Name/TitleBanner: Gude Cause
About this objectBanner made by One-Mile volunteer Loraine and a group of GWL learners for the 100th Anniversary of Suffragette March in Edinburgh, October 2009.
A 3-week banner making course led by One-Mile volunteer Loraine was run at Glasgow Women's Library. Loraine and her team spent one session evaluating slogans; 'VOTE TODAY TO CHANGE TOMORROW' was the consensus. Two Chinese learners suggested a line of poetry written in Mandarin by the revolutionary and feminist writer, Qui Jin (1875-1907) which translates roughly as 'WOMEN ARE THE STUFF OF HEROES'. The image decided on was a conflation of the GWL logo with the iconic Votes for Women poster.
MakerGlasgow Women's Library
Date Made2009
Period2000s
Place MadeScotland, Glasgow
Medium and MaterialsOrganic, textile
Subject and Association KeywordsWomen's Marches
Subject and Association KeywordsCraftivism
Subject and Association KeywordsWomen's suffrage
Subject and Association DescriptionGude Cause 1909 and 2009 (Wikipedia):
Gude Cause was the name of a feminist project, based at the Peace and Justice Centre in Edinburgh, Scotland, which inspired over 60 events and projects throughout Scotland between 2007 and 2009. Gude Cause aimed to commemorate the work of Scotswomen involved in the suffrage movement, to celebrate women's achievements in the 100 years since the Women's Suffrage Procession which had taken place in Edinburgh in 1909, and to re-energise women's commitment to political representation and action in Scotland.
The work culminated in the re-enactment on 10 October 2009 of the 1909 Edinburgh procession, and was organised by volunteers, women's historians and community workers, in association with The Edinburgh Peace and Justice Resource Centre, achieving the main goal of recreating the original procession in all its glory, while drawing attention to the problems that still need to be faced up to around the world, such as tackling domestic violence, forced marriage, sex trafficking and equal pay.
Thousands of people from groups across Scotland had prepared for the day by creating banners, learning old and specially written songs, researching women's struggles in the past and discussing current issues and future aims. The crowd on the day included women, men and children; students, activists, 'roller derby girls', the University of the Third Age, political parties, faith groups and trade unions; artists and academics; professionals and campaigners for women's rights, social justice and environmental justice, representing a wide spectrum of ages, ethnicities, attitudes and activism and a mixture of beliefs, traditions and movements.
In common with the Suffrage Procession a century before, the Gude Cause Procession 2009 was led by a lone woman piper, Pipe Major Louise Marshall Millington, and featured a band, the Forth Bridges Accordion Band. Two mounted policewomen represented the women on horseback of the 1909 parade. Groups of drummers, including SheBoom, and singers led each section of the Procession, representing the past, the present and the future for women in Scotland.
GWL blog posts about the Gude Cause centenary:
https://womenslibrary.org.uk/2009/10/09/its-a-gude-cause-part-1
https://womenslibrary.org.uk/2009/10/22/its-a-gude-cause-part-2
Named CollectionGlasgow Women's Library
Object TypeBanner
Object numberGWL-2010-104
Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved