Women Peace-Makers in Northern Ireland

December 1, 2004  (BBC News) As talks continue in Northern Ireland in an attempt to get the assembly up and running again, how involved are women in peace making there?

Women were instrumental in getting the Good Friday Agreement signed, and two women from a cross religious and political party were elected to the initial assembly in 1998.

Six years later and they’ve both lost their positions as more and more people are voting for either Sinn Fein or the DUP, and not smaller independent parties.

Are women’s political voices sounding loudly enough? How involved are women at a grass root level in the community? What can women bring to the negotiating table that men can’t? 

Jenni is joined by Bronagh Hinds, a senior fellow at the Institute of Governance at Queens University, Belfast. She is the Director of DemocraShe and was one of the founders of the NIWA (Northern Ireland Women’s Alliance) and Baroness May Blood, a community worker and one of the founders of the NIWA.

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/2004_48_wed_01.shtml