Counter rally planned over 'women’s rights' event in Belfast

Police say they are liaising with the organisers of an Belfast event run by a controversial women's rights activist.

Kellie-Jay Keen is known for her opposition to transgender rights and is due to appear at a Let Women Speak rally in Belfast this weekend.

The original location was changed after organisers said they were threatened.

A counter-event by local LGBTQIA activists will be held at a nearby city centre location.

Police said attendees at both events should have "a clear understanding of their legal obligations".

"As a police service we have a responsibility to uphold and balance the human rights of all of our citizens," they added.

It's being run by Standing for Women, a group founded by Keen, who is also known as Posie Parker.

She said the event was aimed at fighting "against the tyranny of the movement that seeks to redefine… the very fabric of womanhood".

Keen is previously reported as saying the idea that transgender women are women is "preposterous".

There were chaotic scenes during a Let Women Speak event in Australia last month.

A senator was allegedly thrown to the ground as she tried to confront Keen at a protest outside parliament in Canberra and in New Zealand Keen had juice thrown over her.

The Dublin-leg of the tour was cancelled this week, with Keen claiming it could not go ahead because police were "overstretched".

An Garda Síochána (Irish police) said it does not comment on named individuals.

This weekend's planned event follows a local feminist group receiving criticism for screening a film in Belfast which some transgender rights activists have described as transphobic.

Adult Human Female was shown in a room privately hired at the Errigle Inn on Ormeau Road.

The Women's Rights Network, which ran the screening, said it had been "wise to organise [the screening] secretly" because of concerns for both venue and attendees' safety.

Screenings of the documentary have been disrupted elsewhere in the UK, prompting its directors to declare the Belfast event a "significant victory".

Its title is a phrase associated with gender-critical feminism and organisers have billed it as the first UK documentary feature to look at the clash between women's rights and trans ideology.

The film's synopsis asks: "Is it really harmless when men identify into the female sex":[]}