Belfast City Council is to mark the rise of the woman’s suffrage movement over a century ago with a series of events.

City Hall and the Ulster Hall are to host a series of talks, plays, film screenings and other associated events from next week through to the end of March.

A rally will be held at City Hall to mark International Women's Day on March 8th.

The programme of events is to be launched on 21 February by the Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Tierna Cunningham.

Councillor Cunningham commented: "The period between 1912 and 1922 witnessed some dramatic changes in this part of the world, and it is only right that, a century later, we recognise and remember the importance of that decade of key historical moments.

"The role of women in that period cannot be under-estimated, especially as the campaign for female suffrage – which brought together women from all social, economic, political and religious backgrounds to fight for a common goal – played such a pivotal role in developing the society we enjoy today."

Event highlights include:

- February 21 – a talk on the role of women, including those in domestic service and mill workers, in Belfast in the years 1912 through 1914

- February 28 – an illustrated talk on 'Prison, Protests and Strikes – How Ulster Women Fought For The Vote'

- March 14 – a reading of 'Shrieking Sisters', by Maggie Cronin and Carol Moore, telling the story of the attempted bombing of Lisburn Cathedral by a group of suffragettes on August 1 1914

- March 20 – a reading of 'Lay Up Your Ends', by Martin Lynch, set against the backdrop of the 1911 mill girls' strike

All events start at 19:15 and are free of charge.

On International Women`s Day, March 8, a rally will leave the University of Ulster`s Belfast campus at 12.30 and march to the City Hall, where it will be welcomed by the Lord Mayor, Alderman Gavin Robinson.

(IT)