International Women's Day celebrated in Tipperary and around the world
International Women's Day (IWD) takes place on the 8th of March every year. It is a major day of global celebration of women. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women, to a celebration for women's economic, political and social achievements.
The Knockanrawley Resource centre in Tipperary Town celebrated IWD in style and grace with the launch of a CD, composed and performed by a group of parenting alone women. The SHE group wrote and recorded five songs through a community music process facilitated by local singer/songwriter Fran Murnane. One song is written about the frustration some of the women have felt when they come up against the court process or other official structures. Another is from a very personal point of view about losing a friend through cancer. Tipp FM's Classic Cafe broadcast live from Knockanrawley in celebration of IWD and the SHE groups CD.
The CD can be purchased for €5 with proceeds going to Cuan Saor Women's Refuge in Clonmel.
The idea of having an International Women's Day was first put forward at the turn of the 20th century amid rapid world industrialisation and economic expansion that led to protests over working conditions. The first IWD was observed on 28th February 1909, in the United States following a declaration by the Socialist Party of America. In 1910 the first international women's conference was held in Copenhagen and in the following year, 1911, IWD was marked by over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, on 19th March. Furthermore, on the eve of World War I, women across Europe held peace rallies on 8 March 1913. In the West, International Women's Day was commemorated during the 1910s and 1920s, but dwindled. It was revived by the rise of feminism in the 1960s. Demonstrations marking International Women's Day in Russia proved to be the first stage of the Russian Revolution of 1917.
But what is the relevance of IWD on a grass roots level here in Tipperary? What changes have taken place in Irish Law that have changed the lives of women and standard of living that is now taken for granted in the year 2010? Well it's all about historical steps that were taken by groups of women, on local levels who fought to change Irish Common Laws that were brutal and detrimental to the freedom of Irish women.
For example under the old Common Laws, a woman when she married became for all practical purposes the property of her husband. All her personal property became his property, her Leasehold property was vested in him and he could dispose of it without her consent and was entitled to her Freehold property for as long as she lived. The children of the marriage were the husband's physical possessions and he could legally part his children from their mother permanently and she had no law or redress. If the husband was unfaithful and she wished to divorce him she could only divorce him by proving another matrimonial offence other than his adultery. However, he could divorce her for one single act of infidelity.
The awful paradox of these old Irish Common Laws is that they were implanted by the English in Ireland at the beginning of the 17th Century replacing the old Brehon Laws where women were revered and equal to men with regard to education and property. Under Brehon Law after marriage, the woman was a partner with, and not the property of, her husband. She remained the sole owner of property that had been hers prior to marriage. Property jointly owned by her and her husband could not be sold without her approval and consent. A married woman retained the right to pursue a case at law as well as recover for debt in her own person. In certain cases of legal separation for good cause, the wife not only took with her all of the marriage portion and gifts, but an amount over and above that for damages.
Before English Laws were imposed onto the Irish State, women in ancient Ireland were often eligible for the professions and for rank and fame. They were Druidesses, Poets, Physicians, Sages and Lawgivers. Bridget was not only the name of the ancient Irish goddess who represented poetry and wisdom and of the later saint who helped to spread Christianity throughout Ireland, but was also the name of an Irish lawgiver Brigid Brethra, or Brigid of the Judgments, who lived about the time of Christ. It is this Brigid who is responsible for granting the right to women to inherit the land from their fathers in the absence of sons. Women always held a place of respect in Celtic society and were accorded their rights as well but it took English law and civilization 'to put women in their place'. Ironically, the stamping out of the Brehon Laws, and with them the rights of women, was finally accomplished under Queen Elizabeth of England.
Up until the early 1970's, Irish Common Law stated that women in Ireland could not work in employment once they were married. No matter what qualifications they had or how much they could contribute to the home, on the day of wedlock it was illegal for them to work in employment.
Twice President of the Tipperary Town ICA, Angela Lonegan from Tipperary Town told me that she qualified as a Nurse and Midwife in 1953 but had to give up her profession and stay at home when she married in 1956. Angela joined the ICA in 1956 and became actively involved becoming President for three years in 1971 and again in the 1980's.
The ICA was founded in May 1910 by a small group of well educated and largely Protestant women in Bree, Co Wexford. At first it was called the Society of the United Irishwomen (UI) but in 1935 the Society changed its name to the Irish Countrywomen's Association to avoid being associated with a subversive organisation of the time, the United Ireland Party. Its aim was to improve the standard of life in rural Ireland through education and co-operative effort. They tackled the big issues of the day that affected women's lives because at the time, life for women in rural Ireland was in the main one of hardship and drudgery. The Society set out to offer friendship, hope, support and leadership and has been instrumental in providing practical support in the development of basic utilities in Ireland; such as water and electricity and influencing policy in health, education, adult education, agriculture, horticulture, arts & crafts, and on a range of other issues.
In 1956 the ESB invited the ICA to design a traditional farmhouse kitchen using modern electrical appliances, which was exhibited at the Spring Show of that year. The following year a more ambitious labour saving kitchen was exhibited and in 1958 the ICA/ESB "Model Farm Kitchen" was put on display. This became a mobile unit and toured the country, demonstrating and showing women just what was possible. The rest, as they say and as we switch on everything from dishwashers to microwaves, is history and history was made in Bansha Village as it holds the distinction of being the first rural parish to get electricity. On May 23rd 1948, with Canon Hayes at the helm he spoke the words, "In God's name, here goes" amid great cheers as he turned the switch that put the lights on in Bansha.Here in Ireland the good news is that many of the old Irish Common Laws have been replaced and in regard to married women working, recent statistics show that 126,300 married woman are currently engaged in part time work while managing to rear a young family. In 1990 the figure was just 48,500 and in the past decade alone the number of married women working fulltime outside of the home has risen from 127,200 in 1990 to 195,100 today. (Figures Ref: Community Media Network Ireland). Women are now recognised as never before and measures have been set in place by the Irish Government to encourage single mother and homeowners to reap the same financial rewards and benefits as their male counterparts. Women still earn just 74% of male earnings; still perform more than 80% of household chores; represent just 18% of decision makers in the EU institutions; represent just 26.8% of members of EU parliament and account for just 35% of staff of the European Commission.
There is lots to do for women's rights and equality on a national level and on an international level that still deals with issues such as getting food to women and children but lots of milestones have been reached. May International Women's Day continue in strength and recognition, not just to change laws but to be a reminder to women of the opportunities that are available to us today that weren't there only fifty years ago.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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