Thousands of people attended a rally in reaction to the landmark legal ruling in the United Kingdom that decided that the definition of woman within the country’s equality act is limited to biological women only.
The protesters filled Parliament Square adjacent to London’s Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey.
The head of the country’s Equality and Human Rights Commission said the ruling meant transgender women would be excluded from women’s toilets, hospital wards and sports teams. People are concerned that it signals a major winding back of transgender people’s rights.
Activists waved placards saying, “Trans Liberation” and “Trans Rights Now”, and the number of people attending reportedly caught organisers by surprise.
The Scottish government had argued that transgender women who held a gender recognition certificate should be treated as women under the law. The long running case was brought by campaigners from For Women Scotland.
The case stems from a 2018 law passed by the Scottish Parliament that called for 50 per cent of the boards of Scottish public bodies to be made up of women, but the law also recognised transgender women.
The decision has been welcomed by the British government who say it provides clarity in the law; however human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have raised alarm saying the decision opens up opportunities for transgender people to be discriminated against.
Australian campaigners who argue that Australian laws should be changed to have a similar definition have welcomed the decision.
