Women's Institute magazine features first trans woman cover star

The Women's Institute is featuring a trans woman member on the cover of its magazine for the first time.

Petra Wenham, a member of Cake and Revolution WI in Suffolk, appears on the July/August issue of WI Life, the organisation's membership magazine.

She said she felt "accepted and honoured" to be on a platform to raise awareness of transgender issues.

Cake and Revolution said Ms Wenham "deserves to be acknowledged and celebrated".

Inside the magazine, which is delivered to 200,000 members, Ms Wenham, 74, discusses her work as a speaker and activist, having delivered her talk entitled "Have you Never Met a Transwoman?" to several WIs and other community groups.

Cake and Revolution president Emma Ruddy said Ms Wenham had given WI members across the country "opportunities to learn more about transgender women through her open and honest discussions".

"Petra has been such an inspirational addition to the Cake and Revolution sisterhood and she thoroughly deserves to be acknowledged and celebrated," she said.

Ms Wenham said: "WI members are not just accepting, but actively supportive and are welcoming me to the sisterhood.

"When WI Life contacted me to see if I would be OK with being the subject of a feature article I felt not just fully accepted but honoured that I should be offered a platform to raise awareness of transgender people, which stands in contrast to the myths, misinformation and negativity that is often published."

Melissa Green, general secretary of the National Federation of Women's Institutes (NFWI), said the WI was "a place where all women can come together in a supportive and friendly environment".

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, external, Instagram, external and Twitter, external. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk, external