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"Socialist Woman" recently published an article on the women's movement in Ireland. As the information concerning women in the north was far from complete, we would like an opportunity to make the following points.
We find it regrettable that "Women and Ireland" failed to acknowledge the existence (October "75 - May 77) of the Belfast Socialist Women's Group (SWG), which was instrumental in bringing women's issues to prominence amongst the revolutionary left and the republican movement. The only socialist women's organisation mentioned was the Andersonstown Women's Group For a brief time, following an initiative by the SWG, a group was set up in Andersonstown, however, after the dissolution of the SWG in May "77, a new group-the Belfast Women's Collective-was formed, Members of the Collective include many previous SWG members, women from West Belfast, plus others nes to the women's movement... At the present time, no other women's group is active in anti-unionist areas, Members of the Collective attend RAC meetings and we have a delegate on the National Resistance Campaign Committee, which has been formed since the Coalisland Conference. We are currently involved in organising a nursery campaign in Twinbrook and we have just finished a highly successful week of activities in celebration of InterFinally, the article also ignored the paper "Women's Action" (the only women's paper in the 6 Counties), which was first produced by the SWG in June "76 and which continues to be published by the Collective.
Copies of "Women's Action" can be obtained (price 10p plus postage), by writing to the Collective at the above address.
We are writing in reply to the letter from Belfast Women's Collective, a copy of which we have seen perhaps you could print Before we answer our sisters criticisms, we would like to point out some mistakes in the editing of our article.
Under the section on Irish Women United, the article says it involved women from the Communist Party of Ireland and the Socialist Party of Ireland. The Official Sinn Fein didn't join." In fact what we wrote was "On the more radical side, a group called IWU grew out of a lesbian/feminist Dublin group and some women from left organisations. Women from groups like the CP of 1. the SP of 1 and Official Sinn Fein (now Sinn Fein the Workers Party) didn't join.
In the last chapter (which we admit was far too brief) we in fact said "and a socialist women's group which amalgamated with a local Belfast group to form Andersonstown Women's Group (which was a reference to the Socialist Women's Group). The article was written before we received a copy of Yomen's Action Vol. 2 Issue 1 which explained what the Belfast Women's Collective was doing. The writers mistakenly believed that since the SWG dissolved all energy was currently concentrated in Also edited out was Women are also very much in the lead of relatives action committees, street protests against army harassHaving said all that, we do take the point from Belfast Women's Collective that the information in the article on women in the North was incomplete-and would ask them to keep us informed of events-we will endeavour to do our best this end.
We think it important to stress how hard it is for any women's movement to exist in Ireland-When that movement quite rightly aligns itself with the anti-imperialist struggle in the North which historically is both catholic and sexist, their difficulties are enormous. We in no way underestimate the essential role SWG and their paper Women's Action" have played, and extend national Women's Day.
Dear Sisters, both of our letters together?
Andersonstown (Women's Group). our solidarity and support to the Belfast Women's Collective. re: Article by Woman and Ireland Group-Socialist Woman-Spring 1978 Issue. Belfast Women's Collective C/O 52 Broadway, Belfast 12.
Belfast Women's Collective.
Gc/o A Woman's Place 42 Earlham Street London WCI. 20th April 1978.
Yours in struggle, Women and Ireland Group,
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