Abstract

This paper is a response to a paper by Professor Islah Jad that explores a dual challenge for Palestinian women’s movements in working for the establishment of a Palestinian state whilst simultaneously securing the rights of Palestinian women. The response reflects on the role of women in the movement for Irish independence and the more recent conflict in Northern Ireland. It concludes that nationalist allegiances still dominate over actions to further women’s rights and that, unlike Palestine where Jad claims that the proliferation of NGOs has led to a cadre of 'femocrats', in Northern Ireland the challenge to male hegemony is becoming more relevant at the level of political representation.