“For Women Scotland” Supreme Court Ruling
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi Excerpts(1 week, 2 days ago)
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Bridget Phillipson
I think the hon. Gentleman is referring to employment law cases, on which I would have to defer to legal colleagues. The judgment set out that the Equality Act 2010 is the basis for single-sex spaces being determined on the basis of biology. The Court determined that that was always the case and had always been the case since 2010—it was his party that failed to provide that clarity over 14 years.
Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)
The unanimous Supreme Court judgment has provided clarity over the application of the Equality Act 2010. It is incredibly important that hard-earned women’s rights and single-sex spaces are protected, while also protecting our trans community, who continue to face considerable discrimination; there needs to be a solution whereby they, too, are treated with dignity. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this entire issue needs to be handled with a great deal of sensitivity and sensibility, rather than being treated as a political football or a culture war issue?
Bridget Phillipson
I agree that the Supreme Court judgment provides much-needed clarity and certainty, including for service providers. I also agree that we need to ensure that this matter is handled with sensitivity; in particular, we have had a number of exchanges in this House where we have talked about children who might be gender-questioning and might be experiencing significant issues affecting their wellbeing. I want to make sure that right across society, women have the access to single-sex spaces that they need and deserve and, as my hon. Friend has said, they have long campaigned for. I also want to ensure that trans people receive the appropriate support, including healthcare, and do not face discrimination or harassment on the basis of who they are.
Occupied Palestinian Territories: Humanitarian Situation
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi Excerpts(5 months, 1 week ago)
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Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow West) (Lab)
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. I do not intend to take up too much time in today’s debate as I hope that as many colleagues as possible will have time to speak. The issue concerns us all, so it is right that we all have the opportunity to make a contribution.
As we know, it is just over 400 days since the horrific events of 7 October when over 1,200 people were killed in Hamas attacks in Israel. Over 30 of the hostages taken that day are believed to be still in Gaza. It is beyond time that they were released and returned to their lives and families. It was of course the events of 7 October that triggered Israel’s attacks on Gaza and the humanitarian crisis we are debating here today. An official death toll of some 43,391 people, of which 16,500 are children, with 10,000 people missing and presumed dead, are shocking statistics, and 72% of those killed are women and children. The Lancet has recently published a report that suggests that the death toll may be closer to 186,000. It has almost got to the point where the numbers are so overwhelming that we are in danger of becoming inured to what they represent.
A few weeks ago, with other colleagues, I attended a presentation that brought home exactly what those numbers and statistics mean. The presentation was given by Professor Nizam Mamode, a volunteer surgeon working with Medical Aid for Palestinians. The event was organised by my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow South West (Dr Ahmed). Professor Mamode is a vascular surgeon of great experience who has worked in numerous war zones and has recently been in Palestine. I thought I had seen and heard it all: the death, disease and sheer brutality reported on our TV screens night after night. But then I went to Professor Mamode’s presentation. He spoke calmly and slowly about his experiences in Palestine, using slides and a video diary, and demonstrated the symmetrical puncture wounds on a dead child’s body—wounds in the region of the body’s major arteries that were too precise to have been the work of a human sniper. They were the work of drones targeted at innocent civilians, and in this case a child.
Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)
I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate. The intolerable humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the west bank is precisely why we need an immediate ceasefire and a surge of aid. The recent reports of Israeli troops bombing and clearing northern Gaza and then not allowing Palestinians to return to their lands is surely tantamount to ethnic cleansing and is utterly deplorable. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is up to the international community, including our Government, to call out the Netanyahu regime so that it stops such actions?