Women's Rights Network event goes ahead in Belfast after Féile an Phobail cancellation
A Women’s Rights Network (WRN) event has gone ahead in Belfast, after having been cancelled by the organisers of the West Belfast Festival.
Campaigners from across the UK and Ireland travelled to the city for the event, at which panellists discussed how women and girls are defined in law and their rights in society.
A row erupted last month when the Belfast community festival Féile an Phobail removed the event from its schedule, after an online campaign by transgender activists.
Many such campaigners oppose any attempt by women to discuss issues such as single sex spaces which do not support opening up the category of women to include men who identify as the opposite sex.
Groups such as WRN believe it is important that women are able to set personal and legal boundaries which exclude men from women’s spaces where appropriate.
However, these views have faced hostility from mainstream rights groups as well as nationalist political parties in Northern Ireland.
The rescheduled event was held in the Hilton Hotel in Belfast on Tuesday morning, with the location kept private to avoid counter-protestors or harassment of those attending. Security was also on hand at the venue.
Speakers included Nora Calder, from WRN NI; Fiona McAnena from the UK human rights charity Sex Matters and Danielle Loughrey, the co-founder of Gaels For Fair Play.
Ms Loughrey’s group speaks for women in the GAA who have concerns over the organisation’s policy of allowing males who identify as females to play in women’s and girl’s leagues.
The lack of support for WRN or women expressing similar concerns was raised during the event, with WRN’s Nora Calder saying that Sinn Fein was split on the issue.
The event could have been held at Stormont after an offer from the independent unionist MLA Doug Beattie – however, no nationalist MLA offered to countersign, meaning the event could not go ahead.
In a post on social media platform X, WRN Northern Ireland expressed their thanks to Féile an Phobail, who they said had “helped make our event a resounding success and sent so many new members our way”.