A line was crossed. I had taken my seat, turning to speak to the girl next to me, whose friend was too scared to come for fear of harassment at the door. She herself was shouted at as she walked up the steps to the entrance, despite having no direct involvement with the organisation of the event itself. The event began, Theresa May, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2016-2019, was introduced and given the Praeses Elit award by two members of the Law Society’s executive. May then requested if she could make a brief address to the room, firstly thanking us for “being in here and not out there”, smirking as she made a quick glance towards the window closest to her, where the noise from the protest outside was most assertive. She certainly has a sense of humour, I’ll give her that.
Continuing on, May communicated the role and importance of law in its underpinning of democracy, of which freedom of speech is an inviolable value. However, against the antagonistic mantras coming from outside, freedom of speech couldn’t have felt further out of grasp.
Everyone is entitled to speak out for what they believe in. Protesting is an important part of democracy too. So why was it that this protest felt so unnecessarily out of order? For me, it was the blatant sexism I witnessed first hand from the moment Theresa May’s visit to the Law Society was announced earlier in the week. Groupchats blew up demanding protests, and flyers were put up and distributed around campus. I of course can understand the frustration, Theresa May, has had more than her share of controversies. Yet three weeks ago when Bertie Ahern visited the Law Society for exactly the same award, no such intimidatory effort was made. Instead, I sat through just over an hour of respectful silence for a man one could deem even more directly controversial to our country than Theresa May. Rory Stewart visited the Hist last year, another prominent Tory, Etonian too, to little fanfare or chants of “Tory scum” compared to his female counterpart.
Overshadowing any genuine attempt to express discord with the event was the tasteless joke equating her to Margaret Thatcher, her only other female predecessor. I don’t disagree that Theresa May is without fault, her faults and the experiences she gained from them were partially why she was invited. I won’t dispute that there are valid points to be made, but what a frivolous waste of time and resources when you confuse them. I am well aware of how this may come across being a member of the Law Society myself, but my intention when writing this was not to defend them. What I truly wish to get across is this: sexism is not some cheap springboard to making your argument heard. A far greater problem was overlooked here.
Speaking about her time in politics, May herself emphasised how just how difficult it is for women to have careers in politics for the sheer amount of scrutiny they face in comparison to their male counterparts. A guest in the audience even asked if fear of harassment was a reason why women were hesitant to enter politics in the first place, however she was cut off by the raucous noise from outside. I doubt the irony was lost by a single soul in that room.
The right to protest is fundamental, but when it descends into targeted harassment, disproportionately directed at women, it undermines the very values it claims to defend. The stark contrast between the reaction to Theresa May’s visit and that of her male counterparts leaves little wonder as to why our own country is yet to see a female Taoiseach. Closer to home, the disproportionate dissection of Helen McEntee and Holly Cairns only reinforces this sentiment. The events of last week highlights a deeper issue, one that a group of students, so adamant on making their voices heard, utterly failed to notice.
