Description: | Here Teresa, who participated in arpillera workshops facilitated by Deborah Stockdale, January - February 2013, depicts a female figure in strong, defiant pose holding the scales of justice in her right hand and brandishing a sword in her left hand. She appears to be blindfolded. Her clothes, both the fabric and cut, suggest she is from another era, giving her, and the issues she portrays, a sense of timelessness and universality.
The dual image of sword and scales also alludes to women’s inclusion in post conflict democracies, a role which globally, historically and currently is never a given. In 1996, the newly formed Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition (NIWC), cross community and cross party in nature was formed. Modeling a new inclusive approach to politics, it succeeded, in the face of much opposition, in getting elected to the multi-party talks that led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
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