Féile an Phobail row: Sinn Féin, the SDLP and Alliance haven't been so quiet since they were asked 'what is a woman?' - Lyons
A DUP minister has hit out at Alliance and nationalist parties over their failure to back a women’s rights group who were booted out of a West Belfast cultural festival after a backlash from trans activists.
The Women’s Rights Network had an event entitled ‘Respect, Rights and Reality’ accepted as part of the Féile an Phobail festival next month.
However, the organisers said it was cancelled as they supported “the right of the Transgender community to be treated with equality and respect”.
That followed an online campaign by transgender activists, who had written to the festival’s organisers demanding that the event be cancelled.
Unionist politicians have condemned the cancellation of the event, and told organisers that it should be reinstated.
On Wednesday, the News Letter asked Sinn Fein, the SDLP and Alliance if they support the right of Women’s Rights Network (WRN) or any other gender critical feminists to speak at the West Belfast Festival - or any other publicly funded event. None of the parties responded.
Communities minister Gordon Lyons told the News Letter: “Sinn Féin, the SDLP and Alliance never miss a chance to lecture on equality but ask them a straight question about women being cancelled, and suddenly they’ve nothing to say.
“What does that say about their commitment to equality? I haven’t seen them this quiet since they were asked ‘what is a woman?’”
Last year, First Minister Michelle O’Neill refused to give her definition of what a woman is, despite leading the Executive’s strategy on tacking violence against women and girls.
The Sinn Fein politician accused TUV’s Timothy Gaston of being “here to cause division” when he asked her if she could define the term, after her government officials had not.
Earlier in the year, Ms O’Neill dodged a question on her view on the Supreme Court ruling which said sex is defined in law by biology, not gender identity – saying she would “encourage people to work towards an inclusive society”.
Alliance leader Naomi Long has come under fire from women's groups over her policy that male-born prisoners can be housed in Northern Ireland's female jail.