Gude Cause March

(Copywrite National Library of Scotland)

The long awaited and planned for march wended its way through the streets of Edinburgh yesterday. Estimates for numbers marching varied from 2500 – 3500. I overheard someone say the police thought there was around the 3000 mark.

The event commemorated the 1909 suffragette march where the theme was votes for women. Yesterday the organisers divided participants into three sections.

Violet was for the past which had women dressed in Edwardian outfits, one example being the woman representing Shetland women's suffrage.

White represented the present with groups who are working for women’s equality in all sorts of fields.

Green was for the future, mostly younger people who are doing exciting things in single and mixed sex groups.

The Auld Reekie Roller Girls took the prize for 'attitude', while the Youth Parliament were probably loudest in their calls for votes for 16 year olds.

In amongst all this were several bands and a large choir singing protest songs from the official Gude Cause song book.
http://www.protestinharmony.org.uk/songs/Gude_Cause/index.htm
Some progress can be claimed compared to 100 years ago. The suffragettes could only dream that policewomen would lead a march, the city council would be led by a woman councillor and speeches given by women elected to a devolved Scottish parliament, while women architects, builders and drummers would all turn up and support the event. We can never over estimate the debt we owe our feminist foremothers for what they achieved on our behalf in many cases through great personal sacrifice. But here’s why we still need to campaign.
http://www.gudecause.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/elspeth-king-edinburgh-women-suffrage-procession.pdf

The original march was led by a nine year old girl piper and this was replicated yesterday by Louise Marshall Millington.
However, right at the front, two mounted women police officers rode in advance of the sea of violet, white and green following behind. Green, white and violet were chosen as the suffragette colours standing for “Give Women the Vote”.
Thanks and congratulations are due the organisers for the work they put in over the last two years to make this event such a success. While the whole day was memorable, some things stand out. The elderly woman who stopped me in the street and told me her grandmother was in the original march and had been a militant suffragette, not a wishy washy suffragist!

The young woman who insisted on confessing her feelings of guilt about having never voted. All I could do was to encourage her to just pick a party to vote for or at the very least write something on her ballot slip.

The two young lads who were part of the student film crew who were so excited at the opportunity to be involved in recording the event and be part of this history.

The film director co-ordinating the filming (above) and who had the inspirational idea to have films and pictures uploaded online to make a permanent record. She also brought along media students who were positioned along the route to do interviews with people on the march.

The young Events student who told me she volunteers for everything she can get involved with, but this was the best yet. Another elderly woman who said in wonder that she hadn’t known there were Scottish suffragettes far less that they were so active in the movement. Here is one group trying to prevent our herstory being hidden from us.

Meeting many, many old pals who I just knew would be there. And the realisation, when seeing the massed ranks of long standing feminists from all walks of life in Scotland, how fortunate we are to have such dedicated women making a difference in academia, politics, VAW, education, business, commerce and everywhere in our society including the Public Safety Officer overseeing the event from the City of Edinburgh Council - a professional young woman who stopped to chat to me about her role.

I tried to photograph as many of the wonderful banners as possible before the march set off. Here are a few.

Aren't we all?

Politicians were out in force, with a sizeable contingent of Greens, Labour, SSP and at least three banners from the SNP. The march stopped outside the City Chambers in the High Street to hear words from the leader of City of Edinburgh Council, Jenny Dawe.

The march ended at the top of Calton Hill with speeches and singing. Cathy Peattie MSP led us in singing Bread and Roses, the traditional protest song on these occasions. Fiona Hyslop, Minister for Education spoke of the need for gender equality and the Gude Cause Chairwoman read out messages of support from feminists across the world.

I think that everyone who got dressed up, made banners, or simply turned up and marched should be proud of themselves for making women's equality in Scotland just a little bit closer.