The Women\u2019s Rights Network has announced that it is taking legal action against the taxpayer-funded F\u00e9ile an Phobail after it refused to reinstate the group\u2019s panel discussion, to take place next month.<\/p>\n
Their event, \u2018Respect, Rights, and Reality\u2019 was billed as a discussion exploring sex-based rights, single-sex spaces and fairness in women\u2019s sports \u2013 issues which have come to the fore as transgender activism has led to clashes with women\u2019s rights. However, the scheduled panel was cancelled earlier this week, sparking online outcry.<\/p>\n
Both organisations met in Belfast on Friday but Women\u2019s Rights Network (WRN) said on Friday night that \u201cunfortunately, a resolution has not been achieved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following the meeting, a spokeswoman for the women\u2019s group told Gript: \u201cWRN NI wish F\u00e9ile well as they launch their festival this weekend. WRN NI notes F\u00e9ile calls for balance in their statement \u2013 yet we note not one of their 600 events caters for women\u2019s sex based rights. And they haven\u2019t catered for women\u2019s sex based rights for years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cF\u00e9ile had a long proud history of supporting free speech. It historically fought back against censorship. It appears that WRN NI are the first censored group in Feile\u2019s history and this is where they\u2019ve drawn their line in the sand. Terrorists are welcomed, criminals are feted but women\u2019s rights are beyond the pale.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a statement posted to the platform X, WRN said: \u201cThe Women\u2019s Rights Network can confirm that a meeting took place today with representatives from F\u00e9ile an Phobail following the cancellation of our scheduled event.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe appreciate the F\u00e9ile team taking the time to meet with us,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegrettably, despite engaging in good faith, our meeting did not result in a satisfactory solution. our concerns have not been addressed, and no agreement was reached to reinstate the event,\u201d WRN said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wrote to F\u00e9ile yesterday to inform them that we would commence legal proceedings if our event was not reinstated.\u201d<\/p>\n
The women\u2019s rights group said that they \u201care now left with no choice but to proceed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur legal proceedings can be withdrawn at any time should F\u00e9ile decide to reinstate the event,\u201d added WRN.<\/p>\n
It comes just several days after author and activist J.K. Rowling made an offer, via social media, to help fund any legal action if the group were to go in that direction. Initially, WRN said they were not going to bring a legal challenge.<\/p>\n
A statement provided by WRN NI\u2019s solicitor, Ciaran O\u2019Hare of McIvor Farrell Solicitors, reads:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe High Court has listed the Women\u2019s Rights Network\u2019s application for an urgent hearing on Monday 27 July following F\u00e9ile an Phobail\u2019s refusal to reinstate the Network\u2019s panel discussion.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe proceedings seek an order requiring F\u00e9ile to honour what the Women\u2019s Rights Network contends is a concluded contractual agreement. Our client maintains that F\u00e9ile accepted the event proposal, allocated a venue and time, confirmed the logistical arrangements, and published the event as part of its official programme before subsequently withdrawing it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe central issue before the Court is whether a party may lawfully repudiate a concluded agreement of this nature, particularly where the subject matter of the event and the perspectives of the proposed speakers were fully disclosed before acceptance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe claim also raises important questions concerning the availability of injunctive relief to enforce contractual rights where damages would not provide an adequate remedy. The Women\u2019s Rights Network contends that the opportunity to participate in this year\u2019s F\u00e9ile programme is unique and cannot be recreated by a subsequent award of damages.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur client made repeated attempts to resolve this matter without recourse to litigation, including inviting F\u00e9ile to engage in discussions with a view to reinstating the event. Those efforts were unsuccessful, leaving the commencement of proceedings as the only available course.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Women\u2019s Rights Network remains ready and willing to proceed with the panel in accordance with the arrangements previously agreed,\u201d added Mr O\u2019Hare.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Women\u2019s Rights Network has announced that it is taking legal action against the taxpayer-funded F\u00e9ile an Phobail…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":568196,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[18424,23594,93,239156,20646,61,60,2443,239767,239768],"class_list":["post-568195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-cancel-culture","tag-cancelled","tag-entertainment","tag-feile-an-phobail","tag-gender","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-northern-ireland","tag-womens-rights-network","tag-wrn-ni"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=568195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/568196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=568195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=568195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=568195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}