Introduction
The beginning of the seventeenth century and the eighteenth century saw the struggle of the Irish women for the struggle to attaining freedom. The period focused on the establishment of political and religious authority which stressed on the importance of reason, equality, liberty and the involvement of women in the workplaces and also in the political arena (Rooke 1972, p36). During the colonial government, the women had no right to own or inherit property. They were not allowed to vote or hold any office in the government. The women who were married could not sign contracts (Luddy1996, p23). They were not allowed to have their own money or even sue their husbands for divorce. Women had no political or legal rights and this meant that they had no political representation in the colonial government. Their husbands were the ones who spoke for them since they were not allowed to speak out.
First women suffrage association
In 1875 the first women suffrage association, “Dublin women’s society,” was founded and it was later transformed to be the Irish Women’s Suffrage and local Government Association (IWSLGA) (Wilford 1998, p35). It was founded by religions that did not differentiate the rights of men and women. These were the Thomas Haslam and the Anna Haslam which were the most active feminists in the nineteenth and the twentieth century in Ireland. Anne Jellico a Quaker was one of the women leaders in the campaign for women’s rights. She advocated for the right of women in accessing better education. In 1861, she set up a Dublin branch that promoted the employment of women by enabling working-class women train for jobs. With better education, women became confident in the involvement of politics (Luddy 1996, p26). Anna then founded the ladies’ league in January 1881 after the land league was banned. They campaigned and organized the resistance to evictions and offered financial support to the evicted tenants. The then Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, cardinal McCabe condemned the league for taking women away from their place at home. Several women were arrested and jailed for their involvement in the campaigns. In 1896, the women were allowed to become poor law guardians. They were allowed to vote for local government elections in 1898. Eighty five women were elected as poor law guardians while thirty five were elected as district councils in 1899. This marked the commencement women’s victory in the political arena (Rooke 1972, p42).
James Connolly, Thomas MacDonagh and Padraig Pearse made a remarkable contribution in their commitment to fight for equal rights with women. Pearse had long worked with women on equal rights in organizations such as the Gaelic League. He supported the aims of women and promoted the rights of women to equality. The Gaelic League and the Sinn Fein were the only movements that admitted women on the same terms as men and allowed women to take an active and equal part. All the other movements barred women from joining them (Luddy1996, p30).
Consequences of the struggle for rights
In 1900, Queen Victoria decided to pay her last visit to the Ireland and a group of republican women organized a counter demonstration. They formed a group, “Inghinidhe na hEireann,” which referred to the daughters of the Ireland. They took the responsibility of fighting for independence and the right to vote. They focused their efforts in campaigning for an independent Irish state that awarded them the right to full citizenship. They launched their magazine, “Bean na HEireann,” in 1908 and Helena Molony was the chief editor (Wilford 1998, p40). The magazine was the leading ladies paper that was read by all the young men. The magazine worked to bring together the message on the issues related to feminism, republicanism and also socialism. The group later faded away and it was replaced by the Cumann na mBan (the league of women). In the same year, Hannah Sheehy and her husband Francis founded the Irish women’s Franchise league that campaigned better than the IWSLGA. They held public meetings and demonstrations. They also challenged the political leaders who did not uphold the rights of women to vote. The period of 1912-1914 experienced a big struggle for the women movements (Wilford 1998, p56). Some women felt that having the right to vote was more important than winning the home rule and this lead to the breakup of the movements. At the beginning of the World War I, many women took the roles of working outside home as their men got more involved in the military. Later in 1918, women were given the right to vote under the Representation of the people act (Rooke 1972, p52).
Conclusion
In conclusion the road for equality for the Irish women was a real struggle. Without adequate resources such as money and power they were often blocked from achieving their ambitions. Through vigorous determination they made remarkable achievements.
References
Doyle, Maria-Elena, 1999. A Spindle for the Battle: Feminism, Myth and the Woman-Nation in Irish Revival Drama. Johns Hopkins University Press, p33-46.
Jill M. Bystydzienski, Joti Sekhon, 1999.Democratization and Women’s Grassroots Movements. Indiana University Press, p116-213.
Maria Luddy, 1996.Women and philanthropy in nineteenth-century Ireland. Springer Netherlands, p23-68.
Rick Wilford, Robert L. Miller, 1998.Women, Ethnicity and Nationalism: The Politics of Transition. Routledge, p34-98.
Rooke, Patrick, 1972. Women’s Rights. Wayland Publishers, London 32-78.