2023047 Dissertation

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School of Social and Political Sciences
To what extent have gender activists gained formal
political space since the Good Friday Agreement 1998?
February 2016
2023047
10,962 words
Presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
Degree of
M.A. in Politics

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Abstract
This dissertation is a study of gender relations and the role that they have played in women’s
political inclusion in Northern Ireland (NI). I argue that in spite of the dominant and
masculinised ethno-nationalist identities in the Northern Irish Assembly (NIA), feminist
activists are overcoming the gendered legislative shortcomings by taking affirmative action in
civic and grass roots society. The commitments to gender equality efforts in section 75 of the
Good Friday Agreement (GFA) 1998, while promising on paper, are not enforceable and have
been ignored by the primacy of Nationalist and Unionist antagonisms. In practice the GFA, I
argue, has re-essentialized the gender stereotypes and masculine power structures inherent in
the Unionist and Irish Nationalist identities which have dominated the Northern Irish conflict.
While there have been occasional exceptions, women actively seeking gender equality have
been marginalized from formal politics, revealing that in order to survive politically,
individuals have needed to conform to the status quo or challenge this norm from an
alternative political arena. My method is to firstly, analyse the input made by the NI
Women’s Coalition (NIWC) during peace negotiations; and show that while women were
politically visible during negotiations, the legacy that the party left on the agreement was
abandoned at the implementation stage and its contagion qualities were limited after the
Coalition’s dissolution in 2006. The nature of the consociationalist framework, I argue,
highlights a clear winner/loser, one dimensional mentality that has prevented the
consolidation of the NIWC’s inclusionary gender agenda. In light of these findings, I show
that women have had to utilize alternative space in the form of civic society to highlight
gendered legislative shortcomings. By looking at women’s civic and grass-roots activism, this
illustrates how gender activists (understood as individuals who have organised around gender
issues) have returned to the third sector in order to engage individuals on a cross community
basis around gender issues. Specifically I focus on the issue of abortion, a gendered issue that
best demonstrates the rejection of women’s rights in the NIA. The results show that women in
NI are relying on the same informal space to challenge gender inequalities that were in use
before the GFA. This reveals that although the patriarchal structures in the NIA have not
wavered, feminists outside of the NIA are overcoming the gendered legislative shortcomings,
and taking affirmative action in the face of the failed trickle-down, section 75 mainstreaming
theory. My dissertation therefore develops on literature that suggests gender activists need to
democratize democracy itself and find new pathways to politics. For until gender equality is

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realised as a beneficial and uniting force that is transformative and complimentary to
democracy by all political parties in power, the hostile nature of the NIA shall continue
pushing gender activists to the periphery of official decision-making and require them to
mobilize from outside the formal arena.

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Acknowledgments
I would like to extend a warm hand of thanks to my family and friends who have been a
source of inspiration and support throughout the process. I would also like to give a special
thanks to Mo Hume, Katherine Allison, Avila Kilmurray, Joanna McMinn and Rosie Burrows
for their feedback, guidance, patience and kindness, which challenged me to think in new
ways and remain positive. Finally, I would like to thank all the women and men in the North
who have fought the patriarchal structures for equality, justice and democracy.

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Table of Contents
Cover Page-1
Abstract-2
Acknowledgments-4
Table of Contents-5
1. Introduction-7
2. Literature Review-11
2.1 Gendered discourse of Nationalism-11
2.2 Consociationalism-14
2.3 Conclusions-16
3. Methodology-18
4. Case Study 1. The Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition-20
4.1 Background of the Women’s Movement and feminism in NI-20
4.2 Peace Negotiations and the NIWC-22
4.3 Implementation of the GFA and the demise of the NIWC-24
5. Case Study 2. Civic Society and Abortion in NI-28
5.1 A brief history of abortion in NI-28
5.2 The women’s sector and abortion-30
6. Conclusions-35
7. Bibliography-37

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Gender Activists campaigning for Abortion Rights in NI. 18th October 2008. Photo: Alliance
for Choice website.

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1 Introduction
The prospect of ending 30 years of political violence in NI was accompanied by a sense of
euphoria and hope for the future when peace negotiations started. The nature of these talks
would mean the establishment of a power sharing political institution that, it was hoped,
would enable inclusion and mutual respect between the two dominant ethno-national groups
in NI. The GFA was signed on the 10th April 1998, which has brought a period of sustained
peace and has been heralded as a success story. While the negotiated peace agreement aspired
to create political, economic and social transformation; a number of challenges became
apparent and more marked as time passed, none more so than gender inequality.
Women and the women’s movement were unusually present during the negotiations,
something which the United Nations landmark security council resolution (UNSCR) on
women, peace and security in 2000 highlighted as essential for a more successful and
sustainable peace (Pratt and Richter-Devroe; 2011, 490). Despite this initial inclusion, the full
integration of women in all efforts regarding conflict resolution and in politics today more
generally has not been achieved with women only taking 19.4% of the 108 seats in the NIA,
the lowest female representation of devolved and national legislatures in the UK (Potter; 2014,
12). Further, gender related issues such as abortion, which once united ethno-nationalist
antagonisms has more recently become a site for disparity between the political parties, in a
sense replacing the old ‘national question’ and ultimately reflecting political deadlock.
Therefore getting gender equality on to the agenda in 1998, was arguably a phase “[that] was
not consolidated” and has led to a return to the status quo ante (Ward; 2005, 22).
This dissertation sets out to explore whether women and women’s issues have gained political
space to challenge gender inequalities since the GFA 1998. The NIA has frequently been
described as ‘A Cold House’ for women seeking to tackle gender issues despite the inclusive
and rhetorical commitments made in the statutory equality mainstreaming commitment of
section 75 (Long; 2015). It states;
“Section 75 GFA (1998) requires designated public authorities to have due regard to the need
to promote equality of opportunity
-Between persons of different religious belief, political opinion, racial group; age; marital
status; or sexual orientation;

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-Between men and women generally;
- Between persons with a disability and persons without; and
-Between persons with dependants and persons without” (McLaughlin; ND).
This has led to questions of whether; equality mainstreaming works; and whether gender
activists can feasibly make gains within such a masculinized power-sharing structure (Nagel;
2015, 16). I will be engaging with this debate to understand whether the GFA has supported
the redressing of gender inequities both within the formal space of the NIA and through the
promotion and collaboration of civil society organisations. By adopting a feminist approach, I
deconstruct the degree to which gender power dynamics have been maintained within the
NIA by analysing the internal and external pressures used to subvert these norms. This
understanding is important because it illuminates what democratic processes actually
contribute to a more comprehensive form of gender sensitive democracy. I hope to contribute
to this understanding of the relationship between gender equality and democracy by exploring
the way in which gender activists have challenged, interacted with and negotiated the gender
norms inherent in Northern Irish politics in order to facilitate political advancements. In doing
this, I argue that in spite of the dominant and masculinised ethno-nationalist identities in the
NIA, feminist activists are overcoming the gendered legislative shortcomings by taking
affirmative action in civic and grass roots society. This demonstrates how the power-sharing
framework has largely marginalized gender activists from formal politics, which has meant a
reliance, on and strengthening of, the women’s sector in order to expand women’s democratic
rights.
Researching women’s political inclusion in societies is important for many reasons. Primarily,
it is important to challenge the notion that by simply increasing the descriptive number of
women into political discussions, women will feel empowered and gender-democracy will
prevail. Even though the percentage of women in the NIA has increased gradually since 1998,
this has not led to better substantive representation for women. For example, Arlene Foster
(Democratic Unionist Party; DUP) has recently been elected as the first female First Minister
of NI; however, this does not necessarily represent a deep and generous shift in the
established thinking of her Unionist party (Robinson 1992 cited by Ward; 2006, 96). The
DUP is noted for its espousal of largely anti-feminist rhetoric, and Foster’s individual ‘glass
ceiling’ breakthrough does not equate itself as a collective success for gender equality
considering that her visibility has been used to reinforce conservative norms (Cornwall and

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Molyneux; 2006,1187). On the other hand, Republican feminists would argue that their
engagement with Nationalism has promoted the feminist agenda. For example, Sinn Fein (SF),
the second largest party in NI, is the only party1 seeking to achieve a 50:50 representation
within their structures; further in 2015 they began supporting a women’s right to choose
abortion in certain limited circumstances (Galligan; 2013, 20). Clearly in NI, women’s
political inclusion as an issue is complex. Competing Nationalisms and their ability to support
the feminist agenda is clearly full of contradictions, and I explore how gender activists should
integrate with states that have institutionalised ethno-nationalist ideologies (Cornwall and
Molyneux; 2006, 1185). I advocate towards Transversal2 politics for women in NI. This does
not necessarily mean “imposing a single voice” on women through the re-establishment of a
non-nationalist women’s party, rather I argue that bridges need to be built linking mainstream
politicians with women’s grass roots organisations (Coulter cited in Ingman; 2007, 148). In
order for the good practice that exists at community level to disseminate into policy initiatives,
a collaboration between the formal and informal political initiatives are required to bring the
marginalized gender movement to the fore.
Through my review of the existing literature surrounding this topic, I have formulated the
following research questions:
RQ1. How have gender activists challenged essentialist notions of nationalist identity in the
NIA and has this challenge been successful?
RQ2. How have gender activists in NI attempted to overcome the democratic deficit outside
of the NIA?
I will address these questions through two case studies. The first case study looks at the rise
and fall of the NIWC within the NIA. This will demonstrate a number of things; namely, it
highlights how the NIA has not been hospitable to gender activists challenging the Nationalist
status quo and that section 75’s trickle down mainstreaming theory has had limited success in
convincing parties to change their approach to gender politics. In light of these findings, my
second case study looks at the issue of Abortion. This will demonstrate the gendered
legislative shortcomings of the NIA, but more importantly will illustrate how feminists
1 Apart from the Green Party, as of February 2016.
2Engaging in dialogue, across multiple markers of difference.

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outside of the NIA are providing activism in the face of the failed trickle-down section 75
mainstreaming theory, and the subsequent marginalisation of gendered issues. I will highlight
the work being done by the NI Women’s European Platform (NIWEP), the NI Human Rights
(HRs) Commission (NIHRC), the Belfast Feminist Network (BFN) and Alliance for choice
(AFC), to illustrate the different strategies being taken by gender activists in the fight for
equality. From my findings I intend to show that women are democratizing democracy and
creating a new path to facilitate their own political action.
My study begins with my literature review which establishes the theories that inform my
approach.

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2 Literature Review
The aim of my literature review is to frame gender within the theories of Nationalism and
Consociationalism (power-sharing government); two of the main theories that contributed in
formulating the NIA. I shall be reviewing this literature specifically because the NIA is
recognised as the official institution of democratic representation of all people in NI. I review
these theories from a feminist perspective that recognises gender as an acceptable form of
analysis in order to theoretically and historically contextualize my research questions.
There has been a limited amount of research looking at how gender activists have
democratized democracy in NI, particularly more contemporary cases. I hope to contribute to
literature which stresses the importance of utilizing other spaces outside of the formal
political arena, one where gender activists can define their own pathway into politics and
challenge the inherent gender inequalities which have not been effectively challenged by the
NIA.
2.1 Gendered discourse of Nationalism
Understanding the different roles played by women and men within Unionism (British
Nationalism) and Republicanism (Irish Nationalism) helps us to understand the masculine and
feminine constructions that have shaped Northern Irish society (Yuval Davis; 1997, 1)
(Hoewer; 2013, 219). Scholars such as Anand (2007), Bracewell (2000), Enlow (2000), and
Parpart and Zaleweski (2008) have illustrated links between masculinities, nationalism and
war, and in relation to NI, these findings are key to understanding the ‘warrior’ type identities
that were used by ethno-nationalist armed groups to encourage and recruit young men into
aggressive engagement (Ashe; 2011, 197) (Steenkamp; 2014, 131). These gendered identities
are said to become heightened during times of conflict with masculinities often associated
with organised violence, while femininities often become associated with passivity
(Steenkamp; 2014, 130) (Ward; 2004b, 502). Yuval-Davis and Anthias (1989) argue that
women’s participation is often depicted in terms of ‘reproduction’, through giving birth to the
next generation and maintaining the continuity of the nation’s culture and tradition. Thus,
men and women are depicted as having an essential national identity, possessing common
interests as men and women of the nation with a joint responsibility for producing and
protecting the boundaries of the nation as the terminal political community (Racioppi & See;
2006, 191). These roles clearly reinforce the gendered division of labour within the ethnic

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groups, consolidating the androcentric notion that men should be in public life, while women
should be in private life.
Despite ethno nationalist blocs being so ideologically opposed with regards to the
constitutional question, scholars who have explored the relationship between ethno-
nationalism and gender in NI have found that similar attitudes of women were shared during
the conflict (Matthews; 2014, 636) (Deiana; 2013, 401). Matthews notes, “Studies reveal how
‘male-supremacist religious codes’- with conservative Catholicism and an atypically non-
progressive brand of Protestantism have reinforced conservative gendered discourses”
(Matthews; 2014, 636). According to Deiana (2013) within the Catholic/Republican tradition,
the symbolic image of ‘Mother Ireland’ was used to denote the mythological symbol of the
nation, with Ireland depicted as a land in need of protection from the British state (2013; 401).
This became a hallmark of Irish nationalism but also one requiring male intervention to fully
establish ‘her’ rights as a Sovereign Power (Clarke; ND, 1). Similarly on the
Protestant/Unionist side, scholars such as Deiana (2013) and Morgan et al (1995) notes there
are references to the “biblical women...good mother and wife” (Ibid). However less attention
was given to women on this side which can help to explain the relative invisibility of women
within Unionist politics (Ibid). These religious teachings on both sides of the division
reinforced the male dominated power relations that have strengthened and promoted strict
moral and sexual codes that have had implications for women’s reproductive and other rights
today (Galligan & Knight; 2011, 587) (Deiana; 2013, 401). This reveals that definitions of
femininity reflect broader communal divisions in Northern Irish society whereby women are
exclusively understood as non-violent domestic Mothers, Wives and daughters (Ibid).
Although there is a breadth of feminist research which suggests that Feminism and
Nationalism is incompatible, Ward (2004b) has found that Irish Nationalism has also behaved
as a motivational force for women to get involved with their community at an armed group,
peace-making and grass-roots community level (498). This suggests that Feminism and
Nationalism have a complex and multifaceted relationship, whereby a dichotomy of opinion
is established between those who consider it limiting and others who consider it empowering.
However, it is only feminist scholarship that has taken note of the intricate relationship
between gender and nationalism with Pankhurst (2000) stating, “the challenge of gender
relations…. becomes too great for patriarchal societies to maintain in times of peace, and
women find their historical contribution marginalised in... official accounts of war”

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(Pankhurst; 2000, 6). In the case of NI, inter-communal differences in gender roles have been
nonetheless apparent despite the lack of recognition from mainstream literature. Catholic
women have notably taken up much more diverse political roles and in some cases have been
encouraged to act as combatants and revolutionaries (Deiana; 2013, 401). Unionist women on
the other hand have often been left with the role of ‘supporter’ to the male fighters during the
conflict, which has resonated in the ‘armed patriarchy’ of today’s NIA (Galligan; 2006). With
Unionist ideology bound up reacting against change and leaving little room for the
questioning of the status quo, little space was left for feminist reconstructions (Racioppi &
See; 2000, 22). Republicanism’s egalitarian political philosophy that stands theoretically
opposed to the state has meant that more room has been left to challenge the established
gendered social order, which helps in explaining why the majority of women linked to the
women’s movement were inextricably linked to Irish Nationalism (Potter; 2014, 267).
Scholars note that many Protestant women had difficulty in supporting feminism, as this was
thought to support a republican, anti-state and left wing agenda, a notion antithetical to the
unionist cause (Branniff and Whiting; 2015, 4) (Stapleton and Wilson; 2014, 2074).
O’Neill controversially noted in 2001, that “even politically active feminists in NI...freely
acknowledge the political primacy of the National struggle” (2001; 225-226). Therefore with
such a dense history and violent conflict, this research shows how nationalism makes gender
activists demands more complex than the single issue of women’s equality. Overall however,
in a political culture where the broad narrative has normatively assigned women the domestic
role of carer within the private sphere, and men as the primary public defender, it can be
understood why only a minority of women have attempted to deviate away from this role
(Deiana; 2013, 401) (Stapleton and Wilson; 2014, 2071).
Cockburn has noted that the post-war period can be a time when gender roles and power
relations are radically deconstructed and new norms are set (2013, 441) (Murtagh; 2008).
This can mean a challenge to the Nationalist masculinities which dominate the political arena
and the construction of an inclusive identity which lays claim for alternative gender relations.
In light of this, I construct my first research question. The official cessation of hostilities in
NI has provided ample opportunity for a transformative challenge to be mounted up by
gender activists, therefore;

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RQ1. How have women challenged essentialist notions of ethno nationalist identity in the NIA
and has this challenge been successful?
2.2 Consociationalism
Understanding the institutional arrangement in NI is key to understanding women’s political
inclusion and influence within the formal and informal arenas. According to Hartzell et al
(2001), the most durable peace settlements are found to be in states that previously had a
stable democracy as a regime, whereby a low intensity civil conflict lasted for an extended
period of time and the agreement included security assurances for former combatants by third
party states (202). Thus, NI as a case appeared to be quite promising for a successful
agreement. According to Nagel (2015), in signing and implementing peace agreements
leaders open themselves up to risks by adversaries, who want to extend their gains beyond the
negotiating table by testing the boundaries of the agreement (12). The British and Irish
governments made a conscious effort to prevent armed group organisations from obstructing
the agreement during negotiations by inducing and socialising their associated political
parties via an inclusive multi-party negotiation process (Ibid; 12-13).
The GFA created a power sharing institution, built on Arend Lijphart’s (1969) model of
consociational democracy. According to Schneckener (2002), a power sharing arrangement
can be identified using five characteristics: (1) a power sharing executive; (2) proportional
representation of all groups involved; (3) veto rights; (4) segmented autonomy, that is each
group enjoys a degree of self-government; (5) arbitration, that is a formal mechanism to
manage conflict disputes (204-205). For NI this has meant that all elected parties both
Unionist and Nationalist comprise of two distinct blocs and share power proportionately
(Murtagh; 2008, 45). It was in Lijphart’s opinion that “political stability” could be achieved
in countries with “cross cutting social cleavages” through the reconciliation-like aspects of
consociation (Lijphart; 1977, 85) (Taylor; 2009, 3). However, like many states ‘appropriate’
for consociationalism, fears from both sides that the opposition would gain more
economically from the arrangement created a security dilemma, one which is frequently cited
as one of the strongest impediments to peace agreements internationally (Hartzell; 1999, 4)
(Nagel; 2015, 13). This meant that in the years after the agreement, the power sharing
executive was suspended on a number of occasions due to disarmament problems. The
longest suspension was from 14 October 2002 until 7 May 2007. However, as the polity

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fragmented along national lines without consensus and homogeneity, advocates of the
consociationalist framework argued that only by recognizing such ethnic and religious
divisions and creating a new form of government could help overcome the deep-seated
antagonisms within Northern Irish society (Hayes & McAllister; 2012, 1) (Murtagh; 2008; 7).
The implementation of this negotiated and shared agreement in NI has been viewed
internationally as an archetypal ‘success story’ for the model of consociation in dealing with
conflict management, with leading advocates McGarry and O’Leary contending “there is hard
evidence that the peace process has brought greater security and stability because it was
attached to an inclusive consociational settlement” (2006, 264) (Clancy and Nagle; 2010, 53).
It’s ‘success’ has prompted many scholars to suggest that it would be capable to tackle
divided societies in countries such as Bosnia, Lebanon, Burundi, Sri Lanka, Iraq and
Afghanistan (Rothchild and Roeder; 2005, 5) (Clancy and Nagle; 2010, 54). Advocates
suggest further that power sharing has had a soothing effect on political competition, with
Hartzell arguing that electoral Proportional Representation decreases the intensity of political
competition (1999, 9) (Nagel; 2015, 14). However, McLaughlin (ND) states; “the agreement
was a further step towards a multicultural rather than an equalitarian or assimilationist ethnic
policy on the part of the UK government in its governance of NI” (3). While I recognise that
consociation has been fundamental for the peace settlement, consociation has not soothed
political competition. In reality, and on the contrary, it has had a damaging effect on the
progression of equality initiatives and the mellowing of hard lined political association.
In line with feminist arguments, I contend that consociationalism has perpetuated ethnic
tensions and gender inequalities, notably by its tendency to focus solely on national identity,
allowing little space for the expression of other facets of identity (Murtagh; 2008, 7) (Hayes
& McAllister; 2012, 2). The potentially beneficial aspects of power sharing needs to be
considered within a deeply divided society, intra-ethnic outbidding has occurred in the NIA
whereby political parties only compete within their ethnic bloc and do not attempt to find
cross community support to expand upon their electoral base (Moore et al; 2014, 159). This
has created a centrifugal development from the conciliatory centre towards the extremes,
leading to greater segregation and political tribalism occurring (Ibid; 161). In NI, this
“Bipolar structure” increased the electoral ascendancy of the DUP and SF- the parties most
associated with militant Unionism and Irish Nationalism, freezing communal division along
ethno-national elite lines, creating what Wilford (1996) describes as a “proxy war” in which

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power is perceived as zero-sum, with one sides loss amounting to the other’s gain (Wilford,
1996 cited in Murtagh; 2008, 43) (Deiana; 2013, 403). The ascendancy of the most militant
parties, arguably embeds hostile and aggressive forms of interaction, which re-establishes
pre-war prerogatives of domination (largely) between men, which has prevented focusing on
the so called ‘other’ equalities which are laid out in section 75 of the GFA (Hayes &
McAllister; 2012; 2).
Further, Moosa et al (2013) have found that masculine understandings of peace are largely
centred around the interests and needs of communities and the institutions which serve them
in the public realm (457). The ‘classic’ understanding of peace employed within
consociationalism are notably ‘gender neutral’ which can be understood as essentially in line
with this masculine definition. As a result of this gender neutral approach, Murtagh (2008)
contends that the power-sharing structure has been an “institutional obstacle” to women’s
substantive representation (5). Deiana (2016) has even stated that, “consociationalism…
produces and reiterates profound gender exclusions that in many ways contradict the visions
and principles ratified in UNSCR 1325” (1). This insensitivity within the formal structures
has resulted in a clear democratic deficit, which Murtagh states has pushed gender activists to
work in the informal sector where they are more likely to receive gratification and results
within their own framework (2008; 5). Therefore, with this understanding that
consociationalism has reinforced patriarchal culture and practice within the NIA, I formulate
my second research question;
RQ2: How are feminists attempting to overcome the democratic deficit outside of the NIA?
2.3 Conclusions
This literature review has sketched the relevant historical and theoretical concepts which have
guided and informed my approach. Although the case of NI has often been cited as a success
case for peace and democracy, this literature provides argument for the idea that peace and
democracy is not complete until gender inequalities are recognised and acted upon. I have
shown that gender identities are crucial for the construction of Nationalisms and that these
notions have been reinforced and consolidated within the current framework of the NIA. This
poses a problem for women’s political inclusion because it reinforces the public/private
divide that Nationalisms have historically promoted and leaves little room for inclusive and

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integrative politics that can practically challenge the gender inequalities inherent within the
political system.
In light of these findings, I have proposed two further research questions that shall be
supportive in discovering whether gender activists have been able to gain political space and
influence since the GFA 1998. By identifying and highlighting the alternative approaches
taken by gender activists, I contribute to literature that recognises the contributions made by
individuals who have challenged the status quo and reveal that the mainstreaming technique
employed within the GFA has not been implemented or been successful in practice.

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3 Methodology
My analysis is on how gender activists have challenged the status quo. This highlights that
women have largely been marginalized from the formal political arena of the NIA. My
assumption in this approach is that Feminism is an acceptable and comprehensive tool for
analysis. I aim to show that the inability to view gender equality as a complementary force to
democracy in NI, has contributed to the further institutionalization of ethno nationalist
rivalries, leading to paradigm paralysis and a lack of space for women’s issues to be realised
and acted upon. I show this by demonstrating in my case studies that individuals who have
challenged the status quo have not progressed politically in the NIA. The field of gender
equality involves a vast number of scholars with competing ideas of what the most effective
tools are for challenging patriarchal structures. My specific method is to use two case studies
that focus on women’s activism in NI, mainly but not exclusively from 1996 to the present
day. This is because peace negotiations started at this time, which symbolizes the official
move from NI in conflict to NI in peace. This time is critical because the process of peace-
negotiation is considered a time when gender norms can be radically deconstructed. While
power sharing has been suspended on a number of occasions, all political parties are now
committed to the process and the NIA has proceeded uninterrupted since 2007. However, as I
shall explore later, these interruptions have had negative consequences for the
implementation of gender equality initiatives.
My first case study provides an overview of the women’s movement in NI and how this
progressed from the informal civic space to the formal political space in the emergence of the
NIWC. In light of my findings, I shall take on a second case study and look at the gendered
issue of Abortion in NI. This will demonstrate how feminists outside of the NIA are
overcoming the gendered legislative shortcomings of the NIA, and taking affirmative action
in the face of the failed section 75 mainstreaming attempt.
I shall analyse a collection of academic analyses, primary documents, election results, news
reports and statistics to make up the content of my case studies. A case study is a valid mode
of study for my research question, as it allows me to maintain “the holistic and meaningful
characteristics of real-life events” (Yin; 2009, 4). My research offers both descriptive
elements; in which a phenomenon and its context are described, and explanatory elements; in
which the phenomenon has no clear, single outcome, to analyse gender activist’s political

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inclusion and influence in NI (Baxter and Jack 2008, Yin 2009). This case study method will
help to answer my central question; to what extent have gender activists gained formal
political space since the GFA 1998?
I recognise that there are gender activists in the NIA working within their respective parties to
achieve greater gender equality and to create a less hostile environment for its discussion.
However, I have chosen to focus on gender activists who have surpassed the confines of the
ethno-nationalist dichotomy as I believe that Nationalisms have generally been restrictive to
women’s autonomy. I am also aware that abortion is not the only gendered issue that needs to
be tackled, however given the limitations in the size of my study, I argue that this issue best
demonstrates the current rejection of women’s rights in the formal arena of politics in NI.

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4 Case Study 1. The NIWC
In examining the NIWC as a case study, I explore how women in NI challenged the gendered
political space prescribed to them by Nationalised masculinities present during the conflict.
Further, it highlights the key role played by women in peace negotiations, showing the
overwhelming impact that their involvement had upon the GFA’s equality initiative as a
whole. Finally, in spite of the women’s achievements, the case study reveals how the window
of opportunity to catalyze positive change for women was ultimately short lived, revealing
the re-masculinisation of politics in the implementation stage of the agreement.
4.1 Background of the Women’s Movement and Feminism in NI
The women’s movement in NI started later than the US, Europe and the ‘mainland’ of the UK.
Instead, women who would have been likely to set up women’s groups were otherwise
engaged during the years of the feminist revival, involved with the civil rights movements
which focused on ending sectarian discrimination. Something which Nagel (2015) argues was
considered as an “immediate experience of injustice”, as opposed to gender oppression
(22). McWilliams has described the activism of women in these movements as ‘accidental’,
explaining that as women were kept out of the formal realm of politics without access to
negotiations, they did not view themselves as political (2015; 13-15). According to Roulston
(1997), one female student activist recalled in 1988 that, “‘One man, One Vote’ just didn’t
sound right...But I didn’t know why” (44). This feeling, eventually led to spontaneous
gendered activism such as ‘The mothers of Belfast’ campaign, which saw the joining together
of mothers and farmers in protest at government decisions to take free milk away from school
children. However all these earlier moments of activism often had too much of a narrow
focus on social issues that were not enough to hold momentum in the face of daily repression,
civil unrest and brutality during the ‘troubles’. As Mc Williams (1995) stated, “community
and single issue campaigns struggled to reassert themselves in competition with the bitter
political divisions in the province” (23). In spite of this, women still campaigned within pre-
existing networks of women’s activism and while these campaigns were not fought under the
label of feminism, this activism was still gendered and essentially a non-aligned feminist act
(Kilmurray and McWilliams; 2011).
This paved the way for the second wave of feminism which received an organised and
‘official’ response from Northern Irish women in the 1970s. It was a difficult task creating a

21
unified women’s movement in purpose and strategy in NI. Divisions among feminists over
politics and ideology are a recurrent feature of all modern women’s movements, however
these divisions were widened further by the Catholic-Nationalist, Protestant-Unionist divide.
There was some relative success with the creation of the 1976 Peace people movement, which
emerged from a women’s initiative, managing at one point to bring 136 groups under the
same umbrella and was influential in decreasing ethno nationalist violence for a short time
(Byrne; 2001, 339). It was hoped that the women’s movement would become one
homogenous movement involving both working class and middle-class feminists, however
these intersections caused disillusionment and division, leading to the sharp drop of 136
groups to 26 groups by 1980 (Mc Williams; 1995, 28). While these initiatives had limitations,
the ability for women’s civic engagement in a non-constitutional sense to develop a response
to the deficiencies of the conflict and direct rule government shows the strength of civil
society as an alternative and collaborative space during this time (Ward; 2005). Despite the
ethno-national divide these women proved gender solidarity was possible. By concentrating
on feminist issues of common interest- lack of abortion rights, low wages and childcare, they
challenged essentialist notions of identity and demonstrated the capacity of the women’s
movement to overcome national divisions and mobilize across difference.
Such cross community collectives that declared the banning of wider political issues
discussion, clearly embodies Yuval Davis (1977) coined concept of ‘transversalism’.
According to Murtagh (2008) the principles of transversal politics can be explained as; “an
alternative political ethos characteristic of heterogeneous coalitions which prizes openness,
dialogue and unity of purpose amongst diverse identities” (42). This gave women the
possibility for understanding each others specific oppressions which enabled informal
coalition and a way in which women with different nationalist identities could agree
(Frederick; 1997). According to Fearon (1999) by the 1990s there were an estimated 1000
women’s groups by and for women attempting to tackle the non sectarian social issues of
education, welfare and health while the so called ‘real issues’ of armed group violence and
the constitutional question were tackled by men within the formal political sphere (3).
Therefore the masculinisation of formal politics led to the feminisation of informal politics
and these structural barriers prevented women’s access to influence decision making bodies
making issues such as divorce severely restricted, abortion and homosexuality illegal and
nursery facilities for women almost non-existent (Murtagh; 2008, 42). However, the
representation gap of women in formal politics encouraged the women’s movement in civil

22
society to thrive in the face of patriarchal party structures and challenge the democratic deficit
which they collectively experienced. While some of these women fought under the banner of
feminism and some did not, it is clear that they wanted greater gender equality regardless of
Nationalist persuasion. This proves that even before peace negotiations began, women were
struggling as a united force for greater democracy through an alternative stream.
4.2 Peace Negotiations and the NIWC
In 1994 paramilitary ceasefires began, and by February 1996, the Irish and British
governments announced that multiparty talks discussing the future of NI were to start on June
10th. While the peace process was rooted in a male dominated and ethnically polarized polity,
the procedures which used a list system of proportional representation and delivered two
candidates from the ten most successful parties opened up opportunities for marginalized
groups to participate (Racioppi and See; 2006, 197). Initially the NIWC leaders, under the
aegis of the NIWEP, lobbied for the existing political parties to include women in their
candidate lists, however when this action was effectively ignored and the government
published its ideas for the electoral system, they decided to form a political grouping to
contest the elections and challenge the invisibility of women themselves (Fearon; 2013). Born
out of pre-existing chapters of the women’s movement and civil society, mentioned above,
the NIWC revealed the ability for informal activism to transition into formal politics and
make the “personal political” (Kilmurray and McWilliams; 2011). By providing a gendered
perspective, they hoped to raise awareness of issues that Cockburn (2013) states are
customarily ignored by leaders who think about security in a limited and realist sense (441).
They wanted to raise awareness for the care for victims, the low number of female
representatives, education, and health to name a few (Ibid) (Ward; 1986). While not all
women’s groups supported this notion at ‘the women in politics’ conference in 1994;
believing that issues such as policing and decommissioning would require too many
compromises for those holding tightly to their pre-existing identities and allegiances.
The frustration felt by the list of parties declared by the British government as parties which
‘could compete’ for representation spurred the formation of the NIWC (Kilmurray and
McWilliams; 2011). Formed six weeks before the elections, obtaining 7,731 votes and
guaranteeing two seats in the talks and the forum, came as much as a surprise to the NIWC as
it did to the other political parties and the media (Fearon; 1999, 37). The overused lament that

23
established parties could not find female members to stand for office was challenged by the
women in the NIWC, who wanted to make a positive contribution to NI’s future.
The party, in truth did not have one clear ideology but focused on the three principles of
inclusion, equality and HRs, largely inspired by the 1995 United Nations Fourth World
Conference on Women in Beijing. Drawing on feelings that women were left ‘politically
homeless’, the party made a point of encouraging participants to take their ‘identity baggage’
into the room with them. This meant that they were expected to acknowledge differences up
front, rather than to be ‘polite’ and leave them outside of talks (Fearon; 2013). Further,
because the NIWC sought to recruit members from both communities it refused a stance
regarding the constitutional question. This decision allowed for a cross-community basis of
45 per cent Catholic and 28 per cent protestant, as well as agnostics and atheists (Fearon;
1999, 23). This challenged both the zero sum approach taken up by the other ethno nationalist
parties, and the sectarian nature of the NIA, showing that identities are not fixed or singular
but multiple, and apt to shift over time (Cockburn; 1998,211).
The multi-partisan entity, represented by the NIWC stood contrary to the dominant bipolar
discourse of consociation (Murtagh; 2008, 42). This challenge to the winner/loser mentality
of the NIA was done so that alliances and relationships could be built across parties and so
that they could encourage their objectives. For example, with regards to the representation
gap between men and women, NIWC campaigned for equal representation in all parties and
women’s inclusion. Traditional parties, often met this transversal style of politics with
miscomprehension and outright opposition. The decision to act as a conduit between parties
that were not yet ready to meet face to face or the decision to brief excluded parties in order
to facilitate on-going negotiations, led to much scepticism and abuse. When SF were not
invited to take up seats at negotiations and NIWC met with them to compensate for their
absence, the NIWC were labelled as “SF in skirts” (Kilmurray & McWilliams; 2011). Former
DUP leader, Peter Robinson called the NIWC’s relevance into question by stating “they
haven’t been at the forefront of the battle when shots were being fired”, highlighting his own
ignorance to women’s action during the ‘trouble’ (uoted in Fearon; 1996, 14). This attitude
toward the NIWC was to reverberate throughout the process and the abuse the women
received particularly from the DUP and UUP, revealed to Northern Irish society the
aggressive and masculinised culture of politics. They portrayed the NIWC and their non-
stance on the national question as an image of weakness.

24
They advocated the need for participatory democracy and pursued this through a two folded
strategy, leaving their mark on the eventual agreement and contributing ideas that could be
picked up and subsumed by other parties (Kilmurray & McWilliams; 2011). Concerning
gender issues and inspired by the Beijing conference 1995, the NIWC managed to get a
section to include ‘the right of women to full and equal participation’ in the GFA 1998. This
was justified to the drafters of the agreement by pointing out that women had been
living under an ‘armed patriarchy for 30 years’ (Cathy Harkin cited by Fearon; 1999, 88).
However, they made a point of not becoming ‘one trick ponies’ by tackling issues other than
gender policies. One of the parties greatest achievements, was getting the issues of victims,
integrated education and mixed housing on to the political agenda. These ideas were aligned
with their agenda of inclusion, this highlighted the need not to ignore the most marginalized
people in society. Further, the coalition promoted the concept of a civic forum- a citizen’s
assembly that would help put forward their idea of transforming democracy in NI into a more
participatory model. The idea was that the Civic Forum would sit alongside the elected
Assembly accepted with the aim being to ensure that informal politics and ‘ordinary voices’
were not marginalised by the future governmental structures (Molinari; 2007, 117). These
achievements provide evidence that gender activists did gain formal space, however, as the
next section will show these remained as largely rhetorical promises without actual
implementation, revealing that women’s equality still remains subordinate to ethno-
nationalist priorities.
4.3 Implementation of the GFA and the demise of the NIWC
The NIWC left its mark on the GFA, particularly with the issues regarding the reconciliation
and victims of violence. Most of the other issues including the equality section, although
mentioned within the agreement, did not get acted upon in a meaningful way. The
agreement’s attempt to neutralise the constitutional question, was hoped would eventually
normalize politics and provide a preliminary framework as a starting point for parties to work
together (Dingley; 2005, 4). The consociational structures, however, had a very different
effect. Rather than working towards reconciliation, relationship building and the
depoliticization of the national question, consociationalism institutionalised the pre-existing
ethno national divide (Ashe; 2012). This institutionalized division has been understood as a
necessary trade-off for relative peace, but it has also meant the sacrifice of many other
important sections of the agreement, including gender issues.

25
The NIA was suspended three times in 1999, in 2000 and 2002, and this had a number of
knock on effects for the aspirations of the NIWC members. The civic forum was suspended
with the rest of the institutions from 2002 and it was never started up again officially because
mainstream parties assumed that it could undermine their ‘representative role’, with MLA’s
calling the forum an ‘unelected talking shop’ devoid of democratic accountability (Kilmurray
& McWilliams; 2011). The security dilemma which arose as a result of the difficulties in
coming to conclusions regarding policing, prisoner releases and decommissioning led to the
breakdown of trust that had been established during negotiations, contributing to the further
polarization of society and politics (Ashe; 2012, 234). These feelings of distrust had a serious
impact on the capacity of the NIWC, with moderate parties suffering while more extreme
parties took centre stage, with SF ousting the SDLP as largest party in the Nationalist bloc
and the DUP ousting the UUP in the Unionist bloc (BBC NEWS; 2007). This created a cycle
of defensive voting, with individuals voting to secure and defend the rights of their respective
communities, rather than selecting parties with the aim of integration. Therefore the
transversal style of the NIWC, which valued dialogue and compromise was not attractive nor
perceived as suitable in the struggle between sectarian interests in the eyes of the electorate
(Ashe; 2012, 235). Murtagh (2008) explains this as the “climatic shift” away from optimism
of the “cautionary” electorate in the face of a polarized political sphere (49).
With this inter-ethnic struggle for majority representation, traditional parties, most notably SF
and AP began to increase their number of women representatives by 10% and 11% during the
2001 elections (Nagel; 2015, 34). This meant that the so called ‘one issue’ party had started a
contagion effect. While this affirmed to the NIWC that established parties were taking their
issues more seriously, it also presented itself as an established threat to their survival. Just
because these parties were taking more women did not mean that women’s interests were
being prioritized on the agenda, however for the many of the electorate this meant that the
NIWC’s job was over.
The election format did not help the NIWC sustain itself within the assembly either. The shift
from the list system to the ‘preferential system of PR with Single Transferable Vote (STV)’,
indisputably disadvantaged the NIWC (Murtagh; 2008, 47). Horowitz (1993) explains that
STV makes it easy for parties to win a seat, thus advantaging dominant parties and leaving
little space for a new party to make a breakthrough (180). This system also enabled cross-

26
party alliances and electoral pacts between parties promoting similar policies, this behaviour
marginalized smaller parties like the NIWC that occupied a small cross-communal territory
with limited capacity to form its own cross-party alliances (Murtagh; 2008, 47). Horowitz
(2001) contends that STV is a “system perfectly compatible with the maintenance of
ethnically based parties and not particularly supportive of multi-ethnic coalitions” (100).
Given the high regional dispersion of the party’s supporters, STV damaged the NIWC in
terms of its territorial constituency basis (Horowitz; 2002 cited in Murtagh; 2008, 47). This
exposes that the GFA in practice contributed to the marginalization of transformative,
integrated identities and approaches to reconciliatory politics in NI. As Nagel (2015) affirms
“[the NIWC] lack of size directly translated to a lack of political weight, which was noticed
by the public calling the coalition’s potential as an agent for change into question” (35).
The NIWC ceased to have a seat in the NIA in 2003 and ceased to exist in 2006. While the
GFA was their greatest success, it was also their greatest failure. Getting Section 75 on to the
agreement was a triumph for gender activists and had the potential to encourage more space
for gender inequalities to be challenged effectively, however, the inability to obtain any
institutional safeguards, meant that the statutory duty was not enforceable, and that “there was
no wording to prevent a back-tracking on positive action for women” (Cockburn; 2013, 165).
Further, section 75’s focus on equality of opportunities, rather than equality of outcomes has
meant that arguments for positive discrimination have been denied, and has in reality
bolstered the detrimental ‘gender neutrality’ argument which the majority of mainstream
parties silently, or not, uphold. Cockburn (2013) highlights the clear prioritisation the
agreement took, by pointing out that section 76; which deals with religious equality, is legally
enforceable while section 75, which deals with other equalities, is not (169). Although more
recently parties such as SF and AP have become more pro-active in their attempts to improve
the gender imbalance, with only 19% of the current assembly being female, this proves that
gender proposals on a peace agreement does not translate into gender equality for society
(Bell & O’Rourke; 2010, 975). However, as Cheryl Carolus, African National Congress
representative and negotiator believed, “If women had not been so heavily involved, “the
talks would have suffered from what I call ‘testosterone poisoning’” (Carolus cited by Ward;
2013, 96). Therefore, while some of the NIWC achievements did have flaws in practice, they
still set the framework and without their contribution it is unlikely that any of their
competitors would have made significant advances towards women’s representation.

27
The NIWC was always set to be a temporary party, but their premature removal was too swift
to consolidate many of the inclusive ideas which would have led to a more progressive
agenda. The ability to create a non-hierarchical ‘transversal coalition’ and compete politically,
shows how they were able to create space to challenge essentialist conceptualisations of
ethno-nationalist identities and the pedestalled notion of masculinity. However, the institution
appeared too narrowly focused on upholding these identities to allow for any transformative
identities to emerge in a sustainable way. It is clear that the NIWC was a unique intervention,
but their challenge had limited success. Although a commitment to equality was made in the
GFA, political processes have been hostile to full implementation and to individuals not
exclusively focused on the Nationalist or Unionist agenda.
The impact of this has been that gender activists in NI have attempted to overcome the
democratic deficit outside of the NIA, in ways that my next case study will illustrate.

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5 Case Study 2 Civic Societyand Abortion in NI
In light of the gendered shortcomings that are apparent within the NIA, this case aims to
focus on how the women’s sector in NI have tackled the gendered policy issue of Abortion,
which is still illegal. Gender activists are redefining political space by engaging with a
number of strategies outside of the NIA, in order to tackle the democratic deficit that’s largely
being upheld by the conservative nature of ethno-nationalist ideology. I believe this example
best demonstrates the rejection of women’s rights within formal politics and shows that
activists are relying on informal structures and emerging democratic space to push for change.
I shall firstly historically and legally contextualise Abortion in NI, this shall show how
conservative morality has acted as a barrier for abortion rights, I shall then turn to the
women’s sector and highlight the work being done by the NIHRC, NIWEP, BFN and AFC to
challenge this stymied issue.
5.1 A brief history of Abortion in NI
The 1967 UK Abortion Act, which allowed for abortion up to 28 weeks with the permission
of two doctors, was never extended to NI despite it becoming law in England, Scotland and
Wales. Although Westminster decided that abortion would remain as a reserved issue, for NI
this rule did not count, with Donald Dewar MP explaining that it did not extend because of
NI’s ‘Special Case’ (Thomson; 2015,10). In the NIA in 2000, 2007 and 2008 there was an
overwhelming consensus in opposition to extending any form of abortion law, which suggests
that across the assembly, when it comes to women, the majority of parties share conservative
views. In 2008, Gordon Brown Prime Minister at the time, said that to push the amendment
forward would potentially jeopardize the NI peace process (Ward; 2013). With Nationalist
and Unionist ideology largely speaking of women in terms of their reproductive capacity, the
parties unwillingness to shift the gender roles suggests that actors in the NIA are still largely
carrying gendered legacies from their prior incarnation (Mackay 2006 cited in O’Rourke;
2013, 212).
While it should be celebrated that gender issues have gained a new terrain of political
contestation in NI; considering that they were given little to no consideration during the
troubles, this has not meant that increased discussion has led to improved circumstances for
women. Mycock and McDaid (2014) argue that the ‘culture wars’ in NI has two distinct
strands. Issues such as the public display of national beliefs and identity: the Irish language,

29
the flying of flags and Orange Order parading debates, are considered as the first strand and
has noticeable Republican and Unionist, sectarian tendencies. While issues regarding social
and moral concerns; blood donation by gay men, same sex marriage and abortion, that are
less aligned to green and orange notion are considered as second strand. These second strand
issues have cut across ethno-nationalisms in the assembly, with the cross-communal alliance
shown by the DUP, UUP and SDLP in March 2012 in a direct challenge to the Marie Stopes
clinic, which was opened to provide terminations for up to 9 weeks of pregnancy. The
alliance was created to limit the provision of termination to National Health Service facilities,
thus effectively outlawing Marie Stopes from working in NI. This proposed legislation was
prevented as a result of the use of a petition of concern (POC), made together by SF and AP,
with MLAs voting 53-40 against the amendment; however, according to Thomson (2015),
even those opposing the amendment to outlaw private terminations were quick to stress that
their actions in this debate did not signal their support for more liberal abortion legislation (8).
This presents a level of social conservatism within the assembly, further exposed by the
limited focus on abortion as a matter of public versus private provisions of services, which
shows ignorance to the fact that Irish women (North and South) are having to travel to
England every year for private operations. For women MLA’s wishing to challenge this wall
of united ‘morality’, especially for those whose party positions are bound to a pro-life stance,
this limits the space for them to challenge the inherent gender inequalities and acts as a
catalyst for gender activists to work outside of the formal framework.
The abortion debate further highlights the abuse of GFA protocol. The POC within the GFA,
which was put in place as a safeguarding system to protect minority rights has dominantly
been used and abused to restrict social advancement and protect party political interests. For
example, in 2015 the same sex marriage proposal won a majority vote but was blocked from
advancing further by the DUP. Dr Alex Schwartz (2015) suggests that the petition should
only be used for strand 1 issues which have an obvious ethno-national resonance (Schwartz;
2015). He has found that the POC has largely been used for the veto of broader purposes and
that, in short, there is no topic that cannot be subject to the petition (Ibid). It’s use has acted
and still is acting as a threat to gender equality in NI, and clearly highlights the democratic
deficit that gender activists are faced with post GFA. With the largest party in NI having its
roots based in Evangelicalism, there is no doubt that the petition will continue to be abused to
prevent abortion rights from entering NI. Therefore, although the abortion debate is found in
many societies, in NI there is a danger that it will not be resolved until the POC is reformed.

30
While it is likely that the abortion issue is being used to further exacerbate the already stark
differences between the two largest parties which often emphasise their different moral
standing points, SFs change in stance towards abortion, albeit limited, should be viewed in a
positive light (Thomson; 2015, 15). As the second largest party in the NIA this could
encourage a wider discussion of the issue and has potential contagion qualities, which could
encourage more of the parties in NI to change their stance and better reflect the views of NI
society, with 7 out of 10 people now in favour of Abortion reform under certain
circumstances (see Table 1).
In review of the context, the abortion debate has begun to get considerable more attention
than it used to which is a positive step for gender activists. However with the issue
increasingly becoming a moral debate between Nationalism and Unionism, it is clear that
there is much to be achieved before NI catches up with the rest of the UK and reforms the
1861 criminal law, hence the increased activism shown by the women’s sector.
Table 1: Amnesty International Survey 2014. Opinions on whether abortion should be
available in NI (and under what circumstance).
5.2 The women’s sector and abortion
Activists in NI had hoped that the 2008 Human Fertilisation and Human Embryology bill
would bring forward the implementation of the 1967 Abortion Act to the NIA. Given the

31
correct assumption that Westminster would place further justice and policing powers to
devolved NI, activists were under the impression that parliament would intervene on the issue
of abortion and extend abortion to NI. Goretti Horgan, a pro-choice activist, wrote in the Irish
Times (2008), that to “leave abortion to the NIA [is like saying]… leave it to the Taliban to
sort out women’s rights” (Irish times; 2008 cited in Thomson; 2015, 11). Indeed, when
attempts were made to extend the 1967 act, the four dominant parties opposed the extension
in a rare instance of solidarity. Two clear interpretations surrounding the issue became
apparent. For MP Diane Abbott and the pro-choice movement, it was discussed as an issue of
equal rights that should be consistent across the four nations of the UK. For NI MPs it was
understood as an issue that must be respected as an exclusively devolved and regional issue to
be discussed in Stormont3 (Thomson; 2015, 12). Dr Margaret Ward, then Director of the
Women’s Resource and Development Agency in Belfast, one of the key organisations in the
Northern Irish women’s sector, stated in a 2009 speech that, “[this was an explicit
example]… of ‘women’s needs[being] traded on the pretext of maintaining a ‘peace process’
in which women have become increasingly marginalised” (Ward, 2009 cited in Thomson;
2015, 13). The women’s sector contests the differential treatment that NI has received with
regards to reproductive rights, it considers the fundamental rights of women to cut across
devolved borders, however, this example shows that both political institutions (UK
parliament and the NIA) do not provide ample locations for progressive activism to take place;
with a largely conservative paralysis at the regional level and a lack of interest at the National
level. With regards to other gendered issues, central government has avoided involvement,
the only gendered policy to come was during direct rule between 2002 to 2007 which saw the
introduction of civil partnerships.
In attempts to overcome the democratic deficit that is inherent to the patriarchal structures of
the NIA, the more institutionalised women’s sector’s has lobbied for the implementation of
international standards such as the UNSCR 1325 and the convention on the elimination of all
forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW) used to enhance women’s citizenship
claims (Side; 2007,9) (Hoewer; 2013, 218). For example, NIWEP in 2012 prepared a shadow
report for the CEDAW committee that included a section on the implementation of UNSCR
1325 and assessed the progress made by the government in fulfilling its obligations. Full
implementation of the international gender instruments is an important development in
3 Parliamentbuildings in NI.

32
enhancing women’s rights in the international sphere and these have helped to encourage the
continued pattern of women’s active civic engagement present in the community and
voluntary sector. The NIWEP is an umbrella body with a membership of National and local
organisations which provides women in NI with a platform to make their voices heard on
domestic, European and International social, economic, cultural and political affairs. NIWEP
submitted a public report addressed to the UK government in 2012 with the explicit
addressing of women’s reproductive rights- explaining that “ there is a lack of clarity about
when policies and actions apply throughout the UK and when they do not” (2012, 1). By
pursuing the strategy of lobbying the government for the implementation of internationally
binding women’s rights mechanisms through lack of abortion law, they state “abortion law
should be amended to remove punitive provisions imposed on women who undergo abortions
and that health services should be delivered in a gender-sensitive manner to all health
concerns of women” (Ibid, 8). By engaging with UN recommendations gender activists have
been able to establish legitimacy and a normative form of precedent which validates the
argument that the UK government is failing to address the systematic violation of women’s
rights. This has given gender activists the discursive tools needed to justify their claims using
an internationally accepted framework which helps to legitimise the collective grievance felt
by women seeking abortions in NI.
Many of the women in the NIWC have remained heavily involved with HRs, equality and
women’s sector, in an attempt to further women’s interests from outside of the stagnated
assembly. For example, Monica Mc Williams who was a NIWC MLA became chief
commissioner of the NI HRs Commission (NIHRC) from 2005 to 2011. She called on the
court to declare that the current law on abortion for women in cases of serious malformation
of the foetus or pregnancy as a result of rape or incest is incompatible with HRs law and
results in a breach of the rights of women and girls seeking a termination. This method does
not engage with the issues of devolution, reserved matters and the 1967 Abortion act, but
instead engages with European HRs Law. The NIHRC brought an application forward
seeking a declaration that sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861
and Section 25 of the Criminal Justice Act (NI) 1945 were incompatible with; Article 3, the
right to freedom from torture and inhuman degrading treatment or punishment; Article 8, the
right to privacy and finally; Article 14, the right to be free from discrimination of the
European Convention of HRs (Rooney; 2015). It was found that the NIA was in breach of
Article 8 and was declared incompatible with HRs law, however this did not mean there

33
would be a legal obligation on the government to change the offending law. This
announcement is hugely significant and proves that rights based discourse has enabled the
issue of abortion to take centre stage, making it a visible and serious issue on the political
platform and helping to provide women’s equality as a democratic norm. However, on the
11th February 2016, the NIA voted against legalizing abortion in the case of foetal
abnormality. While this has not brought substantive change yet, there is hope that this method
shall eventually influence the NIA to change its legislation. However it is important to be
aware of its limitations. O’Rourke (2007) stresses the need for multi-level engagement with
the law in order to deliver positive social change for women, as while the language of rights
provides educative debates this does not necessarily imply that action or implementation is
inevitable (22).
In consideration of this ‘multi-level engagement’, more informal actions have been carried
out by grass roots organisations, such as the BFN, which was established in 2010. This is an
example of non-institutionalised activism that has contributed to making women’s issues
more visible in a broader social and cultural context. The activities of the BFN are indicative
of the new trajectories of feminist activism underway, according to Deiana and Pierson
(2015), and it presents a less institutionalised sector that aims to provide space for multiple
feminist perspectives. It uses an online platform and hosts informal meetings and campaigns
regarding gender matters to lobby and influence policy and legislation and to provide
information around feminism and gender equality issues. Deiana and Pierson contend that
“while it might not be a political movement… this broad, nascent and diverse series of
feminist intervention is certainly creating an alternative space of grassroots mobilization”
(2015). This is particularly poignant in the current day, because with the increase of financial
cuts, alternative methods to engage people into activism is key.
With regards to abortion, the BFN has worked closely with a pro-choice local lobbying group
‘AFC’- a heterogeneous organisation made up of both Protestant and Catholic men and
women who state they “want to see equality and self-determination for women” (AFC
website). Their work has exposed the voices of women in NI who have been forced to seek
abortions in England or elsewhere since 1967, with the aim of exposing the “hypocrisy” of
the politicians who say there is “no demand for abortion [in NI]” (AFC; 2016). The BFN have
collaborated with this initiative particularly through the medium of social network pages and
online blog websites for online discussion amongst members which also facilitates virtual

34
space for organising campaign activities. Their most recent ‘#TrustWomen’ online campaign
has mobilised public opinion and has engaged support from a number of other international
campaigns, and larger groups such as Amnesty International, which has supported the
building up of political pressure from the outside. In a joint press release in October 2014,
regarding the department of Justice’s consultation paper on “the criminal law of abortion”,
they highlight how not one woman was on the justice committee and state that this “reflects
the deep chasm between the experiences of more than half of the electorate and the
understanding of those with the power to make change” (Campbell and Nelson, 2014). Their
multiple levels of engagement both online, through public protest, workshops and their
alliances with other women’s networks, has acted as a challenge to the mainstream media
portrayal of the issue, which has historically presented a narrow and conservative opinion.
Therefore, despite being less institutionalised than many of the other civic groups, the AFC
and BFN partnership has generated a platform for many unheard voices to be listened to,
enabling a shift in societal discourse surrounding the issue and a space where gender
inequalities; namely abortion can be openly discussed.
As a result of the unchanging status quo in formal politics, Gender issues have been off
loaded to the women’s sector to deal with- a pattern that the NIWRM were accustomed to
during the troubles. Despite the shortcomings of transition and the failed hope that it would
provide opportunities for political inclusion in advancing women’s political voices, research
from the WRDA (2008), Gray and Neill (2011) and Deiana (2012) have highlighted that the
most positive affects arising post conflict, point to the strengthening of community
solidarities, the development of women’s activism, mutual support networks and women’s
cross-community work (Deiana; 2012, 405). This suggests that despite the fact the conflict
and the initial phase of the peace negotiations opened up new spaces for women’s political
agency within the NIA, the consolidation of NI’s ‘peace’ has entailed a reversal of those
fragile political gains back into the informal and civic space. Although this could easily be
perceived as a failure for women’s rights, the expansion of the third sector should be viewed
as an indicator of increased democracy which allows room for change and the advancement
of non-traditional actors.

35
6 Conclusions
The lack of women’s representation in the NIA does not mean women are not involved in
political activism, on the contrary, they are very much involved at local and civic levels, as
organised and active agents. However the multi-dimensional nature of the women’s sector in
NI and the continued feminist response and opinion outside of the formal field of politics
represents how women feel the need to work within their own structures in order for their
needs to be stressed effectively. Although women are involving themselves civically post
agreement, this has been the norm from before the GFA. This may initially suggest that
women have not gained any formal political space, however this would be a false conclusion.
Gender activism has been on the rise since the GFA, as it has created a more open and safe
space for gender issues to be raised and tackled in a way which does not require individuals to
side with a particular Nationalist or Unionist identity or party. Although it is apparent that
gender issues have not gotten far within the formal arena of the NIA, creating deadlock and
potentially receiving the same animosity and moral debates that the constitutional question
once received, what is clear, and what I argue, is that gender activists are beginning to
influence and overcome the gendered legislative shortcomings from outside of the NIA.
The fact that disparities have emerged in the NIA over the abortion debate, suggests that the
mobilization and opinion of gender activists- entirely outside of the mainstream policy arena,
are becoming an influential force. This is certainly true for SF’s position, who were staunchly
against Abortion until March 2015, when they announced that they dropped their opposition
to abortion under limited circumstances. Of course, this is not a total win; none of the
dominant parties back a pro-choice campaign and abortion is still not available. However, in a
hostile and morally conservative society this is a step towards greater gender equality that is
allowing for a shift in discourse towards more open dialogue. Polls show that nearly 70% of
the populace in NI believe that there should be greater access to abortion especially in cases
of foetal abnormality, rape and incest (see Table 1). This indicates that Stormont is far behind
the views of the population, which suggests that we need civic society to democratize
democracy more than ever. Achieving gender equality is a process and the achievements
made by gender activists should be recognised and given credit in their endeavour to achieve
full democratic rights for women in NI which was rhetorically promised by the GFA.

36
I believe I have contributed to knowledge of women’s political inclusion in NI, by
demonstrating how gender activists have chosen to work within the political peace
negotiations, achieving some aspiration at least to gender equality in the GFA and
demonstrating the ability for transversal politics to challenge the ethno-nationalist status quo,
by creating meaningful and substantive change towards cooperation. I have then
demonstrated that in light of a hostile environment, gender activists have chosen to mobilise
and exert pressure on political parties, from their activism within civic society; which has
contributed to the reclaiming of the political discourse on gender equality. From my findings,
I have shown that women have gained formal political space since the GFA 1998. Gaining
political space does not immediately lead to political outcomes and instant gratification,
which is something I believe scholars tend to forget, it is a space to enable contestation,
trigger debate and forge the path for future change. Gender activists in NI have gained this,
and their progressive influence is attaining ground and steady momentum.

37
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