ANDRÉE MURPHY: Activists are the drivers of justice and change

ACTIVISTS are the lifeblood of change. It is only when grumbling and annoyance changes to advocacy and activism that change becomes possible.

When a few good people decide that things can be better and begin to write letters, gather in small and then bigger groups, protest outside the bodies who resist change, march in thousands to change the tide toward the progressive those activists will find that they never are finished as change comes slowly, incrementally and in unexpected forms.

We can all think of the feminists who began life demanding equal participation, who needed to also campaign on domestic violence and are this week being asked about the gender implications of a childcare strategy. Some significant gains have been made on all of the above, yet there have also been steps backwards and our understanding of needs, and rights, have been transformed.

This week’s Programme for Government points to the successes of activism on some levels. While the document lacks detail and cast-iron milestones, to see a document major on childcare and ending violence against women and girls, launched by two women as First and Deputy First Ministers, is hugely notable. While not a feminist manifesto, it is a significant leaning into the realities of the lives of women in this jurisdiction, where 98 per cent of women here say that they have experienced gendered violence in their lifetime. Yes, you read that right.

However, the gaps are there too. Many of us thought that the clear and unambiguous right to an Irish Language Act had been won. We all expected that this totem for respect, equality and rights had had its dial moved. There are Gaeilgeoirí in ministerial positions, who are Irish language activists themselves, and all of the parties bar the DUP support the Acht. It is inexplicable that the ambitious programme does not include it. The giants of activism within the Irish language community have rightly pointed to this. For long-term activists who have seen the worst days of violence and discrimination they will hope that this is just an oversight and, while it is disappointing, will hope that it will be remedied during the consultation period.

For that is the lot of activists. Change comes with a partnership of actors, and part of activists’ role is always to remind and encourage. Day to day politics is just that, overwhelming with priorities where everything is important. Enforceable and legislated-for human rights are the only way to transform the Irish language into something that happens in due course, rather than having to be fought for, and campaigned on. Our Gaeilgeoirí need those legal protections so they never again slip down any agenda or, worse, become the subject of political negotiation.

This place we share will never be “normal”. It will always be contested, as its foundation was murderous and its perpetuation relied on discrimination. The accommodation which we currently agree to live with depends on the consent of the majority and a spine of human rights, which benefit us all universally. There are full swathes of the population that live their lives with their rights being violated. Those we elect are better placed to mitigate those harms, and most have dedicated their lives to doing so. But the role for activists will always be eternal vigilance – and thank goodness for them.