Scotland has shelved plans to allow people to self-declare their legal gender in what feminists said was a “major victory” for women’s rights and a “clear signal” to politicians in Westminster.

The proposals would have allowed anyone over 16 to change gender, on the same day or after a brief waiting period, by signing a declaration. Scots ministers had said they believed the current law, which demands that applicants seek a doctor’s diagnosis and live in their new gender role for two years, to be “intrusive and onerous”.

New grassroots feminist groups, organised online, sprang up to fight the plans after they were backed by Scotland’s main women’s organisation, which is 90% funded by the Scottish government.

Opponents said the proposals put women at risk