Nicola Sturgeon was booed and subjected to chants of ‘shame on you’ by female protesters at an International Women’s Day event yesterday.
Demonstrators angrily shouted at the former First Minister as they accused her of ‘betrayal’ over her bid to introduce controversial gender laws.
Ms Sturgeon looked shaken as she was confronted by the baying crowd on the street as she walked to the SNP’s Women’s Day celebration event in the centre of Edinburgh.
She was the architect of the Nationalists’ failed reforms which intended to make it easier for people to legally swap gender without medical involvement.
She also refused to label transgender rapist Isla Bryson a ‘man’ even though the crime of rape can only be perpetrated by a male.
Women’s rights groups allege that by advocating for looser rules over changing gender ‘at any cost’ Ms Sturgeon betrayed biological women.
Signs were waved, emblazoned with such slogans as ‘women want our stuff back’, ‘woman=adult human female’, ‘stop self-ID by the back door’.
However, Ms Sturgeon ignored the protest staged outside the SNP event as she walked straight into the meeting.
Ms Sturgeon was the architect of the Nationalists’ failed gender law reforms which would have made it easier to transition
On Saturday, Ms Sturgeon was faced by a wall of protestors who claim she has betrayed women over her bid to introduce controversial gender laws
First Minister John Swinney also attended the event, but didn’t face protests and stopped to chat to the demonstrators.
Concern over people ‘self-identifying’ as the opposite gender has intensified in recent weeks thanks to a landmark employment tribunal involving NHS Fife.
Nurse Sandie Peggie was suspended by the health board after she challenged the presence of Dr Beth Upton, who was born a biological man, in the women-only changing rooms at the Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy.
She is arguing at an ongoing tribunal in Dundee that being forced to change next to Dr Upton broke the Equality Act.
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay has said the situation is ‘a direct consequence and legacy of Nicola Sturgeon’s gender self ID legislation’.
Last night, Susan Smith of campaign group For Women Scotland said: ‘Nicola Sturgeon betrayed so many women with her wholehearted embrace of self-ID and her pig-headed determination to push gender recognition reform at any cost.
‘Not only did she refuse to talk to critics, she went out of her way to lie about women’s rights activists, including members of her own party and exposed them to threats of violence.
‘Her laughable claim to be a feminist only rubbed salt in the wound.’
The group of demonstrators held a number of signs including one that read: ‘Woman = adult human female’
The former First Minister arrived with an SNP strategist who was wearing a ‘choose love’ top
She added: ‘The unlawful self ID policies introduced in schools, hospitals and elsewhere during her tenure as FM have done incalculable damage and now have to be fought in court.’
‘Chanting ‘shame on you’ is probably a mild expression of the disgust many women feel towards her.’
Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton MSP said: ‘Nicola Sturgeon’s time as First Minister will be remembered for failing women and girls, so its hardly surprising that her attendance was met with a chorus of boos.
‘She shamefully dismissed women’s concerns and tried to impose her dangerous gender self-ID proposals on Scotland, that’s why the previous UK Conservative government rightly blocked it.
‘However, despite it not becoming law, the legacy of Nicola Sturgeon’s flawed plans remain embedded across Scotland’s public bodies and women like Sandie Peggie are paying a heavy price.’
Meanwhile Lucy Hunter Blackburn, a policy analyst at the Edinburgh-based think tank MurrayBlackburnMackenzie, wrote: ‘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.’
Ms Sturgeon spearheaded the Gender Recognition Reform Bill which would have removed the need for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria to obtain a gender recognition certificate and lowered the minimum age to 16.
Ms Sturgeon did not stop to speak to the protestors, although her successor John Swinney did make the time
The former First Minister shared her thoughts on International Women’s Day on Instagram. Credit: Nicola Sturgeon
The proposal was struck down by the UK Government because of concerns about the impact on UK wide equalities legislation, much to the relief of a number of SNP rebels.
She initially insisted that the enormous backlash she faced over the failed gender reforms was not the ‘final straw’ which prompted her shock resignation in March 2023.
But last year, Ms Sturgeon appeared to revise that position, telling an audience at the Charleston Literary Festival in Sussex that the abuse she received over the plans contributed to her decision to step down.
Insiders at the SNP International Women’s Day event yesterday said the room was full to bursting for Ms Sturgeon’s speech.
In an Instagram story created from the event, Ms Sturgeon wrote: ‘Lovely to spend International Women’s Day with some SNP women. Talking about what feminism and female solidarity really mean.’
