THERE was a feeling that hell had frozen over for the unveiling of two new statues of Mary Ann McCracken and Winifred Carney at City Hall. If you had been one of the people in the crowd at, say, Bill Clinton addressing Belfast, or this rally or that rally over the years, you'd have seen that there was a markedly different atmosphere and a very eclectic crowd of people. A real diversity of political opinion.

Perhaps, as happened with the celebration of 100 years of women's suffrage and the realisation  that women make up over 50 per cent of the population, we can finally come together along gender lines. It was particularly good to see so many women's activists in the gathering. I was reminded of something that Annie Campbell, ex-Chief Executive of Women's Aid and Citizens' Advice, said to me once when lobbying: "If Mary Ann McCracken stood at the docks of Belfast in her 80s lobbying people about slavery, we know there is plenty of time left to keep calling out wrongs."

Naomi Viviane Sander and her father Ralf Volker Sander were commissioned to make the statues and at the unveiling Ralf took a firm step back to allow his daughter to have her moment. Talented in both music and visual art, Naomi has been working with the Sander and Sander team on commissions, but the Mary Ann McCracken sculpture she did on her own from start to finish. It was perhaps interesting to hear her thank so many people who were involved in bringing the sculpture to life; from her mother, who stayed up to sew the skirt to be historically accurate before it was cast, to the two young women's art students, one with blue and pink hair, who worked on specific parts of the sculptures. She was giving a nod to many artists since time began who work as a team on commissions.

The sculptures act as a visual reminder of the shifts occurring in the city and the strong women in every generation who live within the city boundaries, but not within the boundaries that society dictates. 

The following day it was the turn of Reclaim the Agenda to stage the annual International Women's Day march with a call for 'Peace and Courage'. Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire, along with Afghan artist Alina Gawhsry, used the platform to call for a peaceful resolution to conflicts throughout the world.

Avila Kilmurray made a powerful speech and reminded us that there are always naysayers when peace is asked for – in particular graffiti saying 'Shove your dove' around the time of the peace talks in Belfast. Mairead – now in her 80s, like Mary Ann McCracken all those years ago on the docks – issued a wake-up call against the warmongers. She reminded us that Northern Ireland is a beacon of inspiration across the world for its peace process. Even the flag protestors – yes, they are still there – agreed there should be a ceasefire across the world.

Alina Gawhsry reminded us that the Taliban have forbidden music and art and to be in a city with UN City of Music status is magical.

Helen Crickard of Reclaim the Agenda which organises the annual march and rally said ' 'Women across the world face terrible human rights abuses, poverty and torment through wars that are not of their making. We are calling for a world where conflict is solves through dialogue and women are safe to reach their potential, have equal access to power and play an active role in society. For this to happen we must have Peace and justice'

Anaka Women's Collective withdrew their speaker from their community of women who work together to resist oppressive immigration systems as they felt it was no longer safe for them to speak because of threats from government. A second speaker a young LGBTQ + women , withdrew after witnessing vitriolic online abuse directed at another speaker. Emma Campbell from Reclaim the Agenda reminded us that - as intersectional feminists — we need to embody community care, and put into practice the often quoted Audre Lorde 'caring for myself is not self indulgence, it is self preservation and that is an act of political warfare'

While the International Women's Day march no longer takes over the City Hall, there was a convivial atmosphere at 2 Royal Avenue, where stalls were situated afterwards, and the musical connection continued. It made us all feel as if the city had progressed.

Yet we are aware there are women in the city who are still to connect to the empowerment of the women's movement – and so the fight continues.