Women's Institute Declaration

I am in total agreement with the petition and will leave the WI if my branch accepts anyone who was not born as a woman. The WI should be an organisation that protects natural women not people who decide they want to be one!

I have considered joining a WI group when I am older and have more time as they seem more modern I. Their approach and I like the idea of the female camaraderie. But I will never join if trans women are. They aren’t women, they don’t behave like woman and they can’t teach me anything about being a women. Such a sad move.

Wiltshire Federation, Liden WI

With you all the way ladies. Don’t back down,

Protect biological sex Protect the rights of women girls and their right to single sex spaces

This should be a decision that everyone in the WI has a say on, not just head office. Wallasey WI CFWI

Protect women’s rights to single sex spaces and services.

Coity WI - Glamorgan Federation

NYEFWI, Burniston and Cloughton WI

Women (as do men) have the right to single sex spaces. How can you promote the rights of women, influence policy, support women and provide a safe social network if it is not solely for women.

Women's institute...it's in the name. No male should be offered admission as that makes no sense. Shouldn't matter how a male identifies as that's not reality but a notion in his head. Do as you please, dress as you want but a male is not a female and in instances like this and so many areas it matters, sex matters.

Members not just 'head office' should make the choice of whether transwomen can join - not that I believe they should. Head office sadly over the years seems to be less and less in touch with grassroots members. I have always been proud to be a member and still am to a degree but feel ashamed that the WI is slowly giving in to pressure from the 'trans' lobby and allowing biological men to join a group that was set up as being a man's exclusionary zone, a place where a woman can go no matter how the man in her life treats her to be away from biological males and relax among females. Battered wives come from all walks of life and often the higher up the social ladder the more a woman will stay with a man as still to this day if a woman leaves due to physical or mental torture she is usually seen as the problem, not the male. So her visit to this group can be often her only escape and time to retrench. Many other reasons also mean biological men should not be part of the WI this is only one but will not write an essay in place of a comment.

If you do not ask the question, you will not get the answer you do not want!! National are out of touch with their core members, the silent majority. If ladies do not write in or contact head office to complain, they assume all members are in agreement. We were not given the option to give away our women only spaces, whether the acceptance of trans females is in law or not. They have their rights, what happened to ours. I am disgusted that National WI is not standing up for women ie humans without penises/female chromosomes. I thought we stood up for women and girls rights!!! By the way, apparently this is all the Daily Mail's fault - of course! All my life I have treated everyone with respect, however they identify. While doing so, I have always stood up for women and girls and I despair for my granddaughters.

WI should be women only space

I am so glad we are standing up for women in the WI. I approached NFWI before this petition expressing my opposition to the Trans policy.

WI members should be able to vote before such huge decisions are made, it is ‘our’ WI.

Sex not gender

Get Allison Pearson journalist to highlight cause.

I totally agree with your declaration. The WI should be for biological women only!

I Agree wholeheartedly with WIWD comments