Madam, - The winding up of the Woman's Coalition in Northern Ireland does not reflect a very flattering image of women's participation in democratic politics. That this is happening nearly 100 years since women, after a long and bitter struggle, achieved the right to vote is deplorable.
I have a memory of Monica McWilliams receiving fewer than 50 transfers out of a total of approximately 2,800 votes from another woman candidate in a recent Northern election. This phenomenon is not confined to Northern Ireland. Women, who comprise 51 per cent of the electorate in the Republic, are represented by a mere 14 per cent of public representatives. That is not only bad for women. It is also bad for all the rest of us as it marginalises the talents of half the population. To quote the Taoiseach, it "impoverishes our democracy".
The Commission for the Status of Women has stated that "it is not healthy for democracy or good for women that women make up such a small proportion of our elected representatives. It is essential that women's perspectives are well represented in the most important representative forum in our society."
It goes on to say that "the consequences of our present unbalanced representation is that women's interests often have to be lobbied for from outside the Oireachtas". It concludes that this is unlikely to change "until a critical mass of women representatives has been attained". In view of these sentiments the demise of a specifically women's political party on this island is depressing.The patriarchy rules supreme. - Yours, etc,
A. LEAVY, Shielmartin Drive, Sutton, Dublin 13.