has strike over been to date. WOMEN HAVE ALWAYS been involved in the struggle for a free Tre land. But according to Muire Drumm, Vice-President of the Provisional Sinn Fein, the current war has brought this involvement to new heights.
She told me that without women's participation the fight against the forces of British imperialism would not have been as successful as it has Another Provisional member in Belfast explained: "Nowadays more young giris are realising that they are equaily capable of using a weapon -I not sore capable in some cases."
But although women are coming In this realisation, their Irish brothers have been less than ready to accept these moves towards equality on the military front. Bernadette McAliskey even goes so far as to say: "The class ical remark of the Provisionals was: *We don't need to send our women out to fight, we can do it on our and this caused a great up roar from their women members.
However, increasingly women have been drawn into the struggle at all levels. Four years of harassment by British soldiers have changed life dram- front lines, it is clear that on both a And because they are independent. il means that all the best people bave left Sina Fein to join the IRA. In This area, Sing Fein is just a sheil It represents nothing."
Another woman, However, while agrecing on the lack of political education in Sian Fein, thought it was possible to begin such discussions.
We need political education to see where we are going We can't only involve the people through the military wing. The Officials have painted zebra crossings on some of the estates -so they have a presence in the day-to-day life of the people on this estare. But zebra crossings arent enough A new club has just been opened and we want to show political films there every week and then have discussions about them. Also we want to organise creche facilities for women who want to go to the Kesh to visit and can't take children along And we want to set up a co-op on the estate where we can sell political books and other things.
CONSERVATIVE
However, in spite of the fact that on the military front the women have been forced increasingly into the