A new documentary titled 'Iron Ladies' shines a light on the women who supported the miners' strike of 1984-85, challenging the often male-dominated narrative of the dispute. The film focuses on the formation of Women Against Pit Closures (WAPC), a network of local groups that sprang up to provide practical and moral support for the striking miners. Among them was Betty Cook, then a miner's wife, who vowed not to stay home and cry. 'I'm going to do something,' she recalls.
The women undertook a range of activities including picketing, fundraising, organising rallies and preparing food in vast quantities. One group even chained themselves to the offices of Defence Secretary Michael Heseltine in London. The documentary captures the spirit of activism that many experienced for the first time, despite facing criticism from some family members and probing questions from journalists about feminism. As one interviewee puts it, 'We were just women who wanted to know how to feed their kids.'
Forty years on, the film reveals the lasting impact of the strike on these women. Many went on to pursue education, join local politics and become councillors and mayors. The bitterness towards Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady whose government defeated the strike, remains palpable: 'She was one iron lady, we were hundreds.' The documentary is a testament to the transformative power of collective action for working-class women whose history, one says, 'isn't reported. It's not important.'
