Mary White (Fianna Fail)

It was done because the Catholic Church believed the woman to be impure after the birth of a child. When my daughter was born almost 39 years ago I was lined up in the church by four other mothers. I asked what this was about and the priest said I was to be churched. I asked why and moved out of the line. There was consternation in the church. Again, it was ignorance and I have to say it was related to sex. One only had a baby because one had sex. It was all tied up with the same ignorance but thanks be to God we have come a long way in Ireland in that regard.

I compliment Senator Bacik, ably supported by Senator Prendergast and Senator Hannigan. It is a great tribute to Seanad Éireann that the work being carried out by the HSE on the prevention of female genital mutilation will be supported here and come through in the Seanad. It is what the Seanad is about.

The bottom line as far as I am concerned is that the more women throughout the world get educated, the more they will become free and stand up for themselves. They will not be forced into taking these cruel, brutal, barbaric and savage measures. I agree with Senator Twomey. It is not about culture. This is about power and the suppression of women.

I believe that in some Third World countries and in some developed African countries, there is a different attitude to the number of wives a man can have. I have a problem with President Zuma of South Africa being feted by the Queen in England. I think he has 20 children. What message does that send out that a man is free to have four wives and 20 children? When I saw President Zuma being feted in Buckingham Palace I wondered about the message he was sending out, namely, that it is all right to produce 20 children by different women. The fact a man can have so many wives is another aspect of it. I believe the King of Swaziland has approximately 30 wives and he gets a new one every year. He was educated in Eton but he still went back to Swaziland.

The bottom line is that this is about the education of women to ensure they have the courage to stand up for themselves and for their children. This is a great day for Seanad Éireann. I congratulate the Minister of State on spelling out to us the Government amendment and what has been happening on the ground as well.