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| While
women's involvement in formal politics in Northern Ireland is low, their
participation in NGOs, such as grass-roots community and voluntary organisations,
is extensive. If this is recognised as participation in public and political
life then women have made a significant contribution to Northern Ireland's
vibrant civil society. Senator George Mitchell, who chaired the multi-party
talks that led to the Agreement, paid tribute to the central role women
played in building peace from the ground upwards which helped to create
the conditions that made the Agreement possible. |
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A
report of Northern Irish women's contribution to 1995 World Conference
of Women in Beijing |
Three
years before the Agreement was signed, the 1995 report to the UN 4th World
Conference of Women in Beijing recognised that: "Women in Northern
Ireland have been successful in working for development within their own
communities and in solidarity with women from other communities throughout
the conflict. They have campaigned on issues of equality, rights and justice.
They have led peace movements springing from a concern for and affinity
with victims of violence, and peace movements springing from a strong commitment
to justice. They have created a space for dialogue and have successfully
networked across the religious and political divide. In doing this women
have not seen themselves as pacifiers, but as agents for change." However,
this critical role in social and political life does not get its fair share
of media attention. |
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Agreement's mandate to further "the right of women to full and equal
political participation" has inspired the Ulster People's College Belfast
to do something practical to address the under-representation of women in
politics. In May 2000 the College began a partnership with the US-based
Northern Ireland Women's Initiative to launch DemocraShe, which provides
training in politics, policy and the media for women in political parties. |
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Office of the First and Deputy First Ministers is responsible for furthering
the Agreement's commitment to women in public and political life. |
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