Sadiq Khan and Caroline Criado-Perez: Why Parliament Square’s New Statue Is A Historic Moment For Us All

'It’s simply not right that a century after women’s suffrage, Parliament Square is still a male-only zone for statues' writes the Mayor of London

Why The Statue Of Millicent Fawcett Matters

Published on17th April 2018 at 10.44am

This year is a momentous one in the history of the struggle for gender equality as we mark the centenary of the first women in the UK securing the right to vote.

Milestones like this are a time to look back and celebrate how far we have come and the huge achievements that have been made. But it is also a time to acknowledge how far we still have to go.

One glaring omission to the progress we have seen over the last 100 years is the lack of statues of the great women who have helped shape the course of history for the better. Currently, less than three per cent of statues across the UK are of historical, non-royal women.

In particular, it’s simply not right that a century after women’s suffrage, Parliament Square is still a male-only zone for statues. So – following support from thousands of people across the country - we are doing something about it. Next week, on 24 April, the first-ever statue of a woman in Parliament Square will be unveiled.

The statue of Millicent Fawcett, the suffragist leader and courageous campaigner, has been created by Turner Prize-winning artist Gillian Wearing OBE. This statue will not only be the first-ever monument of a woman to stand in Parliament Square, but the first in this iconic location to be designed by a woman.

Millicent Fawcett will stand between Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela – two great leaders who campaigned for change and equality. There couldn’t be a better place to mark the achievements of Fawcett, right at the heart of British democracy

Statues matter - they symbolise what we stand for, our values and what we choose to celebrate. And it’s only right that we see more women celebrated in our public spaces, marking the achievements of women throughout our history.

When walking around London today, what must it do to the aspirations of girls and young women to see so few visible representations of the great women who have contributed to the success of our city?

There are so many amazing women from history who have simply been forgotten. Let’s correct this imbalance and make them visible and by doing so inspire not just our generation but the next one too.

We must do all we can to remove the remaining barriers to women’s success and to help more young people reach their full potential, not just during this momentous year but in the future too. This includes the long overdue transformation of our public spaces to reflect the women that have made such an impact.

Tuesday 24 April will be an important day – the start of a new journey. The Millicent Fawcett statue is set to be one of the most significant statues of our time and everyone from across London and the country is welcome to come and celebrate the unveiling in Parliament Square.

We look forward to this historic occasion, and hope you can join us in celebrating this landmark achievement - we hope the first of many more to come.

Millicent Fawcett will be unveiled on Tuesday 24 April, 1100 in Parliament Square. Members of the public are invited to attend, or watch online: www.london.gov.uk/courage