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The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht: Voices from the Front Line of Scotland's Battle for Women's Rights
On the 25th anniversary of the Scottish Parliament, this book captures an important moment in contemporary history: how a grassroots women’s movement, harking back to the suffragettes and second wave feminists of the 1970s and 1980s, took on the political establishment – and changed the course of history.
Through a collection of over thirty essays and photographs, some of the women involved tell the story of the five-year campaign to protect women’s sex-based rights. Author J.K. Rowling explains why she used her global reach to stand up for women. Leading SNP MP Joanna Cherry writes of how she risked her political career for her beliefs. Survivors of male violence who MSPs refused to meet are given the voice they were denied at Holyrood. Ash Regan MSP recounts what it was like to become the first government minister to resign on a question of principle since the SNP came to power in 2007. Former prison governor Rhona Hotchkiss charts how changes in prison policy in Scotland led to the controversy over Isla Bryson.
It is the story of women who risked their job, reputation, even the bonds of family and friendship, to make their voices heard, and ended up – unexpectedly – contributing to the downfall of Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first woman first minister.
Above all, it is the story of the women who wouldn’t wheesht.
Through a collection of over thirty essays and photographs, some of the women involved tell the story of the five-year campaign to protect women’s sex-based rights. Author J.K. Rowling explains why she used her global reach to stand up for women. Leading SNP MP Joanna Cherry writes of how she risked her political career for her beliefs. Survivors of male violence who MSPs refused to meet are given the voice they were denied at Holyrood. Ash Regan MSP recounts what it was like to become the first government minister to resign on a question of principle since the SNP came to power in 2007. Former prison governor Rhona Hotchkiss charts how changes in prison policy in Scotland led to the controversy over Isla Bryson.
It is the story of women who risked their job, reputation, even the bonds of family and friendship, to make their voices heard, and ended up – unexpectedly – contributing to the downfall of Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first woman first minister.
Above all, it is the story of the women who wouldn’t wheesht.
375 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 30, 2024
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572 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
May 31, 2024
Fabulous a must read
A very good series of essays about the fight to protect women's rights in Scotland but we must remember it's not over yet.
For women's rights are human rights
We won't let you forget
For women's rights are human rights this isn't over yet.
A very good series of essays about the fight to protect women's rights in Scotland but we must remember it's not over yet.
For women's rights are human rights
We won't let you forget
For women's rights are human rights this isn't over yet.
May 31, 2024
An utterly compelling read. Incredibly moving and a disturbingly accurate portrayal of recent events in Scotland and the chilling effect that the Scottish Government’s crazy “progressive” policies have had on so many strong, smart women fighting for and speaking up to protect the rights of women and girls.
January 1, 2025
How did Nicola Sturgeon go from condemning mixed-sex hospital wards to heckling "shame" at anyone who did? How were changes to the census proposed without consulting the researchers who use the data?
This collection of essays serves as a series of snapshots of 2018-2023. (There's a timeline!) I appreciated that some of the chapters had screenshots of some of the tweets being referenced, though this isn't primarily a story of gender battles online (we have Jane Clare Jones's excellent "Annals of the Terf Wars" for that). I would have liked to see the "Sex and the Census" thread included, however.
The highlights for me were Iseult White drawing paralells between Scotland and Ireland, the first chapter which talks about the moves of the trans activist organisations of the 90s and 00s, and Claire Heuchan's essay.
This collection of essays serves as a series of snapshots of 2018-2023. (There's a timeline!) I appreciated that some of the chapters had screenshots of some of the tweets being referenced, though this isn't primarily a story of gender battles online (we have Jane Clare Jones's excellent "Annals of the Terf Wars" for that). I would have liked to see the "Sex and the Census" thread included, however.
The highlights for me were Iseult White drawing paralells between Scotland and Ireland, the first chapter which talks about the moves of the trans activist organisations of the 90s and 00s, and Claire Heuchan's essay.
June 7, 2024
And we still won't wheesht
This book details the right for women's right in modern Scotland and the price paid,. To quote Johann Lamont 'I am forced to watch as the reality of women's lives is stripped out of our language, our health care, and our personal safety '. Every single wonderful women in this book have been affected by this issue and has stood up and fought back along with thousands of Scottish women. The battle may have been won but the war continues and we must stand firm and say we won't wheest
This book details the right for women's right in modern Scotland and the price paid,. To quote Johann Lamont 'I am forced to watch as the reality of women's lives is stripped out of our language, our health care, and our personal safety '. Every single wonderful women in this book have been affected by this issue and has stood up and fought back along with thousands of Scottish women. The battle may have been won but the war continues and we must stand firm and say we won't wheest
June 22, 2024
I rarely write reviews and I don't often read non fiction but the issues around gender identity & women's rights is one I've become more engaged with and inquisitive about over the last few years. This is because I've seen a few vulnerable and not so vulnerable young people either take body changing hormones or mutilate their bodies with irreversible surgery. Not only through my work in the NHS (thankfully I'm now retired) but also with adult children of friends.
I had no idea what TERF meant until about 18 months ago and I still struggle with the term 'Gender Critical', when I see myself as a biology realist.
I have no issue how adults choose to live as long as they do no harm and other groups are not adversely affected by their demands. I do however worry about vulnerable children and adults being exposed to this ideology without proper safeguarding
What I realised early on was that I was expected to just accept that my language and opinions are being criticised by those heavily invested in trans rights & thier advocates. In fact it was a subject not to be debated!
For the sake of wider friendships I've had to bite my tongue on more than one occasion when my pronoun use has been ''policed' at gatherings & strong opinions around the rights of trans were voiced as fact not just opinions.
Shamefully I stayed quiet for too long & interestingly once I offered my opinion it was refreshing to realise I'm not the only person in my friendships group who has deep misgivings about how this 'trans' ideology has catapulted into the public arena and undermined women's rights in particular
Onto the book
I'd recommend this book to all women interested in not allowing the watering down of our hard fought rights
I couldn't put the book down, its compelling reading the voices of women at the sharp end of the struggle.
Its shocking to realise how easy it is for politicians to be captured by ideology & then draft poorly researched laws. (I'm obviously naive about this).
Thank goodness for amazing brave women who spoke out often at great personal cost.
It's quite clear there are more battles ahead, we need to carry on advocating for our single sex spaces for the sake of our daughters and vulnerable women & vulnerable children
There wouldn't need to be 'battles' if debate was allowed but sadly the whole subject has become toxic and 'no debate' seems to be the usual very fixed position from trans advocates who try to shut down women's voices at every opportunity
I had no idea what TERF meant until about 18 months ago and I still struggle with the term 'Gender Critical', when I see myself as a biology realist.
I have no issue how adults choose to live as long as they do no harm and other groups are not adversely affected by their demands. I do however worry about vulnerable children and adults being exposed to this ideology without proper safeguarding
What I realised early on was that I was expected to just accept that my language and opinions are being criticised by those heavily invested in trans rights & thier advocates. In fact it was a subject not to be debated!
For the sake of wider friendships I've had to bite my tongue on more than one occasion when my pronoun use has been ''policed' at gatherings & strong opinions around the rights of trans were voiced as fact not just opinions.
Shamefully I stayed quiet for too long & interestingly once I offered my opinion it was refreshing to realise I'm not the only person in my friendships group who has deep misgivings about how this 'trans' ideology has catapulted into the public arena and undermined women's rights in particular
Onto the book
I'd recommend this book to all women interested in not allowing the watering down of our hard fought rights
I couldn't put the book down, its compelling reading the voices of women at the sharp end of the struggle.
Its shocking to realise how easy it is for politicians to be captured by ideology & then draft poorly researched laws. (I'm obviously naive about this).
Thank goodness for amazing brave women who spoke out often at great personal cost.
It's quite clear there are more battles ahead, we need to carry on advocating for our single sex spaces for the sake of our daughters and vulnerable women & vulnerable children
There wouldn't need to be 'battles' if debate was allowed but sadly the whole subject has become toxic and 'no debate' seems to be the usual very fixed position from trans advocates who try to shut down women's voices at every opportunity
June 9, 2024
This is required reading for anyone who thinks that those who don't subscribe to gender ideology are, by definition, transphobic. As becomes obvious, it's the reverse - the trans zealots are misogynist to their core. If you read this in a dystopian novel, you would laugh and say it could never happen in a Western democracy, but what has happened to women in Scotland (and everywhere) in this context is no laughing matter.
June 25, 2024
Would give zero stars if possible
I read this when I was asked to review it for Bella Caledonia (where I’ve said a lot more). In a nutshell, it’s as bad as I thought it would be. It’s like reading screeds of extended, mean-spirited, Twitter ramblings. No nuance. No compassion. No intelligent arguments. If you raise your pitch fork over my right to say I disliked a book, maybe you don’t really believe in free speech?
I read this when I was asked to review it for Bella Caledonia (where I’ve said a lot more). In a nutshell, it’s as bad as I thought it would be. It’s like reading screeds of extended, mean-spirited, Twitter ramblings. No nuance. No compassion. No intelligent arguments. If you raise your pitch fork over my right to say I disliked a book, maybe you don’t really believe in free speech?
June 14, 2024
An absolutely blazing read, and a really important historical record.
June 29, 2024
An absolute must read for anyone who wants to understand how quickly women’s rights can be dismantled and how brave this disparate group of women were l
June 18, 2024
Brilliant collection of memoirs and essays from the women who stood up to the rise of toxic gender ideology in Scotland. This should be mandatory reading for all politicians in the UK - when women say no, listen.
July 3, 2024
A collection of essays which, in the main, chronicle the grassroots opposition to, and the SNP’s fixation on, the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, and its jaw-droppingly undemocratic passage through Holyrood (it was eventually blocked by Whitehall), and the Adam Graham/Isla Bryson debacle that showed up the bill for how flawed, unscientific and potentially threatening to women’s safety it was.
But the book is also about the strange times we live in, where ideology is permitted a stranglehold on empirical facts, language is bastardised and shorn of meaning to suit the needs of echo-chamber agendas.
How thinktanks and pressure groups stifle meaningful political debate, infiltrate academia and cultivate a culture of fear to dissuade dissenters.
How the internet can be a tool of hate-mongers and bullies, but also a means by which the grassroots can organise.
How identifying as female doesn’t stop men from doing what men have always sought to do: silence women.
And how, ultimately, there is no greater force than women bonding together in common purpose.
But the book is also about the strange times we live in, where ideology is permitted a stranglehold on empirical facts, language is bastardised and shorn of meaning to suit the needs of echo-chamber agendas.
How thinktanks and pressure groups stifle meaningful political debate, infiltrate academia and cultivate a culture of fear to dissuade dissenters.
How the internet can be a tool of hate-mongers and bullies, but also a means by which the grassroots can organise.
How identifying as female doesn’t stop men from doing what men have always sought to do: silence women.
And how, ultimately, there is no greater force than women bonding together in common purpose.
July 12, 2024
This is a very important book and very thorough. It is a brilliant documentation of one of the most profound and divisive conflicts sweeping the West at the moment. One that shouldn’t be ignored, especially as so many women have felt entirely sidelined and ignored by it.
Only two things prevent this from being five stars. The first is repetitiveness: some of the essays covered very similar ground. Several consecutive essays told the same story of the same bill being passed through the Scottish Parliament. Different perspectives are necessary of course (especially as so many women have been affected!) but, if you want a volume on this issue with more variety, I’d recommend Sex and Gender: A Contemporary Reader by Routledge. (That one is also rigorously sourced, whereas this relies a lot more on individual experience. Nothing wrong with that either, but worth noting.)
The second is occasional throwaway remarks that I didn’t agree with. I agree with this book’s content in substance. There are just occasional side comments that take away from otherwise invaluable points made. For instance, in Rhona Hotchkiss’s otherwise brilliant chapter on single-sex prisons, she writes:
“…if we lived in a different society where everyone could make choices about all aspects of their lives, free from societal mores around sex roles, there would be no transgenderism because it wouldn’t be necessary. I underst[an]d that there [are] a few - a very few - men whose hatred of their male bodies was so extreme as to drive them to seek surgery to excise their offending body parts and replace them with s simulacrum of something more acceptable. I regard it as being akin to any other apotemnophilia…”
The observation that transgenderism would ‘disappear’ if sex roles were changed is surely a gross misunderstanding of gender dysphoria. It is a legitimate condition which causes massive distress. It’s not something that can be wished away simply by sex roles being dismantled. Her following description of these ‘men’ also comes across as unsympathetic in tone, as well as ignoring that there are female-born trans men too.
I am a firm believer in keeping prisons single-sex - especially when dealing with violent male rapists who have only transitioned post-conviction - so this chapter usually had me nodding along with it! It was just that part which temporarily put me off.
Those little side comments are few and far between thankfully. There is a brief reference to Kellie Jay-Keen being unfairly penalised for something banal - they neglect to mention her far more questionable conduct: https://x.com/LGBwiththeT/status/1793....
The women in this book are NOT like her mercifully! What’s lovely is that these women are instead calling for democratic debate and discussion, and most of them do show sympathy and awareness of trans people’s existence.
The most valuable thing in this volume is clear testimony that Nicola Sturgeon has a lot to answer for. She presided over an SNP era where women were silenced, belittled and bullied with little to no apology, and any dissent from the Nicola-sanctioned SNP orthodoxy was crushed. Joanna Cherry (Chapter 17), Ash Regan (Chapter 23) and Elaine Miller are the most revealing on this. It’s just awful. The level of toxicity in this debate is horrendous towards women who simply want to preserve the right to single-sex spaces. See also Lucy Hunter Blackburn’s chapter (25) on the incredibly unprofessional behaviour when the GRR Bill was being debated, and the Afterword’s succinct summary.
J.K. Rowling’s essay is also magnificent and full of nuance (as expected), as are those by Shereen Benjamin and Nicole Jones who I am privileged to have met. My docking a star is not a reflection on those incredible women at all.
Generally very good!
Only two things prevent this from being five stars. The first is repetitiveness: some of the essays covered very similar ground. Several consecutive essays told the same story of the same bill being passed through the Scottish Parliament. Different perspectives are necessary of course (especially as so many women have been affected!) but, if you want a volume on this issue with more variety, I’d recommend Sex and Gender: A Contemporary Reader by Routledge. (That one is also rigorously sourced, whereas this relies a lot more on individual experience. Nothing wrong with that either, but worth noting.)
The second is occasional throwaway remarks that I didn’t agree with. I agree with this book’s content in substance. There are just occasional side comments that take away from otherwise invaluable points made. For instance, in Rhona Hotchkiss’s otherwise brilliant chapter on single-sex prisons, she writes:
“…if we lived in a different society where everyone could make choices about all aspects of their lives, free from societal mores around sex roles, there would be no transgenderism because it wouldn’t be necessary. I underst[an]d that there [are] a few - a very few - men whose hatred of their male bodies was so extreme as to drive them to seek surgery to excise their offending body parts and replace them with s simulacrum of something more acceptable. I regard it as being akin to any other apotemnophilia…”
The observation that transgenderism would ‘disappear’ if sex roles were changed is surely a gross misunderstanding of gender dysphoria. It is a legitimate condition which causes massive distress. It’s not something that can be wished away simply by sex roles being dismantled. Her following description of these ‘men’ also comes across as unsympathetic in tone, as well as ignoring that there are female-born trans men too.
I am a firm believer in keeping prisons single-sex - especially when dealing with violent male rapists who have only transitioned post-conviction - so this chapter usually had me nodding along with it! It was just that part which temporarily put me off.
Those little side comments are few and far between thankfully. There is a brief reference to Kellie Jay-Keen being unfairly penalised for something banal - they neglect to mention her far more questionable conduct: https://x.com/LGBwiththeT/status/1793....
The women in this book are NOT like her mercifully! What’s lovely is that these women are instead calling for democratic debate and discussion, and most of them do show sympathy and awareness of trans people’s existence.
The most valuable thing in this volume is clear testimony that Nicola Sturgeon has a lot to answer for. She presided over an SNP era where women were silenced, belittled and bullied with little to no apology, and any dissent from the Nicola-sanctioned SNP orthodoxy was crushed. Joanna Cherry (Chapter 17), Ash Regan (Chapter 23) and Elaine Miller are the most revealing on this. It’s just awful. The level of toxicity in this debate is horrendous towards women who simply want to preserve the right to single-sex spaces. See also Lucy Hunter Blackburn’s chapter (25) on the incredibly unprofessional behaviour when the GRR Bill was being debated, and the Afterword’s succinct summary.
J.K. Rowling’s essay is also magnificent and full of nuance (as expected), as are those by Shereen Benjamin and Nicole Jones who I am privileged to have met. My docking a star is not a reflection on those incredible women at all.
Generally very good!
August 14, 2025
A great insight into the dismantling of women’s rights in Scotland with no critical thinking or debate or consideration of the electorate in Scotland. The demise of Nicola Sturgeon who chose the hill of trans activism to die on.Her self proclaimed feminism sticks like a craw in the throat. We live in an absolutely mad mad world right now, so from the bottom of my heart thank you to all those women who chose to battle at sometimes very heavy personal cost. I salute your wisdom, bravery, sharp minds, passion and courage ❤️
June 26, 2024
Compulsive reading.
Am important piece of work that really brings home how politics is played behind our backs. The sheer scale of the manipulation is gross.
Am important piece of work that really brings home how politics is played behind our backs. The sheer scale of the manipulation is gross.
July 20, 2024
I agree with many other reviewers that this is a compelling read. It is truly written, compiled and published by a Scottish Enlightenment of Women who raised their heads above the parapet to tell the truth and expose those politicians with their gaslighting, Orwellian tactics. Shame on those in government who thought it acceptable. Spoiler alert: they have now lost a lot of seats in their constituencies.
September 15, 2024
Draws together many stories of recent events, giving a full picture of the madness that has grasped society and organisations all in the name of supposed “kindness” when in effect the result is the exact opposite, with women being persecuted and attacked. Thanks to these brave women and the many others in Scotland and further afield, woman will continue to fight for their basic rights in what can be a very hostile society, despite the attempts to subdue and force them to wheesht.
January 30, 2025
This was an interesting read if you appreciate works by hate driven, rabidly anti-LGBTQ extremists like Dalgety and Rowling. Do some research, many of these authors have eagerly espoused the anti LGBTQ movement, preaching hate and bigotry and against that community, particularly the trans community.
July 19, 2024
Everyone should read this.
September 20, 2024
Thank you
What a whirlwind of a book. It will go down in history as the triumph of women over political nonsense but at what price? Thank you for this record of events.
What a whirlwind of a book. It will go down in history as the triumph of women over political nonsense but at what price? Thank you for this record of events.
August 16, 2025
3.5 stars. Very readable ("Just one more chapter...) but unavoidably repetitive, given that it's made up of accounts of the same time period in politics by those who were involved. There's a range of voices, but it does veer very much towards LGB and socialist representation. Mostly the language is very trans-respectful, but there are points where the anger leads authors to hyperbole or parody.
It's striking how many women in this book thought that the self ID thing was just an oversight and that those pushing for it would be responsive, maybe even grateful, to anyone who pointed out the glaring conflict between women's rights and self ID, only to find those people *would not* listen; they were all-in ideologically, and would not countenance even the gentlest pushback against the idea that trans women are literally women and should be treated as such in all contexts.
This battle may be over, but the gender wars continue. I was rather shocked this week to find that Scottish women's prisons *still* hold some males, and as the book confirms, this is still the Scottish Prison Service policy. But there's "no evidence" (because none has ever been collected) that this presents a threat to female prisoners. There's none so blind as those that will not see.
It's striking how many women in this book thought that the self ID thing was just an oversight and that those pushing for it would be responsive, maybe even grateful, to anyone who pointed out the glaring conflict between women's rights and self ID, only to find those people *would not* listen; they were all-in ideologically, and would not countenance even the gentlest pushback against the idea that trans women are literally women and should be treated as such in all contexts.
This battle may be over, but the gender wars continue. I was rather shocked this week to find that Scottish women's prisons *still* hold some males, and as the book confirms, this is still the Scottish Prison Service policy. But there's "no evidence" (because none has ever been collected) that this presents a threat to female prisoners. There's none so blind as those that will not see.
February 18, 2025
Overall an excellent read but there is (understandably given that the essays are penned by individuals taking part in the same groups, attending the same meetings, etc.) a lot of repetition of some of the key events covered here. What is striking (and important) is the range of voices contributing to this collection.
August 24, 2024
I am still amazed how few of my female friends are aware of all the is occurring in the world of women’s rights. I would suggest all should read/listen to this
August 7, 2024
Cried from start to finish. Women are incredible and these women, ranging from working class mums to academics from a whole range of political beliefs and backgrounds, are so brave. This books clearly shows that pro-woman doesn’t equal anti-anything.
Otherwise it will mean that it is no longer allowed to be pro-woman, and that is the most misogynist, authoritarian and narrow view of all.
Hopefully there will be no rhetoric to smear and judge without even reading this book, as therein lies the actual bigotry.
The worst enemy of the suffragettes were other women. And now a hundred years on it is forgotten that suffragettes suffered so that women gained equality in society. It may be another hundred years before the women in this book are lauded as heroes but what matters is that they spoke up for what they believed in. And no free society can criticise that.
Otherwise it will mean that it is no longer allowed to be pro-woman, and that is the most misogynist, authoritarian and narrow view of all.
Hopefully there will be no rhetoric to smear and judge without even reading this book, as therein lies the actual bigotry.
The worst enemy of the suffragettes were other women. And now a hundred years on it is forgotten that suffragettes suffered so that women gained equality in society. It may be another hundred years before the women in this book are lauded as heroes but what matters is that they spoke up for what they believed in. And no free society can criticise that.
June 21, 2025
I’ve followed a lot of the press on this, but still found some of these women’s stories quite incredible. You couldn’t make it up. Well done to them for their awareness of the issues, articulating what their concerns are, and for standing by their principles.
Some chapters I found harder to read than others - a lot of references to organizations I hadn’t heard of, and some repetition due to the nature of the book. But overall I think it’s great that this record of all these experiences exists in one place.
Some chapters I found harder to read than others - a lot of references to organizations I hadn’t heard of, and some repetition due to the nature of the book. But overall I think it’s great that this record of all these experiences exists in one place.
July 2, 2024
Well done Scotland!
August 11, 2024
A must-read in these horrible times in which women live in! It is a book to defend women's rights and never ever in this book there is an attack against trans...
November 21, 2024
This is a must read to learn how women's sex based rights have been annihilated by selfID and how woman in Scotland fought back.
March 2, 2025
Tough to understand certain parts if you don’t understand the nuances of the Scottish political process, but still an excellent read.
June 2, 2025
Deeply powerful, compelling.
June 29, 2024
Ik vind het lastig om dit boek een rating te geven. Aan de ene kant is dit boek duidelijk over zijn boodschap: vrouwen zullen niet zwijgen. Er zullen altijd vrouwen zijn die zullen spreken tegen ogenschijnlijk onrecht.
Het boek geeft ook een goede en duidelijke tijdlijn van de feministische ontwikkelingen in Schotland de afgelopen 5 jaar. Met name op het gebied van Self-ID.
De opbouw van kleinere essays door verschillende vrouwen geeft een fijne structuur, die makkelijk weg te lezen is.
Maar aan de andere kant, zijn de verhalen en argumenten erg eenzijdig. (Ik weet dat dat de bedoeling van dit boek is, maar toch.)
En veel van de vrouwen in het boek klagen dat ze monddood worden gemaakt, terwijl ze nog regelmatig columns, blogs en boeken schrijven.
Al met al is The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht een intrigerend boek dat belangrijke discussies aanwakkert, maar tegelijkertijd een bredere blik op het debat mist.
Het boek geeft ook een goede en duidelijke tijdlijn van de feministische ontwikkelingen in Schotland de afgelopen 5 jaar. Met name op het gebied van Self-ID.
De opbouw van kleinere essays door verschillende vrouwen geeft een fijne structuur, die makkelijk weg te lezen is.
Maar aan de andere kant, zijn de verhalen en argumenten erg eenzijdig. (Ik weet dat dat de bedoeling van dit boek is, maar toch.)
En veel van de vrouwen in het boek klagen dat ze monddood worden gemaakt, terwijl ze nog regelmatig columns, blogs en boeken schrijven.
Al met al is The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht een intrigerend boek dat belangrijke discussies aanwakkert, maar tegelijkertijd een bredere blik op het debat mist.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews