It's nearly 100 years since women were given the vote in the UK and the pivotal moment will be properly recognised at the heart of our democracy: Parliament Square. A statue of the leading suffragist campaigner Millicent Fawcett is to be erected in the central London square, making her the first woman to be celebrated in this way.
The move follows a campaign by Caroline Criado-Perez, who also successfully pushed for a woman to be included on a bank note. She began her campaign in May 2016 and the accompanying change.org petition garnered nearly 85,000 signatures.
Gillian Wearing's sculpture of Millicent Fawcett for Parliament Square #art #sculpture #publicart https://t.co/A2m7KgSSWv
— CityLit FAD London (@CityLitFoundAD) September 20, 2017
The bronze statue, designed by Gillian Wearing, will show Fawcett at age 50 holding a placard reading "courage calls to courage everywhere", which she read following the death of the famous suffragette Emily Davison, who died after being hit by King George V's horse when she walked onto the track at the Epsom Derby in 1913, the Evening Standard reported.
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Work on the statue will start later this year, with the aim of it being completed in time for the centenary of the 1918 Representation of the People Act. Criado-Perez shared her delight at the news on Twitter, saying she was felling "ALL THE EMOTIONS".
FIRST STATUE OF A WOMAN IN PARLIAMENT SQUARE IS HAPPENING. FIRST STATUE BY A WOMAN IN PARLIAMENT SQUARE IS HAPPENING. WE. WON! !!!! ???????
— Caroline CriadoPerez (@CCriadoPerez) September 19, 2017
Just sinking in. International women's day 2016 I went for a run in parliament square. Noticed the lack of female statues.
— Caroline CriadoPerez (@CCriadoPerez) September 19, 2017
And today, we're getting one ??? thank you SO MUCH to @Samsmethers @Dannythefink @MayorofLondon who I couldn't have done this without
— Caroline CriadoPerez (@CCriadoPerez) September 19, 2017
In a statement, the Mayor of London and "proud feminist" Sadiq Khan called the move "long overdue" and said he was pleased to give the project the go-ahead after Westminster City Council approved the proposal.
"This will be one of the most momentous and significant statues of our time and I know that Gillian Wearing’s exceptional talent and unique insight will do great justice to the movement and Millicent Fawcett’s legacy."
JUST ANNOUNCED: plans for the Millicent Fawcett statue, the first ever of a woman in Parliament Square, are approved https://t.co/8DDZYvLnHP
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) September 19, 2017
The aim of the statue is to "depict the strength and determination of the women who dedicated their lives to the fight for women’s suffrage and to inspire many generations to come," Khan added. It will stand alongside other famous figures including Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Winston Churchill.
Women's rights organisation the Fawcett Society said it was "long overdue" but "absolutely right" that the campaigner be commemorated with a statue. “She made it her lifetime's work to secure votes for women.”