{"id":120524,"date":"2023-10-29T19:40:08","date_gmt":"2023-10-29T19:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yourclomid.com\/?p=120524"},"modified":"2023-10-29T19:40:08","modified_gmt":"2023-10-29T19:40:08","slug":"mark-drakeford-plot-to-allow-men-to-be-defined-as-women-for-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yourclomid.com\/politics\/mark-drakeford-plot-to-allow-men-to-be-defined-as-women-for-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Drakeford plot to allow men to be defined as women for election"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Leaked documents show that election officials would also be forbidden from challenging a candidate if they did not believe they were a woman.<\/p>\n

Labour\u2019s minority government under Mark Drakeford in Cardiff was accused of \u201cbetraying\u201d women by trying to sneak through the reforms.<\/p>\n

The draft of the Bill included a clause to allow biological men to stand on female only quotas designed to ensure half of members of the Senedd, the Welsh Parliament, are women.<\/p>\n

Cathy Larkman, from Women\u2019s Rights Network Wales, said: \u201cWe know from bitter experience that Welsh Government is not listening to the concerns of women in Wales.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe, along with other groups, have been shut out time and again. Unfortunately, the reasons for this are now apparent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government is now intent on driving a highly contested ideological agenda and this is clearly their first step.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is astonishing that the government is spending public funds and using a Gender Quotas Bill to promote an agenda which undermines the rights of half the population of Wales.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is shameful that they are high-jacking legislation that should benefit women and increase female participation in political life, to embed a toxic and misogynistic ideology.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that the intention of the Welsh Government is to introduce gender self-identification and put it on a statutory footing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe this is the first step towards a full self-ID bill which would have serious implications for women and girls in particular as it would impact on single-sex services and spaces such as changing rooms, intimate care, hospital wards and domestic violence services.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is unforgivable that the First Minister and his Government, aided and abetted by Plaid Cymru, intend to betray the women of Wales in this underhand way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plans for self-ID caused a public outcry in Scotland when rapist Isla Bryson, who changed gender while waiting to stand trial, was initially jailed in an all-female prison.<\/p>\n

READ MORE <\/strong> Mum wins landmark court battle to stop child having trans treatment outside NHS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Heather Binning, founder of Women\u2019s Rights Network, said: \u201cRedefining the word \u2018woman\u2019 has implications for all women in the UK and is both extraordinary and deeply concerning.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite seeing all that happened with gender reform in Scotland – particularly in the case of \u2018Isla Bryson\u2019 – the Welsh government seems not to have learned any lessons.<\/p>\n

\u201cAttempting to bring gender self ID in on the back of another imminent piece of legislation that purports to benefit women is devious and disingenuous. It must be resisted.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is understood the leaked document is not the latest version of the Bill.<\/p>\n

A Welsh Government spokesman said: \u201cWe are working to introduce a bill to make our parliament more representative of the people it serves, which includes provisions to introduce candidate quotas for people seeking election to the Senedd.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur proposed model for quotas is designed to maximise the chances of achieving a Senedd comprised of at least 50% women.<\/p>\n

\u201cWork is ongoing on the Bill.\u201d<\/p>\n