All-male no more London's Parliament Square gets first statue of a woman.
All-male no more London's Parliament Square gets first statue of a woman.
All-male no more London's Parliament Square gets first statue of a woman.
Decade: 2000
A statue of 19th century British feminist leader Millicent Fawcett was unveiled in Parliament Square on Tuesday (April 24), the first monument honouring a woman in a public space previously occupied by 11 statues of men.
Fawcett led campaigning for women to be given the vote in Britain, and the unveiling of the statue was the high point in a series of events marking 100 years since some women were granted that right for the first time in 1918.
Fawcett founded the National Union of Women's Suffrage and in 1866 at the age of 19 collected signatures for the first petition demanding the right for women to vote to be handed into parliament.
Prime Minister Theresa May, Britain's...
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A statue of 19th century British feminist leader Millicent Fawcett was unveiled in Parliament Square on Tuesday (April 24), the first monument honouring a woman in a public space previously occupied by 11 statues of men.
Fawcett led campaigning for women to be given the vote in Britain, and the unveiling of the statue was the high point in a series of events marking 100 years since some women were granted that right for the first time in 1918.
Fawcett founded the National Union of Women's Suffrage and in 1866 at the age of 19 collected signatures for the first petition demanding the right for women to vote to be handed into parliament.
Prime Minister Theresa May, Britain's second woman head of government, said during the unveiling ceremony that she would not be standing there today, in that role, had it not been for Fawcett's struggle.
Politicians, business leaders, feminist campaigners and schoolchildren attended the unveiling of the statue, which will stand alongside statues of mostly British statesman such as wartime prime minister Winston Churchill.
The bronze casting by artist Gillian Wearing shows Fawcett in middle age, with her head held high, gazing straight at the Houses of Parliament and holding a banner that reads "Courage calls to courage everywhere", a quote from one of her speeches.
The square, which backs onto Britain's parliament and is often a centre of political protest, also includes monuments to Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi and South African President and anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela.
- Title: All-male no more London's Parliament Square gets first statue of a woman.
- Date: 24th March 2021
- Summary: A statue of 19th century British feminist leader Millicent Fawcett was unveiled in Parliament Square on Tuesday (April 24), the first monument honouring a woman in a public space previously occupied by 11 statues of men. Fawcett led campaigning for women to be given the vote in Britain, and the unveiling of the statue was the high point in a series of events marking 100 years since some women were granted that right for the first time in 1918. Fawcett founded the National Union of Women's Suffrage and in 1866 at the age of 19 collected signatures for the first petition demanding the right for women to vote to be handed into parliament. Prime Minister Theresa May, Britain's second woman head of government, said during the unveiling ceremony that she would not be standing there today, in that role, had it not been for Fawcett's struggle. Politicians, business leaders, feminist campaigners and schoolchildren attended the unveiling of the statue, which will stand alongside statues of mostly British statesman such as wartime prime minister Winston Churchill. The bronze casting by artist Gillian Wearing shows Fawcett in middle age, with her head held high, gazing straight at the Houses of Parliament and holding a banner that reads "Courage calls to courage everywhere", a quote from one of her speeches. The square, which backs onto Britain's parliament and is often a centre of political protest, also includes monuments to Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi and South African President and anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela.
- Country:
- Collection:Reuters
- Decade:2000
- Keyword:UK, London, {Parliament Square, Millicent Fawcett, Feminist movement, National Union of Woman's Suffrage, Theresa May, Statue, Gillian Wearing, Reuters