THE NEW Women's Coalition in Northern Ireland is set to run at least 50 women - some put the figure as high as 100 - in the elections for the forum.
It will be the first serious challenge to the male dominated establishment parties and highlights the impatience and frustration of women from all sides with the way they have, been consistently sidelined and" absented from the political process.
It is also a first shot across the bows of both unionists and nationalists, showing that many women are determined not to return to the "invisible", though vital, role they have played for the past 25 years in the region, where women make up 52 per cent of the electorate.
And it is a signal that women, who during the ceasefire spoke of their determination never to allow violence to return to the North, meant what they said.
"Voters have been taken for granted for years," says Ms May Blood, chairwoman of the Shankill Women's Forum, one of the groups involved in the Coalition. "Many of my supposed leaders never once asked my opinion when they walked ups the steps to Stormont to talk about my future. Nobody every told me what went on at those talks.
"Feelings are very, very strong. Ordinary people are, quite angry. We are now seeing people power for the first time. While I don't agree with the way the elections are structured, we have to show the IRA and the British government that we want, the freedom to move about and do things we were not able to do for more than 20 years.
"This election could upset a lot of voting patterns. It is the first real election in over a generation. Young people now have their own opinions.
"They won't admit it, but I think the large parties in the North are worried. It could give them a fright. The bottom line is that the majority of people want talks and they want peace.
The emergence of the Women's Coalition has been swift. Early this month, discussions on the elections were held by a number of women's groups. They included the Northern Ireland Women's European Platform (NIWEP), chaired by Ms Bronagh Hinds, the Centre for Research on Women (Ms Monica McWilliams), the Derry Women's Centre (Ms Margaret Logue), Democratic Dialogue; (Ms Kate Fearon), the Shankill Women's Forum (Ms May Blood), the Women's Information Group (Ms Kathleen Feenan) and the NI Women's Rights Movement.
By April 10th Ms Hinds and NIWEP (which is non political), acting as a facilitator for all groups, had submitted detailed demands to the British government, with copies to the main political parties, North and South, councils, trade unions, women's groups and everybody they believed would be interested.
They were seeking:
. gender proofing of the election process, with parties actively encouraging women to stand or asked to explain why women did not wish to;
. 50/50 participation with women's names on stand by lists if they did not fill the quota first time out;
. gender balance in all constituencies;
. active encouragement from the government to achieve a balance;
. child care allowances for all women who would need to employ a minder if elected;
. in situ creche facilities during sittings of the forum or talks;
. clear working hours such as 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.;
. all the details of these arrangements to be publicised well in advance of the elections so women would be encouraged to stand.
None of the main parties in the North replied to NIWEP, although there were positive responses from Sinn Fein, Democratic Left, the Communist Party of Ireland and the Green Party.
Ms Hinds, who is well known among women's groups in the South, says the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, declined to meet NIWEP to discuss gender proofing but Ms Frances Fitzgerald TD has been asked to raise the issue within the Fine Gael parliament in Belfast, two days before an initial meeting was held on April 17th, Ms Hinds received a response from Northern Minister, Mr Michael Ancram saying it would be possible to list a women's coalition as a valid electoral group which could run candidates.
About 50 women attended the April 17th meeting and there were some 20 telephone calls seeking information and showing interest. An overwhelming majority agreed it would be wrong to turn down an offer to select their own candidates.
At the next meeting, last Wednesday, 60 women from Belfast, Derry, Coleraine, Fermanagh, Lisburn and other areas turned up by now, branches have been set up in many areas, with regular meetings in Derry and Fermanagh. Information advertisements have been placed in all the local newspapers.
The coalition is drawing up a list of priority policies and Ms Hinds says they have agreed not to be rushed on sensitive areas. They know many members will have "split loyalties" on the mainstream issues that have kept the North divided.
They are agreed on problems such as poverty, health and unemployment but she says they also believe they should address the conflict. Many feel they "should not shy away from" political and sectarian problems.
Ms Hinds says: "There is such energy, drive and momentum, that we are determined to come to an accommodation on the problems. Politicians have never agreed, so why should we? We just know that women have been absent for 25 years and that they can have an impact."
Ms Blood says: "We might not agree on everything but we have agreed to differ. Peace is the bottom line."