IWD: recognising older female campaigners and activists
To recognise this year’s International Women’s Day theme – Accelerate Action – we're spotlighting older and lifelong campaigners and activists who have made a positive difference in their communities across Scotland and beyond.
Mary Burton (1819 – 1901)
Mary Burton dedicated her life to advancing the position of women in Scotland, supporting the suffrage movement and campaigning for easier access to education.
She was successful in campaigning for women to be admitted into Heriot-Watt University, 25 years before legislation was enacted to do this. She also became the University's first woman governor. The university now has both a building and a fund for female students named after her.
Flora Drummond (1878 – 1949)
Born in Manchester but raised on Arran, Flora Drummond played a key role in the women’s suffrage movement and for women’s rights in general. She was nicknamed The General on account of the military-style uniform she wore and also known for leading marches on horseback.
Dr Margaret Blackwood MBE (1924 – 1994)
Margaret was awarded her MBE for her dedication to improving the lives of disabled people and bringing awareness to a lack of adapted homes. She was deeply committed to people being able to live independent lives and, following her work to improve their financial situation, set her sights on providing housing that was suitably designed for disabled people. She formed Margaret Blackwood Housing Association in 1972.
Evelyn Gillan (1959 – 2015)
A champion of women’s rights, co-founder of the Zero Tolerance campaign and the main proponent in bringing about a minimum alcohol pricing law in Scotland.
Helen Steven (1942 - 2016)
A Scottish Quaker peace activist and one of the founders of the Scottish Centre for Nonviolence. Her opposition to the nuclear submarine base in Scotland was recognised with the Ghandhi International Peace Award in 2004.
Saroj Lal (1937 – 2020)
An Indian-Scottish teacher and activist, best known as a champion of race relations in Scotland for thirty years. After moving from India in the late 1960s and training as a primary teacher, she went on to volunteer with the YMCA before becoming a community worker, director of Lothian Racial Equality Council and the first Asian woman to become a Justice of the Peace.
Amanda Kopel
Amanda's husband Frank Kopel - the former Dundee United footballer - had been diagnosed with dementia at 59.
He was too young to qualify for free care. So, Mrs Kopel set out to ensure anyone living with disabilities and degenerative conditions could access support, regardless of age.
Frank's Law was the result of this successful campaign, which began with a petition to MSPs at Scottish Parliament in 2013.
WASPI women
Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) was formed in 2015 in response to the way in which the state pension ages for men and women were equalised and how this decision was communicated. The rise to State Pension Age left millions of women in great hardship, and WASPI campaigners have been fighting for many years to address this injustice.
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Looking beyond Scotland, there are plenty of other examples of older women dedicating themselves to campaigning for change. For instance in 2024, a group of older women in Switzerland, dubbed the ‘Climate Grannies’ won the first ever climate case victory in the European Court of Human Rights, with Europe’s top court ruling that Switzerland’s efforts to meet its emission reduction targets had been woefully inadequate.
Older People’s Champions
An Older People’s Champion is an ambassadorial role held by an elected Councillor. Their job is to act as a link between the Council and older people in their local area, identifying the issues impacting older people locally and acting as the face of the council to amplify older voices within the council chamber. Many of our Older People’s Champions are older women, including previous Age Scotland Award Winner Elaine Thornton-Nicol.
