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

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

3. 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]

4. 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?

5. 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?

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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)

10. 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

11. 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

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

13. Representation on local platforms

14. Asylum Seeker Women

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

16. 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

17. Consultation on Integration Strategy
Department of Justice, Dublin, 2015

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

19. 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

20. ‘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

21. Thank you!