Star: Loss of child changed everything
Annie Lennox has said she believes the fight for gender equality has reached a critical “tipping point” and said the trauma of losing her first child had been a turning point in her own activism.
The Aberdeen-born singer, a prominent HIV and Aids awareness campaigner, who founded a global support network for women and girls, said: “The activism has always kind of been there. But I’ve never joined a political party. I’ve always felt let down by politicians.
“One of the real turning points for me was becoming a mother. I lost my first baby. It was so traumatic and so life-changing that my whole perception changed.
“I was in that trauma and grief, and realising right away that there were millions of other women that had been through this massive loss. I couldn’t imagine being in a position of giving birth where you have no access to healthcare. I was also thinking about mothers who had died giving birth.”
Lennox, 66, a mother of two daughters, said society was still “extremely damaged” over its treatment of women and young girls, adding: “There are so many conversations that need to be had. Suddenly everyone wants to have these conversations. That needed to happen.”