3 days ago
Witch ‘thrown out by Druids after being accused of transphobia'
A witch has claimed she was thrown off a Druid training course amid allegations that she was 'transphobic' in a row over women's rights.
Angela Howard claimed she joined the British Druid Order (BDO) in 2020 to find 'spiritual healing' after being sexually assaulted by a trans woman.
Ms Howard, 48, said she was later 'knighted' as a 'warrior princess' at Stonehenge and began training as a student 'bard', which is a division of modern Druidry.
But after the Supreme Court ruled that transgender women were not legally women in April, Howard claimed she was banned from continuing her training and had her BDO membership revoked because she supported the exclusion of trans women from single-sex spaces for women.
Ms Howard also claimed she was 'defamed' and branded 'transphobic' by members of the religious advocacy group the Pagan Federation.
She responded to a post on the federation's official Facebook page entitled: 'Statement of Support for Trans People from the Pagan Federation'.
The post states: 'Trans women are women, Trans men are men, and all non-binary genders are valid. This is not up for debate with the Pagan Federation.'
'I cannot safely wear a witch's hat in public'
According to The Times, Ms Howard said she responded to this statement by commenting that there were situations in which women needed single-sex spaces, citing changing rooms, women's refuges and prisons. She referred to her own experience of being sexually assaulted by a trans woman. She claimed her comments were later deleted, and that she was blocked from viewing the contents of the Facebook page after she criticised an article describing the court ruling as 'a triumph for bigotry'.
Shortly afterwards, Ms Howard claimed she was expelled from the site after a member of the Pagan Federation support team said she had been 'more unequivocally transphobic' in her comments.
Ms Howard has now lodged a written complaint with the British Druid Order. In it, she pointed out that women and girls were the 'largest and most consistently oppressed group worldwide'.
She added: 'Even here in the UK, I cannot safely wear a witch's hat in public without receiving threatening or fearful looks.
'It is profoundly ironic, then, that within modern Paganism and Druidry (movements that should be committed to liberation, healing and truth) we are witnessing a kind of spiritual witch-hunt against those who speak up for the rights, safety and dignity of women and girls.'
In a second complaint to the Pagan Federation, she accused the charity of breaching its own code of conduct and the Equality Act 2010. She claimed that she had been 'penalised' for expressing her gender-critical beliefs.
The Pagan Federation said in a statement: 'We have a robust complaints procedure, which is designed to ensure fairness and accountability across all aspects of Pagan Federation activities. The process is accessible by both members and non-members alike.
'We have a policy of not commenting on complaints made under our procedures, which may be ongoing. This is to ensure the fairness of the process and to protect all parties involved.'
A spokesman for the British Druid Order said it had received a complaint that was being reviewed and had no further comment to make.
