Hundreds gathered in the city centre of Glasgow as a gender recognition reform protest was met with a counter-protest formed of trans rights activists.
Standing for Women, headed by a controversial gender critic Kellie-Jay Keen – also known as Posie Parker – staged a demonstration on Sunday against the Scottish Government’s proposals.
The Gender Recognition Act was passed by a majority of MSPs in December but ground to halt after the UK Government blocked them using a Section 35 order.
A counter-protest staged by pro-reform advocates and dubbed Cabaret Against the Hate Speech took place just metres from the event, with both sides separated by a police cordon.
Speaking in George Square, Ms Keen criticised the Scottish Government over the case of Isla Bryson, who raped two women before transitioning.
Bryson was imprisoned in segregation at Cornton Vale women’s jail near Stirling upon conviction, before being moved to the male estate after a public row erupted.
As part of the Standing for Women event Ms Keen addressed the crowd.
She told those at the protest: “In your own lives, you cannot be heard… you feel like you cannot speak,” adding that women have told her “the state is gaslighting them”.
She added: “The watershed is finally here.
“From this moment on, we are not afraid, we will not be quiet, we will let women speak.”
On the other side of the square at the counter-protest, attendees waved flags, danced and sang in support of the right to self-identification.
A representative from the LGBT charity The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence read aloud the Dylan Thomas poem Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, telling the crowd: “Rage against the dying of the light – that’s what we have to do here today.
“We do not have to show our rage with insults, we will respect you the more you put us down, we will show you love, because that is what our community is about – showing love, respect and tolerance.
“We will not go gently into that good night, we will be here and we will be dancing.”
Source: The Herald
