Women workers in the Six Counties

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As in every other capitalist country, women in the six counties of Ireland suffer an additional burden of oppression.

Abortion is not available in the six counties. While middle class and bourgeois women can travel to England, working class women can rarely afford this.

Deaths at the heads of illicit abortionists are common. Family planning clinics do exist, but the slander campaigns of both the Catholic and Protestant church hierarchies deter many women from using them:

The 1979 statistics for rape released by the RUC revealed an increase of 23% over the previous yeaf.

Chief Inspector Jean Gallagher gave an interview to the press in which she claimed that many rape victims "lead their attackers on", while many more "pretend" that they have been raped.

This reactionary approachtypical of the attitude and actions of the RUC-spell out the need to fight for the establishment of rape crisis centres.

This should be linked to a widespread propaganda campaign to warn Irish women who are raped of the likely consequences of reporting it to the Intimidation Since 1969 when british troops were sent into the six counties to smash the uprising of Catholic workers, a military police state has been 1 established.

Working class women in nationalist areas face the daily threat of violence and intimidation from the British Army and RUC.

When going into town or walking on the streets, it is a daily occurence to be forced to undergo a physical body search, have bags emptied and all contents opened and examined. willingness to risk their own lives but the agonising awareness that in so doing they are placing their entire family in the front line for Loyalist and British Army attacks.

It is in this context that we must salute the heroism of the women Prisoners of War in Armagh Jail. These women were Behind the enthusiasm and capacity to struggle of the 4,800 workers at Talbot Linwood there is a concerted effort by those in the leadership of the workers there to run the whole arrested under "emergency legislation" , tortured and interrogated in British Army torture camps, tried in non-jury Diplock Courts and given lengthy sentences.

In the vast majority of the cases the only evidence was a statement signed or verbally admitted under torture. LONG KESH In 1976, with the withdrawal of special category status, the women in Armagh adopted a courageous policy of non-co-operation with the prison regime, refusing to do any prison work.

Since that date they have been locked in their cells 23 hours a day and subjected to systematic harassment and beatings by the prison authorities in an attempt to break their fighting spirit.

Its only effect was to increase the women's determination. On February 7 1980 40 male warders invaded the women's wing in Armagh, beating the women and tearing their cells apart.

For two days, the women were locked in their cells and denied toilet facilities. At the end of this period the prison authorities offered toilet facilities as a "privitege".

The women demanded toilet facilities as a right, and being denied this, were forced onto the no-wash protest.

Living in faeces-covered cells, the risk of disease and infection is extremely high. Many of the women developed menstrual and kidney disorders as sanitary towels are thrown unwrapped into the cells and the women have no means of disposing of them.

They are denied all medical treatment.

Suffered The woman who has suffered most through lack of medical treatment is Pauline McLaughlin. Pauline was arrested on the basis of a signed statement, despite the fact that at her court case, it was shown that she was illiterate.

She was detained at "the Secretary of State's Pleasure" and served four years in Armagh Jail.

She went down to 4½ stone in weight, suffering from an undiagnosed illness, a symptom of which was an inability to digest food.

In October she was taken to Musgrave Park Military Hospital after a heart attack. She was By lan MacCalman She was medical words Doctor decision therefor die."

Only math of Pauline released kept in solitary confinement in a locked cell, guarded by soldiers.

At her own request she returned to Armagh and in December reioined the Drotést.

consistently denied any treatment and in the of cowardly Prison Cole: "It was her to remain on protest : it was her decision to in January, in the afterthe Hunger Strikes, was McLaughlin eventually from custody on meaical grounas.

On Monday 1 December three women prisoners. began a hunger strike to the death for political status. They took the denision to hunopr strike in their UNVASIVIL LU HUIEVI SELINE LI LIELL own right and in solidarity with male prisoners in the H Blocks:

On 18 December 1980 the hunger strike in the H Blocks was called off.

A representative of Atkins presented the male hunger strikers, then on the point of death, and their Commanding Officer with a 32-page document which the IRA leadership claim in effect acceded to the five demands of the prisoners.

The women prisoners ended their hunger strike the following day-but the no-wash protest continues.:

The prisoners, backed by massive demonstrations throughout the 32 counties and a number of strikes and walkouts, had seemed to have won a number of concessions.

However, the subsequent refusal of the government to implement the agreement shows that these gains can not. be secured and extended without the independent mobilisation of the working class in the 32 counties in support of the prisoners as part of the daily struggle against imperialism and its agents. shoEve how hollane Even. to 1S their position.

But behind an occupation on such a scale as Linwood the working class in the West of

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