Women make their voices heard in the fight against sectarianism

Women from all over Scotland have written poems and short stories about their experiences and tonight they will read them in public for the first time.

ANN FOTHERINGHAM reports.

On her first day teaching at a Bridgeton secondary school, Leela Soma was asked by the pupils what religion she was.

"I told them I was Hindu," she says, adding with a smile: "Then they asked me - aye, but are you a Proddy Hindu, or a Catholic Hindu?"

The comment inspired Leela to write Orange and Green , a poem about her experiences of sectarianism.

It has been published in a new book of short stories and poems called Mixing the Colours, the first ever publication written by women about sectarianism.

Co-ordinated by Glasgow Women's Library and funded by the Scottish Government's Tackling Sectarianism Programme, Mixing the Colours includes contributions from women from all walks of life as well as commissioned authors Denise Mina, Eleanor Thom and Magi Gibson.

Magi explains: "The women who took part came from all backgrounds - some with degrees and doctorates, others who had left school to go straight into the workplace. I encouraged each woman, and they encouraged each other, to have confidence in her own voice."

Project development worker Rachel Thain-Gray adds: "Women's historical and contemporary experiences on the traditionally male-focused issue of sectarianism have until now been marginalised and excluded from the social history of Scotland.

"Frequently, women are seen in a stereotypical way as passive 'victims' of sectarianism, as the casualties of domestic abuse after football matches."

She adds: "More than 250 women got involved and far from being the end of the project, we are hoping the publication of the book is the starting point for more discussion and action.

"It's not about standing up and telling people they are wrong - it's about starting the conversation."

For teacher Leela Soma, now retired, the comments of her pupils have stayed with her.

"I'm from India, so of course division exists there in the caste system, for example, but being confronted in Glasgow by this deep divide, which even extends to separate schools - it really took me aback," she recalls.

Like Leela, Julie Robertson's piece in Mixing the Colours was inspired by a phrase she heard many years ago.

"I was dancing with a boy at a university disco and when I asked him what he did, he said 'I shoot Catholics,'" she says. "My story, It is Always a Car Crash, is obviously heavily fictionalised, but it came from that phrase which I have never forgotten...."

Marie-Therese Taylor's short story, Penny for the Guy, looks at the interesting issue of the role women play in perpetuating sectarianism, because of powerful influences in the home.

"My main character is a bigot, but she is being controlled by other people," says Marie-Therese. "Mixing the Colours is a fantastic project, full of humour and beautiful writing."

Nicola Burkhill's poem No More Sectarian Scotland ends with the powerful lines: "I am neither green, nor blue, Fenian nor Hun. I am simply a mother carving a future for her precious sons. My love knows no bound. My heart knows no hate. I do not accept a sectarian fate for my Scotland."

Nicola explains: "One of the reasons I was against moving back to Scotland, after years living in England, was sectarianism. I saw it as a child, heard the taunts, the stories of violence. I have two sons, aged seven and four, and I did not want them involved in any of it."

Cara Henderson, who set up the Glasgow charity Nil by Mouth following the murder of her friend in a sectarian-related attack, says Mixing the Colours is a fantastic project.

"Given all the negative stories about sectarian chanting we have seen lately, it is wonderful to hear voices of hope and determination rising above the noise and recriminations," she says.

"Women can not only help to bring a different perspective on the problem of sectarianism in Scotland, but they can play a really important role in defeating it."

"Projects like this help to remind us that although we may have inherited sectarianism out of the insecurities and suffering of previous generations, we don't have to pass it on."

Cara, who was named Evening Times Scotswoman of the Year 2014 for her tireless work on behalf of Nil by Mouth, adds: "I particularly love Nicola Burkhill's poem, in which she says 'I do not accept a sectarian fate for my Scotland'.

"She has given voice to what the silent majority of Scottish people believe - we are not only tired of sectarianism, we are tired of being defined by it. We want a different, more tolerant future and it is women like these who are helping to make that happen."

Mixing The Colours: women speaking about sectarianism will be launched along with a film of the same name at the project's conference on March 20.

Free tickets for tonight's Mixing The Colours event in the Tron Theatre from 8.30pm until 10.30pm are available at www.tron.co.uk