is a voluntary, non-political, organisation for women in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. It is similar to the

Women's Institute The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organization for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being the ...

(WI) but its activities are conducted through the medium of Welsh. Its aims are to promote women's issues and to support culture, education and the arts in Wales.

History

was established in 1967 when the WI insisted on English, one of the two main

languages of Wales The languages of Wales include the Welsh language, which is an official language of Wales, and English, which is also considered an official language in Wales. The official languages of the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) are also Welsh and English ...

, as the official language of the movement. There had been an historic use of Welsh in the WI, and with over two hundred and fifty branches in Wales this decision was unpopular. The WI branch in the village of Parc, Llanycil 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, launched a quarterly magazine, (''The Dawn''), and embraced an anthem, (''My Language, My Land''), composed by David Jacob Davies and Elfed Owen. In 1975, the organisation's founder, Zonia Bowen, an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, left the organisation when began to embrace Christianity, contrary to the movement's non-denominational origins. 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 headquarters are in

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

; the hall there is a community resource, used by other charities and organisations in the area. In 2016 it had around 7,000 members, in over 270 branches. A competition was held to design a badge for the new organisation. The winning design was produced by a founder member of Rhosllannerchrugog and Pen-y-cae branch, Mrs Hannah Rogers.

References

External links

Merched y Wawr website
{{Authority control Organizations established in 1967 Women's organisations based in Wales Organisations based in Aberystwyth 1967 establishments in Wales Welsh language