Participation, migrant women and local activism Trinity College Dublin, 8th March 2017 Natalya Pestova

Plan Democratic Participation Migrant women participation Mayo Intercultural Action as a catalyst for women participation

Democratic participation Representative Democracy Participatory Democracy Right to vote for public representative Right to be elected as a public representative Well defined in human rights/ constitutional laws [Political party space] Referendum on public issue Direct involvement in the policy and decision-making Representation on public committees/ boards Consultation / opinion polls Engaging marginalised groups Not so well defined / ad hoc /problematic [Civil Society space]

Migrant women participation Migrant women: 10 percent of all female population in Ireland Migrant women in Irish politics? Public sector? Judiciary? Public boards? Local authorities and their policy committees?

Right to vote Women with the legal right to stay in Ireland can vote in local election only Naturalised Irish Citizen women can vote in any elections / referendum ‘Who do I vote for?’ Do politics engage migrants as constituencies?

Challenges / barriers Isolation, vulnerability, language, motivation, capacity ‘childcare, cash, confidence, culture’ (IHREC) Rural context – travel distances Traditional perceptions of politics Lack of appropriate ‘participatory democracy’ platforms for migrant women participation

What can be done? ‘ Training and mentoring initiatives are required to address ... the low participation of minority women such as members of migrant and Traveller communities’ ‘ Need for targeted supports, integration, awareness, capacity building, training’ IHREC Submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women on Ireland’s combined sixth and seventh periodic reports January 2017

Mayo Intercultural Action (MIA) Women always at heart of MIA work since 2004 Migrant women led and run project 2/3 staff are migrant women Over half of the project Steering Group membership are migrant women MIA founder is a local female politician (T.Ruane) Most of our volunteers are migrant women

Engaging politics as a civil society migrant women-led project: lobbying for change of unfair policies and practices affecting women, join civil society campaigns, raising migrant women issues on local/national platforms, addressing politicians and public officials, written submissions, engaging media on political issues (DP)

Facilitating women to participate 1. Empowerment: individual supports, information, group work, integration activities, employment/volunteering for MIA, capacity building, training Resulting in: awareness, shared learning, debates, challenged perceptions, confidence, motivation Women are integrated, mobilised, engaged as active citizens, feminists, community leaders 2. Linking with opportunities to participate

Articulating migrant women issues “Women don’t feel empowered to enter political life – there is a lack of confidence” What is life like for women in Ireland in 2016? IHREC’s Consultation on the CEDAW process

Contributing to political debates ‘Bridges not Walls’ Women's March Castlebar 21 January 2017

Representation on local platforms

Asylum Seeker Women

Creating opportunities for asylum seeker women to protest and speak Castlebar, 2014 Galway, 2015

Creating opportunities for asylum seeker women to express themselves It’s tough to raise children in prison environment on 19 euro a week Our dignity and human rights are compromised in Direct Provision Looking back at all the years wasted in DP - I could have achieved so much Most often expressed thoughts of asylum seeker women

Consultation on Integration Strategy Department of Justice, Dublin, 2015

Kany Kazadi former asylum seekers speaking at the IHREC International Protection Seminar

Migrant women democratic participation Empowerment of migrant women to participate in politics is a journey from vulnerability and isolation to women’s collective and activism Linking migrant women with well established ‘representative democracy’ mechanisms is a matter of education, awareness and motivation Lack of accessible ‘participatory democracy’ platforms and opportunities for female participation limits further political engagement

‘Migrant Women in politics’ motto Here we are – 10 percent of all female population in Ireland We are here to contribute to Irish economy and society There are issues that affect us: these are political issues and we want change We may not be ready for a political career just yet, and we are confused who to vote for, but we want and we are learning how to understand and influence politics to make Ireland a better place for everyone We need migrant women led organisations to inspire us to become active citizens and to inform us about rights and opportunities for political participation

Thank you!