Fight for Equality | YicroryToTHEARMAGHWONE Experience Should Not be Forgotten!

The Irish Transport and General Workers Union at its annual Delegate Conference in Wexford in 1980 discussed and adopted a document, “Equality for Women”. The document covered most areas of discrimination against women and proposed measures to be taken within the Union itself and within society to combat inequality. Though accepted in principle by the union, obviously much work is required in order to define priorities and a strategy for implementing this policy. In December 1981 the Union held a workshop for women members on “Positive Action for Equality” which aimed to involve shop floor activists.

EDUCATION Amongst the many areas pinpointed for further discussion and trade union action was inequality and sexism in education. In response to this widespread concern a special workshop on ‘Women and Equality in Education’ was held for women members of the union on December 11th and 12th last year.

One encouraging aspect was the lack of interference by the male hierarchy of the union. The workshop was well organised by the Womens Advisory Committee, creating a relaxed but efficient atmosphere.

The three main speakers were Catherine Byrne, INTO, Sally Shiels, INTO Principal teacher in a Dublin City National School and Lucy McCaffery of AnCO. The 120 or so women delegates formed a broad cross section of the union including young women not so long out of the education system themselves and mothers with children at various levels within the system. Though the invited speakers set the tone for the weekend the workshops conducted by the delegates provided the really serious materialyand:strong recommendations on what the Trade Union movement could and should do to end sexism and inequality in schools.

CLERICAL CONTROL Probably the change felt to be most urgent was to remove education from the effective control of clerical bodies. The overwhelming majority of those present, particularly those with school going children condemned the present selection of National School boards where the local bishop has the final say. As long as the Church with its backward attitude to women’s role continued in control, the delegates saw little chance of reversing the sex stereotyping which exists. The Department of Education provide 75% of day-to-day running costs and 100% of teachers’ pay and the workshop was very insistent that the state should take the reins as it feeds the reindeer. Although the plenary session called on the trade union movement to put its weight behind the demand that the Department of Education should refuse funding to single sex schools, thére was general recognition that even in coeducational schools equality is not by any means guaranteed.

SEXISM IN EDUCATION School books of course come in for a bashing, both for their sexism and their total failure to reflect the world as it is rather than the way the ruling class would want us (and especially our children) to think it is.

In service training for teachers in this country is practically non-existent. and given the fact that teachers themselves have been through the same sexist education system, they tend to perpetuate the same values. In the case of primary school teachers, even their training colleges are denomiThe workshop did a good job of pinpointing the changes necessary to eliminate sexism in our educational system. It was felt, quite rightly, that the trade union movement must take a hand in bringing about the radical changes required. One element that was somewhat lacking however, was on how the trade union movement could effect such change. The educational system is-designed in a certain manner for a specific reason. People (both men and women) are being prepared for the world outside and therefore must be educated to fill their roles.

The trade union movement could use its muscle in national wage negotiations to force the government into action to fulfil its demands if the will is there in the movement. However, though this may begin to change (and certainly seems to be changing in the ITGWU) so far practical steps towards women’s equality have been nonexistent in previous national negotiations.

It is within the area in which the trade union movement has most influence— the world of work — that it can have the most impact on sexism in education. That is in fighting for women’s rights at work — establishing the principle and practice of positive action to encourage women into traditionally male areas of work. It is right and good that the trade union movement should place all possible pressure on the government to banish sexism from education. However,*this is a chicken and egg situation. Education is more and more geared towards the world of work and if the role of women in that arena is restricted then there is little point in educating them for jobs or roles which they cannot attain because the trade union movement has failed to establish the principle of equality at work.

had a real impact.

Third Force demonstrations is nothing The SDLP, who have already expressed sectarian forces who have continuously TELL THEM EVERYTHING by Margaretta D’ Arcy Pluto Press. Reviewed by Sue Pentel, member of Peoples Democracy, a founder member of Women Against Imperialism and one of the Armagh Eleven.

In reviewing this book it is worth recalling the circumstances leading to Margretta D‘Arcy and Liz Lagrua (another member of the Armagh |!) spending 3 and 2 months respectively in jail for non payment of fine They had been arrested ona feminist protest outside Armagh gaol on International Womens Day 1979, and, together with 9 other members of Women Against Imperialism, they became the “Armagh 11”. This had been the first protest organised by feminists protest organised by feminists in solidarity with republican women prisoners. The defence campaign around the Armagh 11 organised by Women against Imperialism was the first issue that brought home to English and Southern women the relevance to feminist politics of the struggle in the North, and the conditions in Armagh.

As a result of the work of Women Against Imperialism, Armagh support groups mushroomed throughout Britain and in the “South, producing mass demonstrations and massive publicly for the women in Armagh. In Sinn Fein a debate raged about the relevance of womens liberation out of which came the Sinn Fein Womens Committee. Clearly Women Against Imperialism had struck anerve. In fact what it had done was re-establish the sort of anti imperialist feminism fought for by Markiewicz and Maud Gonne; and was a new thrust forward for the anti-imperialist movement of the ’70s. Despite the international growth of the womens movement; this was the first Anti-imperialist womens group to emerge from 10 years for the of struggle which had its orgins both in the anti-imperialist movement and the feminist movement. develor Because of this, and because the issue of Armagh had been so badly neglected in the shadow of H-Block, the defence campaign It was on the crest of this wave that Margaretta and Liz took.the |. decision not to pay their fines and instead to go into Armagh. Gut of this experience comes the book. In many ways this is a disappointing book. It gives no sense of the background against which the Armagh II campaign developed nor of its impact on women in the anti imperialist movement who had been active for the last 10 years (as did Nell McCaffertys excellent book ‘The Armagh Women’ ): At times there is so much detail about the day to day events of the defence campaign that no clear gotten. picture emerges.

Yet the book comes into its own when describing the author’s imprisonment in Armagh and the meeting of minds and experiences between the two feminists and the republican women prisoners. “Getting to know my fellow prisoners on the no-wash protest was a very slow process. We had only | hour a day together, and | felt like a new girl at school, coming in when term is half over.”

But it is because of this position and the insights it produces, that we learn much of the courage and spirit of the women on the no-wash protest; the sort of adjustment that had to be made from living outside to the inhuman conditions in Armagh. The reality of having to use the cell as a toilet and the two beginners’ attempts to decorate the cell are at times pathetic, at times absurdly funny; the cold inedible food, the constant hunger, the lack of exercise and fresh air. Yet, much more importantly, we learn of the fighting spirit and determination of the women prisoners, their organisation and discipline as a group. Perhaps the most memorable part of the book is the description of the “‘night-life’’, the songs, the quizzes and best of all the debates on politics, ‘on feminism, and for this alone it is well worth reading.

Margaretta’s and Liz’s experience in gaol was a unique one. It should not be forgotten. But neither can we wrench it out of context and forget that it represented, for the movement that produced the Armagh 11, the end of one stage of development. The issue that created so much support for this anti-imperialist women’s group was also a direct reason forget « Text missing - if you have a place b copy of this issue, email limited [email protected] going to gaol for non-payment of fines and reduced it to a symbolic gesture. The debate around this in Women Against Imperialism between Peoples Democracy and the other members of the group is still relevant. Under what conditions can this tactic of voluntarily going to gaol, spark off mass protests? Unfortunately Margaretta does not deal with this politically in the book and will thus limit its usefulness to those who may read the book wishing to learn from the experiences of Women Against Imperialism. Nevertheless, for all those who wish to move from the past to the future of re-building an anti-imperialist feminist movement, despite the many weaknesses of the book it details a part of our history which should not be for-