The Scottish Women’s Health Fair, 1983: A Showcase of the Scottish Women’s Health Movement

In May 1983 women from across Scotland came together in Edinburgh for the Scottish Women's Health Fair (SWHF). Organised by and for 'ordinary' women, the SWHF offered a substantive two-and-a-half day programme—including information sessions, film screenings, workshops, and information stall—that attracted over two thousand attendees. A diverse group of organisers, presenters, and attendees at the SWHF applied concepts of holistic and social health as they discussed a wide range of topics, from women suffering from depression to damp housing and cervical smears. The women who organised the SWHF reflected on this event as a pivotal moment for them personally, and for the women's health movement in Scotland more broadly. The success of the SWHF was achieved in the face of political and professional controversies that placed Scottish women's health activists in opposition with the Scottish Home and Health Department and the World Health Organisation European Region. Within the context of these controversies, this article situates the SWHF as a strategic showcase of the strength of the women's health movement in Scotland and the wider public support of women's health praxis and ideas.