Dundee Women’s Festival has been saved from closure and will come back “bigger and better” this year.
The annual event, which has been a fixture in the city’s calendar for over two decades, faced an uncertain future due to dwindling funds.
Partly thanks to money from VAT on women’s sanitary products, otherwise known as the “tampon tax”, the festival will continue for the foreseeable future.
Annette Miller, one of the festival’s committee members, said: “We did have funding problems last year and weren’t even sure up until the last minute whether it would happen.
“We ended up having to cut it back to one week as opposed to the usual fortnight.
“However, we carried out an evaluation afterwards and people said they wanted it back to the two weeks, as there were too many events to cram into the one week.
“Thankfully this year we’re in a better position. We’ve got some funding from the Rosa Fund, which is funded by the tampon tax.
“We’re back up to two weeks and have a full programme of mostly free events and we expect the event to be even bigger and better than before.”
Annette explained that the committee anticipates around 5000 visitors compared to the usual 3000.
This year’s festival, which will take place from March 4 to 17, coincides with the centenary of the year women first got the vote.
A variety of events will explore issues such as women’s progress in politics, support for survivors of sexual assault and the contribution of women in the workplace.
Workshops on cookery, relaxation techniques, yoga and crafts will also be held.
Annette added: “This festival is quite unique to Dundee, with people coming from all over the place.
“A lot of the events are also mixed, so men are also very welcome to come to those.”
Prue Watson, chairwoman of the festival’s board, added: “The theme of the festival is ‘Vote for the Future’ because we’re reflecting on 100 years of women’s suffrage and it’s also the Year of Young People in Scotland.
“The festival will focus on the experiences of women living in Dundee and it’s totally inclusive, regardless of politics and religion.”
For full details of the festival programme and any other information, visit http://www.dundeewomensfestival.org.uk/
