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WOMEN SURVIVING WAR AND FORGING PEACE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

WOMEN SURVIVING WAR AND FORGING PEACE IN NORTHERN IRELAND. REBECCA THOMAS – SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC AND LABOUR PARTY. THE NORTHERN IRELAND ‘TROUBLES’ – a brief history. Ethno-national conflict – competing conceptions of national identity Over 30 years of violence - “The Troubles”

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WOMEN SURVIVING WAR AND FORGING PEACE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

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  1. WOMEN SURVIVING WAR AND FORGING PEACE IN NORTHERN IRELAND REBECCA THOMAS – SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC AND LABOUR PARTY

  2. THE NORTHERN IRELAND ‘TROUBLES’ – a brief history • Ethno-national conflict – competing conceptions of national identity • Over 30 years of violence - “The Troubles” • 3,600 killed. 40,000 injured. • Peace agreement reached 1998 - “The Good Friday Agreement” / Belfast Agreement • Devolved parliament operational since 2007 – power-sharing Executive & the Northern Ireland Assembly • Success Story?

  3. Women as Victims Relatively low number of “direct victims” of violence: 323 out of over 3,600 killed High-profile cases: Rosemary Nelson; Jean McConville Many more women became “indirect victims” of violence Bereavement, loss, separation “Societal victims” Women as Combatants Active participants Supporters of the “armed struggle” Roles in paramilitary organisations: Máiread Farrell; Republican Prisoners; “dirty protests”; hunger strikers Supporting roles: safe houses; messengers; “Derry bin-bashers” WOMEN IN CONFLICT

  4. WOMEN IN PEACE • PEACE ACTIVISTS • “Women for Peace” • “The Peace People” • Máiread Corrigan & Betty Williams • COMMUNITY ACTIVISTS • Agents of peace through community development • POLITICAL ACTIVISTS • Bernadette Devlin • Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition

  5. A ‘MALE’ PEACE AGREEMENT? • Male dominance in the peace negotiations • 18 out of 108-member Northern Ireland Assembly are women • 4 women Ministers • 3 women Members of Parliament • 22% of elected local government representatives

  6. A ‘Women’s Experience”? – Themes emerging from Northern Ireland • There is no ‘homogenous female experience’ of conflict or peace • It is a fallacy that women are ‘natural peacemakers’ • Indirect support of violence and conflict • Men as peacemakers • Projecting the ‘peace-maker role’ on women may disguise inequities, barriers and obstacles to formal participation by women in peace-making at the legislative, constitutional level • Peace-building roles may reflect societal structures • Context of the conflict is vital to appreciating the behaviour of women – and men.

  7. Rebecca Thomas – Social Democratic and Labour Party

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