Exclusive:Nicola Sturgeon warns of 'push back' on women's rights and misogyny 'on the rise again'

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks out at launch of Val McDermid’s ‘Queen Macbeth’ book

Nicola Sturgeon has warned about a "push back" against women's rights and misogyny being "on the rise again".

The former first minister was speaking on Thursday at the official launch of a new novel about Lady Macbeth by Val McDermid.

The best-selling author spoke out last month to condemn the "disgusting" abuse targeted at Ms Sturgeon on social media, saying she felt as if Scotland had returned to the "Dark Ages."

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon in the Scottish Parliament this week. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire

Ms Sturgeon has previously come under fire from women's rights campaigners for her support for trans rights, such as allowing trans women to access women-only spaces.

But speaking at an in-conversation event in Portobello Town Hall, Ms Sturgeon said there was something "really timely" about the release of Ms McDermid's new book “around the treatment of women”.

The main character of the novel is said to “outwit the endless plotting of a string of ruthless and power-hungry men.”

Discussing the relevance of the new book, Ms Sturgeon: "Having gone through many years of what felt like progress, there seems to be push back again, women's rights are under threat, reproductive rights are under threat, there's a lot of abuse and toxicity towards women on social media, and misogyny seems to be on the rise again."

Nicola Sturgeon and Val McDermid appeared at an in-conversation event at Portobello Town Hall in Edinburgh to launch the author's new novel Queen Macbeth. Picture: Greg Macvean

Ms McDermid said she had not set out with the idea of a “feminist retelling" of the 11th-century Scottish king and queen.

She said: “I felt that I wanted it to reflect what I understand about the way that women operate in the world and the way that women's relationships are."

Ms Sturgeon asked the author how important literature was in “understanding and making sense of the world we live in.”

The writer, whose new book Queen Macbeth is part of a Dark Tales series revisiting episodes in Scottish history, replied: “Whatever times we live in, fiction can illuminate that to us and shine a light on the society that we live in.

Nicola Sturgeon and Val McDermid appeared at an in-conversation event at Portobello Town Hall in Edinburgh to launch the author's new novel Queen Macbeth. Picture: Greg Macvean

"The themes that are current find their way into my work one way or another.

"I think that’s become very much a feature of the best of crime fiction in recent years.

"When we want to find out about Victorian England we go to Charles Dickens. In 100 years’ time when people want to find out about what life was like now they will go to crime fiction, as it gives you access right across the spectrum of society.

"You can go anywhere you want with it and deal with whatever matters seem to be important and pressing.

Nicola Sturgeon and Val McDermid appeared at an in-conversation event at Portobello Town Hall in Edinburgh to launch the author's new novel Queen Macbeth. Picture: Greg Macvean

"It’s a great advantage for a writer, but a great advantage for us as readers, because the act of exploring these novels lets us explore the world we Iive in, and the highs and lows of that.”

An audience member asked the author what she would say to people who felt that “feminist retellings” in literature were “reductionist” and there should instead be a focus on "new stories centred on women".

Ms McDermid said: “The roots of the stories that we tell are in the stories that we learn.

"Up until relatively recently, our stories have been full of heroic men doing heroic things. There has been very little focus on the other half of the human race.

"There’s nothing reductionist about writing from that perspective. In fact, it gives a richer picture of the world and sheds a new light on the way that things worked out and also why things worked out the way they did.

"There’s nothing wrong with continually re-examining the past to give us a different picture that shows us a way that we can work through the present.”

Ms Sturgeon added: “There are so many women that have been mischaracterised and distorted in history. I think it’s important to try to redress that and set the record straight.

"But there are probably even more women who have never been written about at all. There are not enough stories about women down the ages. The more we have the better.”