Nicola Sturgeon BOOED and told 'shame on you' as she attends SNP International Women's Day event
The former First Minister was booed as she attended an event hosted by the SNP in Edinburgh on Saturday to mark International Women's Day, with John Swinney also making an appearance.
Nicola Sturgeon faced a chorus of boos and heckling as she attended a closed doors SNP meeting to mark International Women's Day. A group of hardy feminist protestors demonstrated outside the SNP club in Edinburgh where the former First Minister was set to address the summit.
John Swinney already faced the demonstrators when he showed up to the event earlier on Saturday, and even spoke to For Women Scotland's Marion Calder. The Scottish Government is under immense pressure over its gender self-identification policy, with this coming to the forefront yet again north of the border.
Veteran nurse Sandie Peggie has taken NHS Fife to an employment tribunal after being forced to share a changing room with a biologically male medic, Dr Beth Upton, who is a trans woman. She is suing the health board for harassment, alleging it has breached the law when it comes to single-sex spaces.
The SNP sparked a row with feminist and gender critical campaigners when it attempted to force through gender reforms at Holyrood which would have allowed trans people to legally change gender after three months without the need of a medical certificate. Known as self-identification, this has since been adopted by Scottish public bodies.
Ms Sturgeon finally arrived to the event wearing jeans, sunglasses, red lipstick and heeled boots at just after 1pm and was booed by the gathered crowd. They also chanted "shame on you" and waved placards at her from a safe distance away.
These posters included criticism of the former First Minister's previous statements, where she insisted that she was a "feminist to her fingertips." She later angered women's rights groups throughout the country by comparing critics of gender reforms to misogynists and racists.
She was due to speak at the Nats International Women's Day meeting alongside the likes of Mr Swinney, Jenny Gilruth, Kaukab Stewart and two councillors in Simita Kumar and Vicky Nicolson. Her appearance was slated by some critics.
Lucy Hunter Blackburn, of policy group Murray Blackburn Mackenzie, said on social media: "One of the speakers at the SNP event today was the former first minister who has probably done more than any other person in Scottish politics to delegitimise the voices of women who disagree with her, on an issue affecting women."
Writer Susan Dalgety was also damning about the SNP's event. She wrote in the Scotsman: "Break out the bunting, it’s International Women’s Day, the annual global bonanza described by the United Nations as a “rallying cry to act on women’s rights”. This morning, First Minister John Swinney will gather together several high-profile female politicians and former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to celebrate the occasion.
"The three-hour meeting in central Edinburgh is open only to SNP members, and no doubt the faithful lapped up the self-congratulatory messages from Swinney and his team of self-appointed feminists. After all, as he told the Scottish Parliament on Thursday, he is 'absolutely committed to protecting and asserting the safety of women and girls in our society'.
"What his predecessor says is irrelevant. As Scotland’s first female First Minister, she had nearly a decade to prove her feminist credentials, and failed spectacularly. The sight of her struggling to describe a double rapist as male in the days before she resigned will forever remain her epitaph."
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