PEOPLE HAVE THE POWER
In September 1981 on a muddy RAF site in Berkshire, one of the biggest women-led protests since the suffragettes began.
Known now as Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp, the movement started when a small number of antinuclear protesters marched 120 miles from Cardiff to the RAF base. They called themselves ‘Women for Life on Earth’ and their aim was to take a stand against Nato’s decision to store American cruise missiles at the airfield.
As awareness grew, thousands of grandmothers, mothers, daughters and women of all backgrounds came together to join them, with the intention of getting the missiles removed from the site.
Evolving into a series of camps set up on Greenham Common, the demonstration lasted for nearly 20 years before it was disbanded in 2000.
It has since been regarded as one of the largest and most successful feminist actions of its time – yet the likelihood of the same movement being allowed in the present day is doubtful.
Anti-protesting amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (PCSC) are being pushed through by the government. Despite being described as “a clear violation of international human rights standards” by lawyers, these measures have been under review since 2021, and are currently in the final stages of being debated in Parliament.
If passed, they would give police increased control over protesters. This would include greater stop-and-search powers, the right to shut
