We want bread and roses too! Sinn Féin IWD event Dublin
International Women’s Day was celebrated in Wynn’s Hotel in Dublin last Friday as upwards of 60 women came together to hear a range of speakers give telling and anecdotal accounts of the key role of women in society, both nationally and internationally.
Organised by Sinn Féin, the event was hosted by Dublin MEP Mary Lou McDonald, who spoke of the resilience of women in trying times, not least in periods of recession such as today.
“We’ve faced times of recession before where women have carried the burden but with great resilience and strength. Women have always been to the fore in fighting back against economic decline, whether through their presence on the picket line or their ability to juggle with domestic finances in order to feed a family,” she said.
Women are very much on the receiving end of the current downturn in the economy losing jobs in all sectors particularly the retail industry, she said. And a more disturbing factor is that domestic violence increases in times of economic recession. But as McDonald pointed out:
“While people have their heads down in the gloomy financial crisis affecting Ireland today, women tend to be the ones who remain positive, constantly looking for ways to change things and find the light at the end of the tunnel.”
In 1912, “Bread and Roses” became the slogan of thousands of textile workers, mostly women and girls who included native and immigrant workers, who won big concessions over wages, conditions and hours for the entire textile industry following a three-month strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, USA. The women of the strike adopted the now famous slogan, “We want bread and we want roses too!”
Michelle Gildernew MP recounted her own experience as a breast-feeding mother and a very busy minister. She recalled her own mother and grandmother who, like her, were community activists. That background factors into her own strength as a woman because it can take strength to handle the challenges facing her on a daily basis. She brings her new baby to work with her, which can mean breast-feeding the baby during meetings. She guesses that some of the male political representatives at Stormont may deride her for that but says that if she encourages other women to breastfeed in the workplace that she will have achieved a lot for women.
Derry-born Nell McCafferty was the guest speaker, her pithy and amusing anecdotes having her audience laughing as she recalled the struggles past and struggles present of a famous Irish feminist and civil rights activist.
One side-effect of a recent heart attack was that she would lose her top teeth, which would have to be removed. Nell told her dentist, “You can take whatever you want but you can’t take my teeth,” the pensioner said, and she was forced to remortgage her house to save her teeth at a cost of over €20,000. Nell also reflected on the fact that her pension, like that of so many others, would be cut but she quipped there was always the consolation of a bus pass – “That’s if that too is not taken away!”
A number of guest organisations were also present on the day, including the African Women’s Network, the Parents’ Resource Centre from Bonnybrook, the Family Resource Centre in St Michael’s Estate, and women from O’Devaney Gardens.
The Irish Citizens’ Information Bureau and Age Action ran stalls at the event.
International Women's Day 2009 