Council upholds ban on women in Up Helly Aa torchlit procession
● Council ‘acted appropriately’ over female march ban
BY JAMES DELANEY
Campaigners have vowed to keep fighting for the right to take par t in a Viking pro - cession on Shetland after councillors concluded their involvement in thef es tival did not breach equality laws.
Over 1,000 men and boys march through the streets of Ler wick during the Up HellyAa parade every January, before hurling their flaming torches onto a Viking longboat.
However, the event conti nu es to exclude women from joining the procession - despite stories of female warriors in Viking folklore.
Protest group Up Helly Aa for Aa asked Shetland Islands Council( SIC) for help to convince organisers to allow women and girls to take part – as they are in other Shetland communities.
But they were left f urious when the local authority deemed the decision was inline with the Equality Act 2010.
The row initially flared up after campaigners complained about the council decision to allow the ‘jarl squads’ – the teams of ‘warriors’ – to visit schools and open up facilities controlled by the authority for the festival.
A civic reception is also held for the marchers.
Sally Huband, leader of the Up Helly Aa for Aa group, said: “We can no longer sweep this under the carpet.”
“The fact remains there are females in Shetland who wish to participate but who are being prevented from doing so solely because they are women or girls.”
The group also noted they had written to the organisers of the junior Up HellyAa event after two Anderson High school pupils had their applications to join the parade rejected.
They said the junior committee did respond but only to confirm that they would not accept applications from girls.
A statement issued following the council decision read: “As a consequence of both comm it tees refusing to engage with us, we wrote to SIC to ask if we could work collaboratively with them to encourage an end to this discrimination and confirm their commitment to their public sector equality duty.”
“Up Helly Aa for Aa did not submit a complaint to SIC. SIC instead chose to initiate a complaints process. We are disappointed that SIC has instead triggered this more formal complaints process.”
It continued: “We look forward to any such legal advice resulting from this investigation being published quickly in the interests of fair and transparent government and to SIC’S commitment to its freedom of information duties.”
SIC chief executive Maggie Sandison she was “satisfied” the council “acts and behaves appropriately ,” adding: “While I understand the outcome may not be universally welcome, ever y complaint is taken seriously.”
“The fact remains there are females in Shetland who wish to participate but who are being prevented from doing so because they are women or girls”
SALLY HUBAND
Leader of Up Helly Aa for Aa group
Shetland’s annual Up Helly Aa procession is the most remarkable spectacle. Each January, the sky above Lerwick glows and crackles as around 1,000 men and boys dressed in Viking garb march through the town before hurling flaming torches into a longboat.
But while the event might be thrilling, it is in danger of becoming a national embarrassment. Women and girls are forbidden from participating in the spectacle, despite many wishing to do so.
Organisers cite tradition as the reason for Up Helly Aa’s men-only
policy. That’s nowhere near good enough. We have abandoned many traditions over the years because they became outdated. The same may well happen to Up Helly Aa if it continues to go ahead without female involvement.
We are, when all is said and done, talking about a procession that is supported with public funds. It is, regardless of one’s feelings about “tradition”, intolerable for women to be prevented from joining in.
Men who continue to oppose female participation in Up Helly Aa are on the wrong side of this battle. We hope they are soon defeated.