It's frankly incredible that, until September 2021, there was not one statue of a named woman anywhere in Wales. Not a single one. Meanwhile, you don’t have to look far to see the many statues of men (many of whom, quite frankly, achieved far less of significance than the invisible women). Despite the amazing contributions of women to all areas of public life in Wales, their achievements had not been celebrated in the traditional manner – through being immortalised, commemorated and celebrated with permanent, public statues in locations for all to see.

Until 2016 that is, and enter Monumental Welsh Women (MWW), driven by the force of nature that is lawyer and feminist, Helen Molyneux. Helen brought together a group of us – women who were dismayed and agitated at the deliberate cloaking of women’s history by the absence of statues that celebrated their contributions.

MWW is a not-for-profit organisation established to recognise and celebrate the contribution of women to Welsh life. Our original mission was to erect five statues honouring five Welsh women in five different locations around Wales, and all in five years.

So far, MWW has commissioned and unveiled four statues – of Betty Campbell in Cardiff city centre, Elaine Morgan in Mountain Ash, Cranogwen in Llangrannog, and Lady Rhondda in Newport. Our fifth statue of Elizabeth Andrews will be unveiled near Hirwaun next year.

Take a step back to 2019 for a moment. Our capital city was undergoing a dramatic redevelopment around the old bus station. MWW persuaded Cardiff council that the new Central Square would be the perfect place for a statue. But not just any statue – the first statue of a historical Welsh woman, an artwork that would be truly world class, and a city landmark that all visitors to Cardiff would want a ‘selfie’ in front of. I’ve travelled extensively these past 18 months in my UEFA role, and every major capital that I’ve visited has imposing statues that serve as tourist magnets.

Already, there’s no question that the statue of Betty (and that’s how she’s known) is precisely that. Designed by renowned artist, Eve Shepherd, the Betty Campbell statue is iconic. It’s fitting for a city with Cardiff’s cultural and industrial heritage that the inaugural statue of a named woman was of Wales’ first black headteacher and champion of equality and diversity, Betty Campbell. Betty overcame horrendous racism and sexism in her life but responded to her doubters by proving them all wrong. Under her inspirational leadership, she created a beacon of multi-cultural integration in Mount Stuart primary school in Butetown. But respect for Betty extended way beyond our capital and she was recognised globally, also serving as a member of the then Race Relations Board.

And it’s not........

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