Kathryn Woodroof of BULS reports back from the event “Labour, The Women’s Champion” in Washwood Heath

A few Sundays ago a contingent of us BULS women went over to Washwood Heath to show our support for the local Labour candidate Mohammed Rasib. Birmingham’s Labour Party had originally intended to put forward an all-women shortlist for this ward, but following a shortage i.e. complete lack of female candidates, was forced to put forward Mr Rasib, a worthy candidate for the position nonetheless. Some of those present expressed disappointment that no woman had come forward and others anger that it was still proving difficult for women, especially Black & Minority Ethnic women, to get into politics, local or otherwise. We listened sympathetically to the thoughts and frustrations of those present, and the “women need help to get into politics” line of thought was starting to grate a little, when suddenly a young woman stood up and said that if women wanted to get into politics they should quit moaning about it and just do it. Hear hear! Councillor Anita Ward of Hodge Heath ward admitted she too disagreed with all-women shortlists and that women should be put forward as a candidate based on their ability and not their sex. Furthermore, why should a good male candidate such as Mr Rasib be rejected in favour of a woman who might not do the job as well? Sadly it is not quite as easy as all that, but it was refreshing to hear women speak out against the all-women shortlists, which are frankly insulting and ignorant of our strengths and abilities. To foster higher female and BME representation, we must firstly provide more information about how you go about standing as a local councillor, or supporting your preferred party. Young people in particular know very little about local politics and this is a barrier to participation. Following that, women need to hold more meetings like this in order to meet female MPs and councillors who have succeeded in the political arena, hear their stories and gain inspiration from them.