Women on the Border

One of the themes that has come from various meetings and a few of our information events has been 'women' - the role they play within a community and a family. Their unique experiences of life during the Troubles and what they were faced with.

Project Manager, Conor, was at a seminar a few months ago where someone mentioned women being left to cope with "broken bodies and broken minds".

Another person that I spoke to in the security forces told of how, on a daily basis, his wife never knew whether he would come home from work or not.

So what was it like for a woman living and/or working along the Border during the conflict here? 

I was at an event in Forkhill last night with the South Armagh Rural Women's Network. An amazing group of women and the work that they are doing there is some of the most interesting and worthwhile that I've seen throughout my research so far.

The group is mixed - from both traditions and from both sides of the border. They have shared their stories with each other and talked very honestly about their experiences. They have come together and held their meetings in all parts of South Armagh, where some members may have never ventured to before, in spite of it being only 3 miles away. They have also gone to each others place of worship. Truly inspiring projects and community work happening there!

One of the women last night said that the Troubles was different for a woman because they "could always see both sides" as she put it. For example, even in a nationalist family, women never liked to see soldiers or security forces being hurt and killed. For a woman, the thought was always, that's somebody's son. Women have the ability to empathise with all.

And much of the time, it was a woman who had to pick up the pieces in a community that was affected by a particular incident.

The stories that were shared with us last night were fascinating but with respect to those there, I won't share them on this blog. There is no denying the fact that some experiences were horrendously traumatic and life-changing, and I thank them because it is not easy to open up about it. Other stories were lighter and showed humour.

My experience of chatting with the women last night encompasses what this project is all about- documenting the light and the dark of those years. It has also become very clear for the need for women to be represented in our final films.

Thanks again to SARN, it was a pleasure and honour to be invited to your meeting. I hope to see you again soon.

Sarah