IF you missed last week's Prime Time report by Ingrid Miley on the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition, ring RTE in droves and ask for a repeat. Urgentest. Bung off cards and letters, demanding they play it again for all the Samanthas who missed it. It was easily one of the best angles on the world famous, long running N of I saga, as voters troop to the polls today. It should be given a world premiere at the next big women's conference and kept in the archives, for regular showing. A few seconds of not an inch speak from Peter Robinson, David Ervine and Seamus Mallon will stiffen the resolve of women everywhere.
It makes one realise why the Women's Coalition adopted the slogan, "Wave Goodbye to the Dinosaurs", for its election campaign. It is on all their posters, pamphlets and other paraphernalia accumulated in the bare six weeks of its existence. The Coalition has 70 women running in all constituencies across the North, which everybody knows is still living in its very personal, extremely crazy, dangerous and tragic Jurassic Park.
And that is the way they want it to stay. At least, according to the thumping tones of the men - who have been doing the talking for the last quarter of a century - and aeons before, like since the plantation of Ulster, Cromwell - God help us, King Billy and the Treaty.
Would we know any better if Northern women had not decided to say "to hell with this" and launch their own efficient and sensible coalition of women from every shade of religions and political backgrounds to challenge the men? They are sharp and shrewd, and include women layered with solid, skilful political experience in communities over the last 25 years, as well as young women who grew up and lived through the terror, the trauma, the blatant male ego tomfoolery of a quarter of a century. They have all been the ones who had to keep the fragile peace, maintain a degree of sanity to keep life ticking over.
In one fell swoop, Miley's report showed both the way we, in the South, were (and many still are), and the way women in the North are now, at the eve of the millennium.
IT showed that despite the much hyped spats and divisions between the unionist parties and the (apparently) huge chasms between the U men and the nationalist guys, they are all inextricably bound hip to head, in total unity against a new, unexpected and common enemy. Women.
All the UPs, particularly the D-UPs and the P-UPs, are furious that women have had the nerve to set themselves - up in the business of politics. In Miley's report, you had Peter Robinson spitting venom about "these women". Where did they come from? Where were they when the bombs were going off and the bullets were flying? he asked. You could almost see the grit between his clenched teeth.
Until last week's programme David Ervine (PUP) seemed an eminently sensible youngish man. He won points for his level headed approach to the fall out of the mad, bad and ugly IRA guys who seem to think that we need a one unit island and they are the boys to blow up enough ordinary working people so that we will get it. What they use for brains must be in the running for the eighth wonder of world. Ervine and his party kept cool heads and tongues and their ceasefire.
But sadly, and only in the powerful way that television can project, Prime Time showed Ervine trying to say the right words but his clenched face told a different story. It gave a view of his outrage at the coalition, seething below the surface.
Seamus Mallon was absolutely, fabulously appalling. Not only was he overtly condescending, he was worse. What good would these women do going into talks without "fixed positions"? Also, they would not be able to negotiate their way - presumably out of these fixed positions - because they did not have the expertise of the likes of himself and his male colleagues.
What I saw in Mallon was the essence of many men who spend their lives, working long hours to get to the nub of problems. They build tiers, frameworks and talk about talks. The impression he left with me from Prime Time was that - a bit like trade unions - much muscle flexing and much poker facing down the opponents is crucial. He did not seem to think that women could pick up the tricks. Can they not be learned? Anyway, since all of that stuff has not made much difference over the years, why not give the women's inclusive and practical policies a go?
If you look at the chart drawn up by Kate Fearon, the number one candidate for the coalition in south Belfast, you will see the abysmal showing of women by the main parties. They have the women, they even have elected councillors, but have you heard or seen any of them? Not while the likes of Seamus Mallon is around.
All of them have been so busy Warring instead of jawing that they do not realise how Neanderthal they really are not even to the wider world but to the likes of us, 100 miles down the road. For women down here, the coalition is an excellent example of a new mould which could take women TDs into the Dail where they would be visible and could impose their different policies; rather than being sucked into the "maleist" parties which leaves many of them floundering.
My advice? Stay clear of the tribes of men. Put your "X" clearly against the Women's Coalition today. You will get excitement, simplicity, a lot of commonsense and peace.
