Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Feminism, nationalism and the re-ordering of post-war political strategies: the case of the Sinn Féin Women's Department

2016; Routledge; Volume: 32; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/07907184.2016.1146698

1743-9078

Niall Gilmartin,

Gender Politics and Representation

ABSTRACTFeminist criticisms of nationalism as a patriarchal structure often cite post-war regression, among others, as robust evidence of the pitfalls for women's participation within such highly gendered movements. Based on in-depth interviews, this article critically examines the case of the Sinn Féin Women's Department, and in particular focuses on the reasons for its ambiguous demise in the aftermath of the 1994 IRA cessation. While the ending of the Women's Department appears to perfectly fulfil the consistent pattern of nationalism's post-war regression, I argue that the roots of its downfall reside not in nationalism as such but in the institutionalisation of Provisional republicanism. As the republican movement ‘professionalised’ itself in preparation for its post-Troubles electoral struggle, we see a marked contrast in the ways in which women's equality is conceptualised and pursued. In particular, as the radical organising of the Women's Department is furtively wound down, what emerged in its place, the Equality Department embraced visions and strategies that are largely indistinguishable from any other mainstream political party. Despite Sinn Féin's progressive record on promoting women, it appears that feminism is now consigned by the republican movement to its ‘revolutionary past’ and the radical politics of yester-year.KEYWORDS: Republican womenfeminismnationalismconflict transitionSinn Féin Women's Department Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.Notes1. It is important to acknowledge that the involvement of women within the Provisional IRA was not unproblematic or a given. Initially, the Provisional IRA operated along strict gender lines whereby males occupied the ranks of the IRA and females were firmly restricted to Cumann na mBan. Founded in 1914, Cumann na mBan was a female auxiliary force which provided supporting roles for the Irish Volunteers. Each subsequent manifestation of the IRA since has retained Cumann na mBan as an important part of armed republicanism, yet it is generally viewed by republicans, both male and female as a supplementary and subordinate role. Some interviewees in this research recalled being refused entry into the IRA in the formative years of the Troubles, and instead were encouraged to channel their energies into Cumann na mBan. Rules which barred women from the IRA were changed in the early 1970s, stemming directly from the demands of republican women and of course by the need to replenish depleting IRA ranks due to arrests, internment and deaths of male volunteers. Despite this, Cumann na mBan continued in its auxiliary roles which certainly suggests that not all republican women wanted were dissatisfied with this gender division of labour, with some more than content with the auxiliary role. While this is conjecture on my part, it would be reasonable to assume that those republican women active in Cumann na mBan would have had little interest in something as feminist-leaning as the Women's Department.2. Feminist methodologies stress the primary role of research as a mechanism for giving voice to women's experiences. Given this and as a mark of respect to the research participants, I use their ‘republican terminology’ throughout the article.3. Previous research on women's roles within the IRA encountered major difficulties in attempting to accurately ascertain if and how many women occupied senior roles within the IRA. For example see Miranda Alison's Women and Political Violence and Theresa O'Keefe's Feminist Identity Development and Activism in Revolutionary Movements. The latter suggests that while women comprised a relatively large number of rank and file volunteers, only a small handful managed to rise through the ranks to the upper echelons of the IRA.4. The Falls Women's Centre remains a prominent space and service provider for women in West Belfast. It is now located opposite the corner of Beechmount Avenue and the Falls Road, in the mid-Falls area. According to its mission statement it has continually worked to raise awareness within the community and with statutory agencies on issues that affect women's lives. Falls Women's Centre is a women-only centre. It is staffed and managed entirely by women and is seen as an important support for women and their families. It was established to improve the quality of life for women and their families living in areas of extreme deprivation and most affected by the conflict. For more, see http://www.fallswomenscentre.org/.5. Siobhan O'Hanlon was a prominent republican who died of cancer in 2006. At her graveside oration, Gerry Adams described Siobhan as ‘brave and courageous' in her life as an IRA activist, political prisoner and Sinn Féin activist.6. Sinn Féin is organised hierarchically into cumainn (branches), comhairle ceantair (district executives), cúigí (regional executives).7. Many interviewees were of the view that the Department effectively ended in the mid-1990s.8. It appears that by 2006, the Women's Department is undoubtedly subsumed into the Equality Department, with the party listing Eibhlin Glenholmes as ‘National Co-Ordinator for Gender Equality’, a position dealing with gender as opposed to an overall department.9. Full conference report available at http://www.anphoblacht.com/contents/14924.10. This email extract is published with kind permission from Eibhlín.11. IRA statement announcing its disbandment, although recent events such as the killing of Kevin McGuigan in Belfast, among others, strongly cast doubt on the notion of a full IRA disbandment.12. Notwithstanding the fact that some of those women prominent in the establishment of the Women's Department have relocated their activism to other spheres outside of the Sinn Féin party.13. I tip my academic hat to Anthony McIntyre for this sequence of words. In describing the death of republicanism after the GFA, McIntyre argued that the GFA effectively ‘included republicans while excluding republicanism'.14. Clár na mBan was formed in 1993 by a broad spectrum of republican feminists determined to ensure that women's voices, needs and participation would not be lost during the burgeoning peace process.Additional informationFundingThis research was funded by the Irish Research Council.