Some of the rules around the woman’s lodges being only allowed to parade at the invitation of a mens lodge need to be changed in my opinion. It might be tradition but it’s an outdated rule in my opinion. On the subject of mixed marriages, I agree fully with what the women were saying, however it was used nothing more than a beating stick to attack the Orange with. At the end of the day, it’s only human nature to want to live amongst your own kind but on a propaganda point of view it’s an argument we will never win with the general public.
Overall, we didn’t come across to badly, there was a real sense of community spirit amongst the women, the only thing that I do think however is that as Ulster turns into a more secular society, it may be an idea for the Orange to focus more on culture and heritage rather than the religious nature of the Order. Obviously this is a big part of the Orange Order, but the times are indeed changing and especially amongst the ranks of the Women’s lodges, they need to try and be as appealing as possible to the whole Protestant community.
