A FORMER Supreme Court judge has expressed her disappointment at the “backwards” progress being made by women in politics.
Ms Justice Catherine McGuinness told the Tipperary Peace Forum yesterday that women’s representation had improved in some areas in the last 50 years, such as the legal profession in which now women accounted for more than a third of all Circuit Court judges.
“Whereas,” she said, “when we look at politics, progress has been backwards to some extent, especially – unfortunately – in the election just past.”
In academia, she added, only a “very small” number of full university professors were women.
Ms Justice McGuinness, a former president of the Law Reform Commission, was speaking during a debate organised by the Tipperary Peace Convention on the theme: “How can an equal role for women in society be achieved across nations?”
Dr Sima Samar, chairwoman of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, was presented on Thursday with this year’s Tipperary International Peace Prize. Also there were National Women’s Council director Susan McKay and Senator David Norris.
Dr Samar repeatedly stressed the importance of education in advancing equal rights for women, particularly in disadvantaged or conflict-stricken countries such as Afghanistan. “If they have 10 children, they cannot participate in social activity or politics . . . The definition of a good woman in Afghanistan is somebody who could bear everything and not raise their voice . . . We need to change that culture.”
Ms McKay repeated criticisms she made following Joan Burton’s recent appointment as Minister for Social Protection and not to one of the finance portfolios. “Women all over Ireland were incensed at what happened,” she said to applause. “They knew what had happened was that the job was given to a man because he was a man.”
Mr Norris backed the Government’s moves towards introducing gender quotas within the political system.