Annie Hoey (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Some lunch would be nice as well. I just jogged across the campus, shovelling a falafel into my mouth, in shoes that are too tight, which seems very International Women's Day to me.

Joking aside, it is an important day. I was at an event earlier organised by the Irish Second-level Students Union, ISSU. We had a great discussion on the highs and lows of the women's movement, the intersectionality movement and other progressive movements. On the one hand, we had an incredible day in Leinster House on Monday last, when more women than had ever been there in the history of the State were in the Dáil Chamber. It was not just women of one particular ilk or look. There were women from every walk of life, including women who had grown up in care, Muslim women in hijabs, women from migrant communities, women who had moved here from abroad, and Traveller women. It was an incredible moment to be there, as part of International Women's Day week, to see what the future could look like in terms of representation. I would love to have a future where every woman in that room was a political representative because they were so brilliant, enthused and supportive. It was such a warm space to be in. Today we also had the announcement of a referendum to take references to women's role in the home out of the Constitution. However, on the other hand, we had the decision not to extend the eviction ban. I cannot get an image out of my head today. We are going to remove the reference to women in the home from the Constitution but I am thinking of the women and children who may be evicted from their homes - it is always women and children who are affected first - because the eviction ban is not being extended.

When I was talking to the young people who are members of ISSU, I told them that we can find ourselves having these big celebrations and big moments, and this referendum will be significant because that phrase needs to be gone from the Constitution.We cannot then look around us and not be aware of other happenings in the political realm and the impact they have. I find it hard to marry together the image of taking out of the Constitution the reference to taking women out of the home, but potentially seeing women losing their homes together with their children because of the eviction ban being lifted.

I will turn to some current international matters. Many conversations are happening on International Women’s Day and the global impact it has. We need only to look at the US where we recently saw the Roe v. Wade case and its impact throughout the US. That also impacts globally on women’s access to reproductive healthcare. It had a knock-on impact on funding coming out of the US and also in many places a row-back on women’s health. In such states as Texas a doctor can be charged with a first- or second-degree felony for acting out a medical procedure. It is a sad indictment that women’s health is no longer protected in the US constitution.

To continue looking over at the US, we see a swathe not only of anti-transgender legislation but also anti-LGBT legislation. There are murmurings about marriage equality and what that is going to look like in the US. Already Bills have been passed in Houses of Congress in the US banning people from living as they are, banning drag performances and people who look the way they are. I am worried what the end point of that will be. It seems that every single hard-fought-for and hard-won right can be turned over in a click of the fingers. When on International Women’s Day we look over here and celebrate, lifting up the women in our lives, there seems a weariness that there are people constantly coming up with ways to try to undo the progress made.

I will take a moment to reflect on Iran. Towards the end of 2022 people took to the streets and took off their hijabs in solidarity with all women with Iran. The protests were sparked by the death of a 22-year-old woman, Masha Amini, who died three days after being arrested by the morality police for not abiding by the rule of wearing the hijab. It is hard to believe we are saying such a thing as “morality police”. During the protests, both journalists and civilians have been killed. At least 66 died in one protest on 30 September. When discussing International Women’s Day I could spend all day looking at the global perspective, never mind what is going on here. It is important to acknowledge, particularly in Iran, the group of people rising up who are simply looking for a democratic state. We as the international community have a role and responsibility towards that. Whatever we can do in regard to raising up not only the women’s voices here in Ireland, or in the US because they are being attacked left, right and centre on reproductive, gender-based or orientation-based rights, but also the women in Iran who are suffering at the moment and those allies who stand with them.