Cambridge University Society of Women (CUSW) has announced that it has successfully registered with the University of Cambridge.

In a post on the society’s Instagram account yesterday (27/11), the group announced that it has “received confirmation from the Junior Proctor that our society is now officially registered with the University of Cambridge”.

The post continued to say: “This is great news for our society and its members.”

Registration with the University is distinct from registering with the Students’ Union, which the group’s founders had initially signalled as their intention.

Registration with the University requires the society to have the endorsement of a Senior Treasurer, who must be a fellow.

Anita Bunyan, a fellow of Gonville and Caius College and member of the faculty of Modern & Medieval Languages & Linguistics has been confirmed as CUSW's Senior Treasurer. 

The announcement follows the group’s launch at the end of October, becoming the first society at the University to limit its membership to those assigned “female at birth”.

The launch sparked a strong backlash from students, including statements from both Cambridge University Labour Club (CULC) and the University of Cambridge Left Society (UCLS).

Additionally, a statement from Girton College’s FemSoc was endorsed by Gender Agenda, as well as the FemSocs and LGBTQ officers of many other colleges.

Girton FemSoc’s statement insisted that: “Transgender and gender-queer individuals have been and will continue to be crucial to our cause as feminists,” and affirms that it remains a “safe space for transgender and gender-queer students”. The statement has received over 1,100 likes on Instagram at the time of writing.

However, CUSW’s three co-founders have also found major backers, following a series of national press stories.

Earlier in November, Varsity revealed that the society had received over £13,000 in donations in its first two weeks, including a £3,000 donation from Alex Gerko, the 20th richest man in the UK. That figure now stands at £14,745 from 253 donations.

The society held its first event on Tuesday (25/11), with founder Maeve Halligan describing it as a “lively and in-depth discussion, with great contributions from our all-women audience”.

Regarding the backlash prompted by the society’s launch, Halligan said: “A number of students have made their more negative feelings towards CUSW clear from our launch exactly one month ago (27/10). While we acknowledge that these students absolutely have a right to make their opinions clear, there is no reason why CUSW should not exist as a student society like any other.

“The right to free speech and freedom of association should be a central part of any university. Diversity of opinion is a part of any thriving institution. We are proud that, now we are officially registered with the University of Cambridge, we can co-exist legitimately and civilly with the wide range of other student societies here. We thank the Proctors’ Office for registering us and we are excited to plan our next events, some of which will be open to the public, for the Lent term.”

The University of Cambridge and Anita Bunyan have been contacted for comment.