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Has Feminism made women more free? - WRN National Conference 2026

It's tempting to think that the big problems of women's inequality have been solved, but is this true or have the problems simply changed?

Is life better for young women than their mothers, or do they just have different challenges?

When feminists strove for equality, they wanted to remove the barriers that prevented women from engaging fully in society - they wanted us to be able to work after marriage if we choose, to have bank accounts, be able to borrow money or start businesses, buy property and travel without male approval. That equality of opportunity has morphed into expecting women to operate in the world as if we are men, without regard to the differences between sexes.

WRN's Emma Thomas chairs this panel, which includes:
- Rosie Duffield MP - Independent MP for Canterbury
- Susanna Rustin - Author of “Sexed: A History of British Feminism”
- Victoria Smith - Author of “Hags” and “Unkind”
- Maeve Halligan - Co-founder of Cambridge University Women’s Society

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In April 2026, Féile an Phobail (Festival of the People) accepted a proposal from Women's Rights Network Northern Ireland (WRN_NI) to hold a panel event 'Respect, Rights & Reality' as part of that year's festival programme.

With just two weeks to go before the event, Feile cancelled WRN_NI. You may have seen some press coverage about the attempts that the women of WRN_NI made to have the event reinstated.

The event was ultimately held in a Belfast hotel to a much larger audience, and to much acclaim.

This is a recording of that event. Enjoy!

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to hear more, go to womensrights.network/wrn-podcast to listen, download and subscribe to more of our episodes.

You can also find more news, articles and videos on our substack at https://womensrightsnetwork.substack.com

And if you’d like to join our live conversations, go to womensrights.network/join-wrn

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Discussing the challenges for honest reporting in a media awash with ideological language.

Jane Sullivan is joined by Janet Murray , a British freelance journalist and commentator based in London, discusses the challenges of writing gender critical pieces in the field of journalism where media is still swimming in ideological language at the expense of honest reporting.

We hear about the headline-grabbing cancellation of Janet and her choir, the Singing Striders, from the London Marathon by disability charity Scope - and the aggressive social media response to her Telegraph articles lifting the lid on Girlguiding's policies and practices.

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Useful Links:

Janet’s substack: [Un]Captured with Janet Murray
X: @jan_murray

If you would like to join your local branch of the WRN to connect with other like minded women, who agree with our objectives, please complete the form, below to begin your application to join the WRN. If we are able to proceed, based on the information you provide, the appropriate Local Group Co-ordinator will be in touch with you to progress your application further. https://www.womensrights.network/join-wrn

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to hear more, go to womensrights.network/wrn-podcast to listen, download and subscribe to more of our episodes.

You can also find more news, articles and videos on our substack at https://womensrightsnetwork.substack.com

And if you’d like to join our live conversations, go to womensrights.network/join-wrn