Celebrating women #IWD2016

My enthusiasm for women and feminism is lifted every year by the sense of solidarity on two dates - Women's Christmas, and International Women's Day. This year I spent Women's Christmas speaking with Cork Simon's Colette O'Brien and Karen Songhurst at the Cork Simon Women's Christmas Lunch. And in time-honoured tradition my mother and sister-in-law [...]

Women in homelessness face unique challenges – how we can help

https://www.facebook.com/619175434780049/photos/pb.619175434780049.-2207520000.1451932805./1011948528836069/?type=3&theater   I write this from the comfort of my couch, warmed by the fire, and utterly aware that this is a privilege. Last Wednesday on the Opinion Line, we spoke to Stephanie McCarthy, a mother of five from Gurranebraher who faces eviction on Christmas Eve. If or when the McCarthy family are forced to [...]

Rwanda's women working together (or, everyone's got a Bono story)

Women's empowerment in Rwanda is crossing the boundaries of ethnicity, class, education, geography and even wellness. Yesterday, we met Yvonne Mutakwasuku, the mayor of a district called Muhanga just west of Kigali. A softly spoken Francophone, Yvonne has worked as a health and social worker with local authorities, NGOs and women's groups for her entire career, [...]