The Importance of Women's Votes in the March 8th Referendum

It wasn’t until 1918 that Irish women gained the right to vote—and at that, only a select few. Now, in 2024, the importance of women’s votes in the upcoming March 8th referendum cannot be emphasised enough. In what will be the first time many Maynooth University students will be voting, there seems to be a need to clear the air and reclarify how the changing of the constitution would help redefine a nation built upon the oppression of generations of Irish women before us.

Article 41.3.1° “The State pledges itself to guard with special care the institution of Marriage, on which the Family is founded, and to protect it against attack.”

The current wording of Article 41.3.1 upholds the institution of marriage as the foundation families are built upon. However, in a country with a notorious past of ostracising unwed mothers and a previous “marriage ban” that forced married women out of public sector work, it is hard to view such an institution through rose-coloured lenses. Instead, it becomes easier to view it as a cage: damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Such constitutional wording is what the long held, morally oppressive beliefs of a past Ireland were based upon. In a more progressive Ireland where 43% of babies are born outside of marriage or a civil partnership, our constitution should reflect a cultural change that has allowed women to have more autonomy over their decisions.

Article 41.2.1° “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.”

Article 41.2.2° “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.”

With Article 41.3.1 working to confine women to the home through marriage, Articles 41.2.1 and 41.2.2 reinforce this narrative by ultimately defining women as solely belonging to the domestic sphere. The proposal to change the article to more gender-neutral wording will not only give Ireland’s carers more constitutional recognition (with over 299,000 unpaid carers reported in the 2022 census), but such an issue particularly pertains to women, as 61% of unpaid carers recorded in the 2022 census identified as female, compared to just 39% identifying as male. Therefore, the constitutional change would benefit both women who choose to define themselves within the domestic sphere and those who would rather define themselves within the workforce. Such a change would help recognise female carers for their actual role as carers, rather than being obliged to occupy such a role due to an outdated constitutional outlook on the duties of her sex.

Polling stations are open between 7am and 10pm on March 8th. I believe it is important to picture women leaving their homes, the place our constitution currently supports their confinement to, and making the active effort to support a such a change. It would mark a more inclusive Ireland in honour of the women who came before us.

This article is an opinion piece

More information about the upcoming referendum can be found at the following website:

https://www.electoralcommission.ie/referendums/referendum-information/what-are-you-being-asked-to-decide-on/