Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As we mark International Women’s Day, we have an opportunity to celebrate women’s accomplishments in Ireland and abroad. Equally, we can use this moment to audit the culture of gender-based abuse and violence and the lack of equality that still lingers. We can also use this moment to call out sexist discriminatory behaviour and declare that it has no place in an outward-looking and confident republic, nor in any other country for that matter.

The history of International Women’s Day stretches back more than 100 years and has its origins in the early 20th century labour movement. The feminism of that period was not isolationist, but an essential element of the broader culture of socialism. A roll call of some prominent members and supporters of the Irish Women’s Franchise League, including Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington, her husband Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, Tomás Mac Donnchadha, Dr. Kathleen Lynn and James Connolly, confirms how that generation, which was consumed with building an independent new Ireland, understood implicitly the intersectionality of feminism, socialism and republicanism. May the example and lived experience of our forebears be a lesson to us all today.

Social media, which is a relatively young technology for which we are still negotiating boundaries, has amplified much of the sexist and violent abuse that women - citizens and politicians alike - have to endure on a daily basis. As legislators, we are duty-bound to tackle this scourge though better education and improved legislation.

We still have a distance to go in achieving full gender balance and representation in this Legislature as much as in other parts of Irish civic discourse. As a gay man who has fought throughout my life for better representation and visibility, I understand only too clearly how society suffers when some of its citizens are oppressed by virtue of their gender, their sexual orientation or any other difference. We celebrated 50 years of queer activism in Ireland last year. Embedded in that activism is a distinctive relationship with feminism. It is probably fair to say that both rode on the coat-tails of the civil rights movement in the North. There was intersectionality in that activism in the late sixties and early seventies. People were emboldened by what was happening in the North. When we historicise the LGBT civil rights movement, something that is often lacking is an acknowledgment and a "Thank you" from that movement for the hand up that Irish feminism gave us. My good friend Tonie Walsh has a queer walking tour of Dublin. On it, he stops at the former headquarters of the Irish Women's Liberation Movement, a building on the corner of Dame Street and Crow Street. When he stops outside it, he tells the people on the tour that he wants to pay homage to the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement for making a space for the lesbian and gay brothers and sisters. Irish feminism made a space for us to imagine new genders and sexuality, so I salute the bravery and forthrightness of Irish women in not only having an urgent conversation about gender and sexuality, but in doing so, making a space for lesbians and gay men. I also acknowledge that many lesbians were at the forefront of Irish feminism in the seventies.

In marking International Women's Day, it is incumbent on us all to understand the meaning and value of feminism. I am proud to call myself a feminist. Let no one say that feminism is some niche pursuit. At its core, feminism is about extending rights and a voice to women who were previously unheard or marginalised. Ultimately, though, feminism is a statement that all genders have equal rights and opportunities. Let us be clear, in that extending rights to any group in society does not come at the expense of others. History shows we all benefit, as our forebears knew only too well. The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day – inspire inclusion – should be a reminder that a more inclusive society is one where everyone is valued and we are all joined by a common purpose in living together with greater dignity and with increased awareness and respect for one another.