People Before Profit welcomes the opening of a Marie Stopes Clinic in Belfast which will give women in Northern Ireland easier access to legal abortion. We wish to express our support and solidarity with those who have worked tirelessly for many years to bring this about. People before Profit supports the right of all women, North and South to access free, safe and legal abortion.

“The queen of the parlour has nothing in common with the maid in the kitchen; the wife of the department store owner shows no sisterly concern for the 17 year old girl who finds prostitution the only door open to a $5 a week wage. The sisterhood of woman, like the brotherhood of man, is a hollow sham to labour. Behind all its smug hypocrisy and sickly sentimentality are the sinister outlines of class war.”

Elizabeth Garley-Flynn, socialist and union activist, 1920s New York.

Special report on the recent socialist forum on sexism.

Two recent adverts, for Club Orange and Hunky Dorys, suggests that sexism still plays a huge part in our society.
The greedy and profiteering companies behind this new wave of sexism have been condemned and rightly so.
In a Club Orange ad we are shown women in nothing but their underwear talking about their ‘bits,’ while the Hunky Dorys ad shows scantily clad women ‘playing’ rugby.

Sinéad Kennedy’s booklet is not so much a description of Irish women post ‘Celtic Tiger’, as an outline of how, despite the freedoms won under capitalism, the system continues to find new ways of strengthening the cage.

Women’s oppression and violence against women are features of our society. But can we get rid of them? Sadie Robinson looks at the roots of sexism and offers some answers

Minister for Environment Phil Hogan announced on May 30th the introduction of quotas in the electoral system. From the next general election a 30% gender quota of candidates will be introduced, which will then rise to 40% subsequently. If a political party does not adhere to the quota their state funding will be cut in half. The Minister said that “We’re deliberately setting out to improve the participation rate of women in politics." But are quotas really the answer to women's involvement in politics?

Misogyny has a new musical manifesto. The single "Ode to Women" by the band 'Your Best Friend's Ex' revolves around the refrain "Bitch, shut your mouth" and is polluting the Internet with a music video full of women in not much clothing, dancing, lip synching and barely containing their excitement at being treated like absolute dirt.

When International Women's Day was first proposed by socialist Clara Zetkin 100 years ago the world looked very different. Women did not have the right to vote, most women didn't work and they were economically dependent on their husbands or fathers. Today most women have careers, have access to divorce and we can freely discuss sex and sexuality. These achievements were won through struggle by ordinary women and will be celebrated today across the globe. Discussions will also take place on the situation of women today and the struggles that lie ahead in a time of economic crisis.

The recent decision by the European Court of Human Rights in the case of ABC v Ireland is a significant victory for Irish women. The court ruled that Ireland’s refusal to provide abortion services for a woman whose life was at risk after she unintentionally became pregnant was a breach of her human rights.