International Women’s Week will be celebrated with a week-long feminist festival in Trinity. This week, Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) will celebrate the achievements of all self-identifying women and encourage healthy discussions on the issues that continue to affect women on a national and international level. Each day this week there are exciting events across campus, ranging from engaging conversations about empowering women to a female DJ takeover in the Pav.
Speaking to The University Times by email, the TCDSU Communications and Marketing Officer, Úna Harty, explained the importance of celebrating International Women’s Week in Trinity: “Trinity can sometimes be viewed as one of the most liberal hubs across the island of Ireland so we must rise to the challenge and be brave and strong in how we celebrate and champion equality. It is our job to show students of younger years in particular why we need to celebrate International Women’s Week and how they can become a part of that. We need to evoke passion for gender equality in them and bring them along with us.”
Harty highlighted the importance of letting the college population know that International Women’s Week isn’t just for women: “It’s for everyone and I want everyone to feel that they can get involved.”
Monday
Getting the week off to a good start, TCDSU and DU Gender Equality Society (DUGES) will be launching Trinity’s International Women’s Week 2018 on Monday at 1pm in the Atrium with their event “Feminist Conversations: A Discussion with Lynn Ruane”. Ruane is a senator and the most recent female TCDSU President. Ruane will be discussing the experiences of women in the workplace and the challenges that are still encountered, based on her own personal experiences.
Harty is particularly excited about the DJ Workshop on Monday at 4pm in the TCDSU Kitchen of House Six. “I think we’re seeing a shift in gender equality in the electronic music industry and it’s a very exciting time”, said Harty. Similarly, on Thursday evening at 8pm, the Pav will host All Gals on Decks: an evening of groovy tunes played by fantastic female DJs.
Tuesday
On Tuesday, TCDSU and DU Gender Equality Society (DUGES) will be making the journey out to St James’s Hospital to host an information event about the eighth amendment. At 1pm in the McNevin Seminar Room of St James’s, this event will aim to tell students everything that they need to know about the upcoming referendum on the eighth and if it is passed, what would happen afterwards.
TCDSU Ethnic Minorities Committee will be hosting a screening of Persepolis in the Global Room at 6pm on Tuesday. Persepolis is a 2007 French-Iranian adult animated biographical film based on Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novel of the same name. The film was written and directed by Satrapi with Vincent Paronnaud. The story follows a young girl as she comes of age against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution.
Wednesday
In association with Playblue, TCDSU will be hosting Sex Toy Bingo in the Pav at 8pm. After the event’s success from last term, it is back by popular demand this week!
Thursday
The TCDSU Education Officer, Alice MacPherson, will lead a long-table discussion on the absence of women in election races this Thursday at 12pm. Titled “Why don’t Women Run for Election”, this discussion aims to identify and combat the issue. With only two of this year’s 12 candidates in the TCDSU elections being female, this issue needs to be addressed. And who knows, maybe next year we’ll see more empowered women running in the TCDSU elections. The location for this event is yet to be decided, so keep up to date with any changes on the event page.
Friday
Come along on Friday to a workshop on how to support, encourage and inspire leadership in other women. Led by MacPherson and Harty, the workshop aims to show women on how they can support each other in their daily lives.
A full list of events for International Women’s Week at Trinity can be found here
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