PROUD Colchester women joined hundreds of others in Parliament Square as the statue of suffragist leader Millicent Fawcett was unveiled.

Firstsite director Sally Shaw was on the commissioning group invited to be part of the panel of specialists who shortlisted artists to create the monument.

The statue, funded by the Government’s £5 million Women’s Votes Centenary Grant, is the first ever of a woman and to have been created by a woman, to stand within the square.

It was commissioned by the London mayor Sadiq Khan with 14-18 NOW, Firstsite and Iniva (the Institute of International Visual Art) to commemorate the centenary of the Representation of the People Act 1918.

Sally said: “Being involved in commemorating the Suffragist movement has been a profound experience and an amazing privilege.

“My fellow panel members are all incredible women and I’ve learned a great deal about how art and creativity can be a powerful tool for improving equality for everyone.”

Marking 100 years since some women won the right to vote, the statue was revealed by three generations of women - Jennifer Loehnis, a descendant of Millicent Fawcett, campaigner and activist Caroline Criado Perez, Justine Simons, the deputy mayor for culture and creative industries, and two schoolgirls.

Ms Shaw also invited ten other inspirational women from Colchester to attend the launch including Sonia Coode-Adams, councillor Julie Young, Maria Wilby, Jahanara Loqueman, Rachel Walton, Vibha Osbon, Iman Mortagy and Sue Hogan.

Ms Shaw said: “I invited people I’ve been working with in Colchester who have inspired and supported me in my work at Firstsite.

“All of them have done this in so many ways, and Firstsite would not be on its steady path to success without these women.

“They are also highly prominent leaders in Colchester in their own right and have inspired many other people through their work and through their prominent demonstration of their personal values and commitment to the support of others.”

Baroness Jenkin, the wife of Harwich and North Essex MP Bernard, whose great grandfather MP Willoughby Dickinson worked closely with Millicent Fawcett to get the legislation through, was also at the unveiling.

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