Féile an Phobail organisers have offered to meet with the Women’s Rights Network Northern Ireland (WRN NI) after cancelling an event the group had been scheduled to hold during the west Belfast festival.

The festival said on social media that it had offered to meet the organisation on Thursday at a location in Belfast city centre and would provide an update later.

WRN NI, which describes itself as putting the sex-based needs of women and girls first, had been due to run a discussion titled “Respect, Rights and Reality” in August. Féile an Phobail later withdrew the event, stating it was “unaware from the initial submission that this event would promote campaigns against rights for the transgender community”.

Following the cancellation, WRN NI announced it would take legal action unless the event was reinstated. The group’s statement argued that the event was clearly about women’s sex-based rights when submitted, and accused the festival of silencing women’s voices after an organised online campaign.

Author JK Rowling publicly voiced support for the women’s group and said she would help with any legal costs.

In its statement, WRN NI said the decision followed what it described as a campaign of misogynistic, abusive and threatening rhetoric against women linked to the event. The group rejected any suggestion it was campaigning against others’ rights and insisted it would work to ensure the discussion goes ahead.

Féile an Phobail, also known as the West Belfast Festival, is Ireland’s largest community arts festival and has been running for nearly four decades. This year’s edition runs from 25 July to 9 August.