The first national meeting of the pro-independence women’s group since the referendum attracted one thousand activists

"We're not going back to our sofas" - Women for Independence in Perth

Q: What do a thousand galvanised women who are not going back to their sofas look like?

A: See below

On Saturday, one of the oldest (since 2012) and still non-aligned pro-independence groups, Women for Independence, held its first sold-out national conference in Perth.

The purpose was two-fold: to celebrate all that WfI had achieved over the campaign, and then to discuss what next.

The what-next part included if and how to get involved in the Smith Commission on more devolution powers, whether to join with other groups like the Labour-backed 50:50 representation campaign, and what powers and issues to focus on in the months and years to come.

The atmosphere was, by all accounts, amazing. Media were not invited, but you can read a first-hand account from The Indy Quines here.

As a woman, I’m gutted I couldn’t be there. As a journalist, I think it’s fair enough to want to keep the space safe and - like they telt me in group therapy - boundaried. Anyhow, it was perfectly possible to speak to folk about it afterwards, because there are phones.

Sue Lyon, 50, a working mother of five from the Highlands, explained:

I’ve always described myself as politically aware and a feminist, but I didn’t go to university and I’ve never been a member of a political party, so it was always in my own wee world. I’ve never had an outlet for that, but Women for Independence have given me a place and given definition to those beliefs.

What is really powerful is making me and women like me believe we have a voice.

Nikii Hall, 47, also a working mother and from Scone in Perthshire, ended up as the day’s unofficial photographer after the official one was unavoidably detained. There’s collaboration.

You can view her fine work here, and not HERE because I am an independent woman who cannot upload from Flickr. I think Destiny’s Child wrote a song about that.

Hall, a long-time SNP supporter, told me that she had not been to a WfI event before this one.

I came for healing [laughs], but also to talk about where to go now. The speakers were fabulous, including those from the floor. I think it was cathartic for a lot of women there, some of whom had only made up their minds to vote yes a few weeks before the referendum.

The age range at the Perth conference was vast, from teenaged schoolgirls to a 90 year old who had been active in the 1979 referendum campaign.



But, reflecting what Sue Lyons said, WfI co-founder Kate Higgins notes a significant number of women from their mid-40s to late 60s: “We attracted women who are otherwise invisible.”

These are women who don’t realise their power, and when they got together you could feel the tremors.

The group is now analysing responses to a detailed questionnaire about next moves, most urgently with respect to the Smith process.

Higgins adds: “The vested interests and the politicians give a sense of ‘you’ve brought us this far, we’ll take it from here’, but these women are not going back to their sofas.