Struggling for peace and justice : Reflections on women's activism in Northern Ireland

Abstract

This paper analyzes women's activism in Northern Ireland during the last decades in
their fight for peace as well as political, social and legislative changes. Having to cope with
a conflict that took their loved ones away, destroyed family life or threatened their own lives,
women have launched a plural movement, based on the respect of differents point of views
and the recognition of each other's origins. Together, women have organized actions that have
crossed the sectarian divide all the while "agreeing to desagree". Their activism, the evolution
of the movement and their success regarding the women and their respective communities
represent the backbone of this study.