Merched y Wawr
Encyclopedia
Merched y Wawr is a national, voluntary, non-political, organisation for women in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. It is similar to the Women's Institute but its activities are conducted through the medium of Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...

. Its aims are to promote women's issues and to support culture, education and the arts in Wales.

History

Merched y Wawr was established in 1967 when the WI insisted on English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 as the official language of the movement. There had been an historic use of Welsh in the Wales WI and had over two hundred and fifty branches across the country and this decision was unpopular in Wales. The WI branch in the village of Parc, Llanycil actually broke away from the movement and began Merched y Wawr, which would operate solely in Welsh. The movement grew quickly and in the late 1980s the organisation had over 10,000 members and more than 275 branches.

In 1968, Merched y Wawr launched a quarterly magazine Y Wawr (The Dawn), and embraced an anthem Fy Iaith, Fy Ngwlad (My Language, My Land) composed by David Jacob Davies and Elfed Owen. In 1975, the organisations founder and atheist, Zonia Bowen, left the organisation when Merched y Wawr began to embrace Christianity, which was against the origins of the movement which was initially non-denominational.

Merched y Wawr has been involved in campaigning efforts ranging from support for the creation of a memorial to Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn to collecting oral history across Wales. Local branches typically meet once a month. The national headquarters are in Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....

; the hall there is a community resource, used by other charities and organisations in the area and in 2007 had around 6,500 members.

External links

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