Ireland to vote on whether a woman’s place is in the home

Campaigners demand referendum over
controversial clause in Irish Constitution

One-Minute Read

Calls for the vote were renewed this week following the
announcement that Ireland will hold a referendum on whether
to change its laws against blasphemy.

Feminists have been campaigning for years for a change to
Article 41.2 of the Irish Constitution (Bunreacht na
hÉireann). Added to the document in 1937, it reads: “In
particular, the State recognises that by her life within the
home, woman gives to the State a support without which the
common good cannot be achieved. 

“The State shall, therefore, endeavour to ensure that
mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage
in labour to the neglect of their duties in the home.”

The abolition of the controversial clause has been considered on
multiple occasions, including during the country’s Constitutional Convention in 2013.

The Irish Times describes the clause as
a “paternalistic throwback to 1930s Ireland” and says that
“while the sentiment may have been honourable, the language used is
(in modern times in any case) insulting”.

Josepha Madigan, the Irish culture minister, said: “Our
Constitution should not narrowly define our roles in society. I
would like to see this anachronistic article consigned to history.
Modern Irish women and modern Irish families deserve more than the
archaic notions of the 1937 Constitution.”

According to the BBC, the Irish government is expected to approve a
public vote on the issue. Campaigners’ hopes have been raised
by lawmakers’ decision to allow a referendum on changing a law
against blasphemy written into the Constitution, under which “the
publication or utterance of blasphemous, seditious, or indecent
matter is an offence which shall be punishable in accordance with
law”.

In 2009, a new law made blasphemy punishable by a fine of up to
€25,000 (£22,000).

The blasphemy vote will be held on the same day as the
presidential election, which is likely to take place in
October.

Last month the Republic voted to reform and modernise its laws regarding
abortion, fuelling calls for a similar referendum in Northern
Ireland.