NEWPORT suffragette Lady Rhondda is among a shortlist of influential Welsh women who could be depicted in a statue which will be seen by thousands of people every day.

The Monumental Welsh Women project was formed two years ago with the aim of gaining more recognition for important female figures in Wales’ history.

There are no statues of any Welsh woman in outdoor spaces anywhere in Wales, and the project has been successful in securing agreement from Cardiff City Council and Welsh Government to build a new monument outside Cardiff Central Station.

And now the people of Wales are being invited to vote on a shortlist of five women who could be depicted in the statue - including Lady Rhonda.

Margaret Mackworth – better known as Lady Rhondda - is famous for being jailed for attempting to blow up a post box in Risca Road, Newport, as part of the suffragette movement. Today the post box is marked with a blue plaque.

Also on the shortlist is Elizabeth Andrews, who also played a major role in the suffrage movement, and campaigned for women to become more politically active, Wales’ first black headteacher Betty Campbell, poet Sarah Jane Rees – better known as Cranogwen – and writer Elaine Morgan.

Helen Molyneux of the Monumental Welsh Women group said she hoped this would be "the start of a much bigger conversation about the role of women in Welsh history and the impact their achievements have had".

"There is not one single statue of a known historical Welsh woman in Wales and we are hoping that this will be the first of many," she said.

Voting will take place from Friday, January 11, until Wednesday, January 16, and the winner will be announced live on Wales Today on BBC One Wales on Friday, January 18.

Once the winner has been chosen an artist will be commissioned to create the statue, which will be unveiled in summer 2020.

To vote visit bbc.co.uk/HiddenHeroines