Library Archives - Nottingham Women's Centre

50+ Years of Support and Sanctuary at the Heart of Nottingham

Download a copy of our Annual Review 2022-23 here

Nottingham Women’s Centre is celebrating over 50 years at the heart of the city, providing much needed support and services for all self-identifying women, from all backgrounds, in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. On Wednesday 10^th January 2024, we held our Annual General Meeting at our headquarters in the historic 30 Chaucer Street building to mark this fantastic achievement!

The event showcased the vital work of Nottingham Women’s Centre over the last 50+ years, supporting women through many challenges, including isolation; access to mental health services; seeking asylum; escaping abuse; financial difficulties and leaving the Criminal Justice System to name just a few.

“I truly believe in the difference Nottingham Women’s Centre can make to the lives of women in Nottingham, be it learning new skills, meeting new friends or accessing affordable support for wellbeing and mental health.”
Vandna Gohil, CEO of Nottingham Women’s Centre.

Protest artwork at Nottingham Women's Centre — Protest artwork at Nottingham Women’s Centre

The support at Nottingham Women’s Centre today includes counselling services, person centred support, advice, guidance, courses, activities, volunteering opportunities, and a welcoming space for all women to meet, visit Nottingham Women’s Library and Archive, and join campaigns for women’s rights and women’s voices to be truly amplified together.

These services and spaces were of utmost importance during the difficult times of the Covid-19 pandemic, in which isolation and abuse were most severely felt, and support and safe spaces such as Nottingham Women’s Centre provided much needed sanctuary.

“We noticed that the call on our services increased post-pandemic, and with the cost-of-living crisis having a disproportionate impact on women. We are proud to offer a free, safe community space in Nottingham City Centre where any woman can drop in for a cup of tea in our Welcome Space or relax and browse our Women’s Library”
Justine Weston, Chair of The Board of Trustees.

During the evening AGM event, stakeholders, supporters, members and partners heard first-hand evidence and testimonials about the services provided, and the lasting positive impact this has had on the lives of so many.

Download a copy of our Annual Review 2022-23 here

The AGM also saw the launch of Nottingham Women’s Centre’s Annual Review 2022-23, further detailing how the work of the last year has supported so many women throughout communities in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

Recent figures show that in 2022 there were 476 referrals from the probation service, 766 hours of much needed low-cost counselling for women on low incomes was provided, 104 women received specialist domestic abuse counselling and support, and 265 women were referred for emotional wellbeing support.

Services users have said of their experiences:

“The strength and support have given me both mental and emotional stability and I aim to do the same for others.”

“Coming to the Centre has let me be in an environment surrounded by passionate and positive women. There is light at the end of the tunnel.”

This just goes to show how vitally important Nottingham Women’s Centre is, and how crucial it is that we continue to provide a safe, supportive space for all women to flourish and gain strength, and have their voices heard for another 50 years and beyond!

Download a copy of our Annual Review 2022-23 here

As promised, some of our volunteers have devised a list of some of the books that have been banned/censored and contested written by women over the years, all over the world. We know this list is not exhaustive and we are aware that there may be books that are missing from this list.

We’ve tried to ensure that all the information contained in this list is correct, however we are aware that there could be errors. If anyone spots anything that they think is a glaring false account, please do let us know and we will alter it. A number of these books are contained in our catalogue, which you can access here so please do come and browse if you can and check them out. We hope you find this interesting and that it provokes some interesting discussions and insights. Any feedback or comments are most welcome.

Find out more about Nottingham Women’s Library here.

Thank-you.

The Library Team.

Book Title and (first) publication	Author	Banned/censorship/contested (past and present)
Harry Potter (series), first published 1997	J.K. Rowling	Banned for promoting the occult and paganism therefore it is seen as anti-Christian. However, Witchcraft is also deemed an officially recognised religion in the U.S. and so to teach it in school would violate the separation of church and state.
The Bluest Eye, 1970	Toni Morrison	This was banned from (US) schools and libraries due to its sexual content, racism, incest, and child molestation. It was the second most challenged book in the US in 2013.
Forever, 1975	Judy Blume	Banned and challenged for detailed descriptions of sex, the implied homosexuality of a character and the use of birth control. It is also disliked for using swear words. The fact that monogamy is also not promoted but disobedience to parents is added to the case against this novel.
The Colour Purple, 1982	Alice Walker	Challenged due to the sexual explicitness, race relations, ideas around god, African History and social ideas it contains. All this and the violence depicted meant it was banned in U.S. schools from 1984, and still contested today.
To Kill a Mockingbird, 1960	Harper Lee	This has a long history with censorship in the USA. The racial slurs, the bad language used by the children in the book and the subject matter of rape all deemed too much for children.
Beloved, 1987	Toni Morrison	The passages about ghosts as well as the racial themes, sexual content and graphic sexual violence are not considered suitable for teenagers, so it is banned in some schools in the US. In others it requires parental consent for it to be taught to an individual student.
Blubber, 1974	Judy Blume	Given that (spoiler alert…) the bullies prevail in the end it was banned in schools. The language was also an issue particularly the use of the word “bitch” about a teacher. For other schools In the USA the general opinion that it lacked social and literary value meant it was restricted to parental permission only.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, 1969	Maya Angelou	In Alabama it was banned in 1983 because it incited “bitterness and hatred towards white people” It was also objected to because of the sexually explicit violence contained in the recounting of Angelou’s experiences. There were also calls that it encouraged homosexuality.
Gossip Girl (series), 2002	Cecily von Ziegesar	Challenged by U.S. religious groups for its sexual explicitness and offensive language. It was removed from school library shelves. It also contains drug uses and scandals not deemed correct for the age group it is aimed at.
The Diary of a Young Girl, 1952 (in English)	Anne Frank	Banned in the Virginia School system in 2010 due to complaints that it had sexual content in Anne discussing her genitalia and homosexual themes.
The Giver, 1993	Lois Lowry	Again, another text that is controversial in the U.S. school system with violence being the main citation for banning or censoring its use.
The Handmaid’s Tale, 1985	Margaret Atwood	Banned for its use of: graphic violence, sex, profanity, for defamatory statements concerning minorities, god, women, the disabled and Christians. Disliked for the lack of hope and the vulgarity it is considered to display.
The Hunger Games (series), 2008	Suzanne Collins	There are a myriad of reasons for these being challenged including; anti-ethnic, anti-family, occult/satanic concerns, violence, religious viewpoints and sexuality.
Bridge to Terebithia, 1977	Katherine Paterson	One of the most frequently banned books in the U.S. Mostly because of its referencing witchcraft and atheism. There is also deemed to be a lot of swearing.
Frankenstein, 1818	Mary Shelley	This was banned in 1955 in South African Apartheid for being considered obscene and objectionable.
The Well of Loneliness, 1928	Radclyffe Hall	This was riled against in some parts of the British press, and the Home Secretary mobilised the law. Given that it contains nothing against lesbianism which was considered a vice magistrates had the book destroyed. The US reacted differently given that it had not an obscene word in it, this was after the publisher was arrested and copies seized at customs.
The Proof of the Honey, 2007	Salwa al-Neimi	Banned in Oman and the other Arab states for depicting an Arab woman’s sexual encounters and thoughts on love.
The Country Girls, 1960	Edna O’Brien	Publicly burned by a parish priest, banned by the Irish censor for being sexually explicit and highlighting women’s sexuality. O’Brien herself was the recipient of threatening letters.
Black Beauty, 1877	Anna Sewell	Banned in South African during the Apartheid era because it disliked the title placing the words ‘black’ and ‘beauty’ together. this may or may not be a myth.
Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging, 1999	Louise Rennison	Parental consent needed in some US schools due to sexual content of the book.
Letters from Burma, 1997	Aung San Suu Kyi	This view of daily life in Burma doesn’t shy away from showing the political and human rights abuses, leading to it being banned by the regime.
The Awakening, 1899	Kate Chopin	Reception deemed it to be “morbid”, “vulgar” and “feeble”. But it was banned only once that can be verified- from a public library in Evanston Illinois.
Wild Swans, 1991	Jung Chan	Banned in China (still) for challenging China’s version of its history.
Borderlife, 2014	Dorit Rabinyan	Banned by the Israeli government for the love affair between a Jewish woman and a Palestinian man it portrays. It was feared it would encourage intermarriage between Jews and non-Jews.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, 1852	Harrier Beecher Stowe	It was banned in the Southern States of the U.S. for being anti-slavery. There is also a rumour that it was banned in Imperial Russia for the parallels that could be seen between their system of serfdom.
One Girl’s War, 1945	Joan Miller	The Attorney General of the United Kingdom tried to get this banned through the courts on the basis that it would cause “irreparable damage” to the security services in Britain.
Poetry collection, (work from 1912-25, then 1936 until her death in 1966)	Anna Akhmatova	Her work was subject to censorship and outright condemnation by the Stalinist authorities as it was viewed as anti-revolutionary in 1946. Nonetheless she didn’t shy away from tackling the difficult subjects of life under the regime. To avoid retribution, she learned her poems by heart and then burned them. Should she be arrested and/or executed she ensured their survival by teaching them to her closest female friends. Her work was published again in 1956.
Twilight (series), 2005	Stephanie Meyer	Banned for being considered inappropriately sexually explicit for the age group it is aimed at. It is also deemed to have a religious bias often attributed to Meyer’s being a Mormon.
Their Eyes were Watching God, 1937	Zora Neale Hurston	It has been criticised for not depicting the African American experience in a political way rather than a personal story of the main protagonist. It has also been disliked by the same community for her use of a dialect that made the characters sound uneducated. Alice Walker rediscovered her neglected work in 1970s it has been on some curriculums but still received complaints about many things from the lightness of Janie’s skin to the fact that a feminist book shouldn’t feature a woman who stays with her abusive husband.
Despised and Rejected, 1918	Rose Allatini	This 1918 work deals with both pacifism and homosexuality with its main character, a homosexual composer, refusing conscription on the grounds of pacifism. It was banned under the Defence of the Realm Act by the British on the basis that it could prejudice the recruitment drive of the armed forces. It has just become a Persephone book in 2018.
Forever Amber, 1944	Kathleen Winsor	A work deemed to be overly sexualised and without literary merit. The scandal of such subject matter as sex, abortion and impotence meant that it was banned in Australia in 1945. It was removed from the Commonwealth list of prohibited books in 1958.
Poetry collection, 1946	Kurihara Sadako	Politically unpopular because of her criticism of the Japanese government over their censorship of the truth about the Second World War. Vastly affected by the results of the A Bomb drop becoming involved in the antinuclear movement. In 1990 she received the third annual Kiyoshi Tanimoto Peace Prize.
Poetry and plays, 1902	Else Lasker-Schuler	When Hitler came to power her works were banned and burned including this play which had Hebraic themes. Lasker-Schuler herself was physically attacked in the Spring of 1933 at the age of 64 prompting her to flee to Switzerland. She never returned to Germany leaving her unable to visit the graves of her parents and her only son Paul.
A body of more than 50 works, at least 10 of which were made into Hollywood films. Considered one of the first modern bestselling author.	Vicki Baum	Some of her early work was published under husband’s name. She took up boxing in the late 1920s in Berlin mastering training routines thought more fit for a man to do. Her works were denigrated as sensationalist and amoral by the Third Reich who banned them. She became an American citizen in 1938.
Various works including her essays at Radcliffe College, letters and Addresses have been collected in a collection called Out of The Dark. Collection of essays ; How I Became a Socialist	Helen Keller	The deaf blind girl of the famed image grew into a strong suffragette who used her hands to loudly voice her ideals to the world even it is rumoured to have given several U.S. Presidents grounds for worry. She learned Latin, French, German and Greek. She wrote about disabilities, capitalism, poverty and ignorance. On May 10^th 1933 her collection of essays -as part of Hitler’s list of “degenerate” books -was burned. Keller published an open letter in the New York Times to the Nazi students
Reading Lolita in Tehran, 2003	Azar Nafisi	The western classics read by Nafisi’s clandestine book group were banned in Iran. Her own refusal to wear a veil forced her resignation from her University post.
Burger’s Daughter, 1979	Nadine Gordimer	It’s depiction of white anti-apartheid activists unsurprisingly caused it to be banned in South Africa allegedly for spreading Communist opinions and for working in opposition to law and order in the state.
Fifty Shades (trilogy), 2011	E L James	Banned from libraries in some U.S states on the grounds of its sexual content, though Florida replaced it due to public demand. In Malaysia the trilogy were banned as works of sadism and for threatening morality.
July’s People, 1981	Nadine Gordimer	Set in a near future depiction of a South Africa where Apartheid has been ended by civil war it was banned by the South African regime. It was later temporarily banned from schools in the Gauteng Province under the post-Apartheid government for being patronising, racist and superior.
Lajja, 1993	Taslima Nasrin	With the subject matter of the attack on Hindus by Muslim fundamentalists this work served as an uncomfortable reminder to the Bangladesh of its failure to protect them.
A World of Strangers, 1958	Nadine Gordimer	The subject matter is again the Apartheid in South Africa and the social divides inherent in it leading to it being banned for 12 years.
The Famous Five, 1942	Enid Blyton	Her books were banned by the BBC for nearly 30 years because it was felt that her work lacked literary value and was second-rate.
Jane Eyre, 1847	Charlotte Bronte	As soon as the author was discovered to be a woman, the book was considered ‘coarse” and immoral. Aspersions were cast at Charlotte herself as a loose woman without morals. There is also the added sin that Jane has a mind and a voice of her own.
The House of the Spirits, 1986	Isabel Allende	Made the top 100 banned/challenge books in the US between 2000-2009. Before that, first challenge in 1994 in the US due to accounts of sexual encounters and violence. Other reasons for challenge include; ‘defames’ the Catholic faith, immoral, graphic content and sexually depraved.
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, 2000	Marjane Satrapi	The book and film are banned in Iran. It is a graphic memoir of growing up during the Iranian Revolution. It was also banned in Chicago schools in 2013 for children from the seventh grade for graphic language and images. This prompted widespread criticism and protests and the move was later backtracked on. However, although it is sanctioned for school libraries, it is not for the lower grades. The exact reason for the ban does remain unclear (teachers can still use the book though apparently only with special training).
A Wrinkle in Time, 1962	Madeleine L’Engle	Has spent the last few decades in the top 100 banned/challenged books in America. Campaigns against the book have been mainly from conservative Christian groups which focus on it containing magical elements, its depiction of religion and that it attempts to undermine religious beliefs.
A Day in the Life of Marion Bundo, 2018	Jill Twiss	Number two in the 2018 top challenged books in America. It is a children’s illustrated book which has been banned and challenged for including LGBTQ+ content, political and religious viewpoints.
The Hate U Give, 2017	Angie Thomas	Number four in the 2018 top (and one of the top in 2017) challenged books in America. This is a young adult novel, written in reaction to the shooting of Oscar Grant. Deemed anti-cop and challenge for profanity, drug use and sexual references.

Library

Warm Space for Women launches at NWC

Nottingham Women’s Centre launches Warm Space for Women, supported by John Lewis Nottingham.

Louisa Mathews, CEO of Nottingham Women’s Centre said,

Jessica Faflik, Community Liaison Coordinator at John Lewis Nottingham said,

The space was officially launched in the presence of partners and local businesses on Tuesday 26th November, with press and media invited to join.

Find NWC’s Warm Space for Women

Visit us

AGM & Annual Review 2022-23 Launch

50+ Years of Support and Sanctuary at the Heart of Nottingham

Services users have said of their experiences:

“The strength and support have given me both mental and emotional stability and I aim to do the same for others.”

“Coming to the Centre has let me be in an environment surrounded by passionate and positive women. There is light at the end of the tunnel.”

Banned books – message from our library volunteers