues to cancel & a bomb threat. /11 hastingsobserver.co.uk/news/police-in…

In the last 4 years, we have been astonished at the failure of civil, legal and political organisations to support this democratic right. You can read our submission to the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights here womansplaceuk.org/2020/01/14/wpu… /12

Our most recent meeting on women in prisons was subject to an extremely aggressive and abusive protest organised by members of the Socialist Workers Party.

The protest did not deter us.

You can see films of the speakers here /13 youtube.com/playlist?list=… #WPUKPrisons

Thank you every one who has supported our events by speaking, chairing, volunteering, donating or attending. Together, despite authoritarian & anti-democratic attempts to silence us, we have asserted the right of women to freedom of expression and the right to self-organise. /14

We are currently planning our 29th public meeting.

/End
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