Women Just Made History At The UK Election

Women are enjoying a historic moment in British politics.

On Thursday, voters in the United Kingdom elected a record number of female  politicians to office. The final figure of female Members of Parliament had yet to be confirmed Friday morning but the tally had reached 201  by 9 a.m. local time. 

Women now represent just over 30 percent of the U.K.’s 650 constituencies, and the milestone didn’t go unnoticed on Twitter:

The Labour Party’s Preet Kaur Gill also made headlines for becoming the first British Sikh woman  to become an MP when she won the Birmingham Edgbaston seat. 

Despite the progress, however, many have called for more gender equality at future elections:

At the 2015 general election, a total of 191 women won election . The tally of women in Parliament rose to 196 following subsequent by-elections.

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May  was among those who won reelection Thursday. But her leadership of the Conservative Party is now at risk, as she faces criticism that her campaign resulted in its loss of a parliamentary majority .

But while many celebrated the women’s parliamentary achievements, others pointed out that some sections of U.K. politics still have a long way to go  on gender equality issues.

And feminist campaigners have condemned the reelection of Conservative candidate Philip Davies  in the Shipley constituency, who faced accusations last year of “talking out” a domestic violence bill in Parliament :

This article has been updated throughout.