The National Womens Council of Ireland

The National Women’s Council of Ireland
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Introduction
Before the emergence of feminism movement, women’s rights were overlooked in virtually all societies. There appeared to be a unilateral form of thinking where women were considered subordinate to their male counterparts. There are a number of rights that men at the time enjoyed over the women. Women were not happy with the status quo. In mid 1940s, women began to voice their concerns albeit with low tones. They faced a lot of resistance and were branded as hardcore who south to derail women from their destined lifestyle. By the mid 1960s, the women movement in different parts of the world had become more vocal and it became apparent that they were unstoppable (Brettel, 2012). It was an idea whose time had or probably was long overdue.
Although the nature of challenges that women experienced across different parts of the world were pretty similar, there are certain challenges that were specific and unique to each region. This led to formation of feminist groups that would help position the women to fight for their rights. In Ireland the formation of National Women’s Council was a milestone that was meant to give women some leverage. This discussion will focus on the National Women’s Council of Ireland as an organization. Among the areas of focus include the activities of the organization, tools used to push the agenda and what they seek to advocate.
Formation and Location
National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCF) was initially known as Council for Status of Women (CSW). The goal was to help women rise to the level of their male counterparts in terms of enjoying their rights. It is under this organization that some rights of women came to be realized. For instance, previously, the law in Ireland required that women who had formal jobs relinquished their positions when they got married. This would be soon revised after the government bowed to pressure from the CSW movement. By late 70s the government of Ireland had recognized the movement and began to offer grants to strengthen the curse of champing for women rights. 20 years ago in 1995, the organization was rebranded and became what is now National Women’s Council of Ireland. The organization has undergone tremendous growth over the years to include in its umbrella various groups of women. Although the organization has its basis in Ireland, it has managed to have an impact internationally with some of its members being from beyond the borders.
Issues Addressed
From the background herein above, it is clear that the agenda of the National Women’s Council of Ireland is to champion for the rights of women. The organization seeks to ensure a fair platform that would accommodate women just as much as their male counterparts. Some of the core activities of the organization include promoting for equality of men and women especially in the arena of decision making. Further the organization seeks to use a policy and issue-based approach as opposed to a gender based approach. One agenda that the organization has sought to push is to create an understanding of feminism which has been largely misunder...