As the idea of a united Ireland seems to be coming closer to realisation than ever before, the conversation has, and rightly so, turned to what a new united Ireland should look like. At the recent west Belfast Féile an Phobail leaders’ debate, An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told the audience that a united Ireland would be “a different state” and as with all new states this new Ireland would require a “new constitution”.

There are many policy areas that need to be considered if we are to create a new country that works for the entire population living on this island; from the importance of creating an inclusive Ireland for northern Ireland’s unionist community, to questions regarding a new education, welfare and health sector.

Unfortunately, the identity of those who dominate contributions to, and influence the discourse surrounding a united Ireland is all too predictable. Just like that of almost every other nation in the world, the face of Irish and Northern Irish politics is overwhelmingly male. This isn’t a surprise, sadly, as the island of Ireland both north and south has an appalling history of women participating in politics.

Currently in the Republic of Ireland, 22% of seats in the Dáil are held by women. Prior to the current political impasse in Northern Ireland, 30% of the seats in Stormont were won by women in the 2017 election. This lack of female representation and participation in politics is reflected in the disregard for women’s rights and feminist issues thus far in both jurisdictions.

It was only last year that women in the Republic of Ireland were granted the right to bodily autonomy in the form of legal access to abortion. This right was hard won by the many inspirational, determined and impassioned women of Ireland who, motivated by the clear lack of regard for the rights of Irish women, took this problem into their own hands.

Today, this is a fundamental right that women in the north have yet to be granted – at least by locally elected politicians. The blatant disregard for the equality of women is unending. In addition to the denial of autonomy over their own bodies, Northern Irish women are currently not properly protected from abuse in their home as forms of domestic abuse such as financial or emotional are not appropriately legislated against.

The negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement are widely regarded as a great case study for conflict resolution. These talks albeit successful where held mainly by men to resolve a mainly male conflict that was fought mainly by men to resist patriarchal colonial rule that was carried out by, essentially, male imperialists.

Women were poorly represented in the GFA discussions. These talks included representative from not only the UK and Ireland but as far away as the USA. Disappointingly, the only delegation that included an acceptable number of women was that of Sinn Féin. Whilst these talks resolved a male-centric problem they also agreed a patriarchal state set-up where women’s right to equality was not a priority.

This mistake cannot be made again. A united Ireland must be a state which prioritises the social, economic and political equality of women. It is essential that women are present at the discussions leading to the re-union of the north and south of Ireland whenever the time comes.

Despite the incredible gains that have been made in the Republic of Ireland in recent years on issues such as divorce, abortion and equal marriage, it is not enough. Without having women at the centre of a new Ireland we will continue to fall short on finding solutions to the biggest feminist issues we are currently facing; the epidemic of rape and sexual assault, gender-based violence, the gender pay gap, and the climate emergency. To solve these issues and to create a nation that exists for everyone, we must have women at the centre of the setting-up and oversight of our new Ireland.