It took until November 1918 for women over the age of 21 tobe allowed to vote in the UK. 

Up until 1975 with the introduction of the Sex DiscriminationAct 1975, women were still unable to get credit in many places as they wereseen as a credit risk.  Instances ofwomen who earned more than their husband being unable to get credit withouttheir husband’s signature were commonplace. Some female bank workers foundtheir personal accounts had been moved into a joint account by the time theyreturned from honeymoon.

The recognition of women as independent and equal has takenmany years with misogyny, abuse and sexism a daily occurrence for many.  

This is why it is so worrying that the Scottish Governmentare looking at changing the law and possibly making changes to allow any man toself-declare himself to be a woman.

It has taken hundreds of years for women to be deemed evenremotely on a par with men in the UK. Why should it suddenly become so easy for men to say they are women?

Women have fought long and hard to have safe places wherethey cannot be judged, abused, threatened or harmed by men.  Why is it suddenly so easy for thisprotection to be removed?

If the recommendations from the Transgender Equality Reportare approved, women will no longer have many of the current protections.   

The man who violently beat his wife for years to the pointshe is now hiding in a refuge, could feasibly fill in an online form and be welcomedinto that refuge.  The teenage boy who givesyour daughter the creeps, could be on her next girl guiding trip sharing a tentwith her.  Single sex dormitories in hostelsand shelters will be a thing of the past with vulnerable women being targetedby someone who self identifies as a female so has been welcomed into thebuilding.

Rapists whose only requirement to enter a previously safe environmentfor females, only need fill out an online form to be given access.

Hundreds of years of fighting to be acknowledged as equal,additional years to obtain recognition that female only spaces were required toensure the safety of women.  This allgoes out the window because someone wants to dress up as their vision of awoman?

At least the Gender Recognition Certificate required some effortwas being made to live as the opposite sex. 

These fast tracked rule changes to appease a vocal minorityhave paved the way for more and more ridiculous possibilities.  If we allow people to legally be recognised assomething other than themselves, because that is what they feel they should be,where does it stop?   If you can identifyas a female even although biologically your body appears male, will we thenallow adults to go to school because they identify as 10 year olds?

It may sound far fetched, but is it really if you can have someonewho looks like a stereotypical male state they identify as female and sharing accommodationwith female college students? 

Decades of struggling to help women feel recognised and safein society could be wiped out at the stroke of a pen. 

If it took over 100 years to give women equal rights, surelythere should be more time and thought  given to the future before we erase them?