Millicent Fawcett - first woman in the square
A statue of suffragist leader Millicent Fawcett was unveiled in London’s Parliament Square — the first statue of a woman to reside in the famous square.
The Fawcett statue joins 11 of men in the square, including Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi.
Two years ago, feminist campaigner Caroline Criado Perez went for a run on International Women’s Day. Weaving through the statues on Parliament Square she had a sudden and depressing realisation: they were all, to a man, of men.
It was Criado Perez's efforts that made it possible for the female statue to address the issue of gender discrimination and public recognition for the contributions made by Fawcett back in the day.
Prime Minister Theresa May — Britain’s second female leader of Parliament — was at the unveiling and said that she wouldn’t be where she was today had it not been for Fawcett, who campaigned for women’s right to vote.
“I would not be standing here today as prime minister, no female MPs would have taken their seats in Parliament, none of us would have had the right and protections we know enjoy, were it not for one truly great woman,” she said, referring to Fawcett.
