Varadkar urges Irish voters to remove reference to 'women at home' from constitution

Leo Varadkar admits results are 'in the balance'; Photo: Niall Carson/PA

Ireland will “take a step backwards” if its constitution is not amended to remove the reference enshrining “women’s responsibilities in the home,” the Taoiseach said ahead of Friday’s referendum.

Leo Varadkar said the vote was a chance to make a «value statement about what we stand for as a society» and remove «very old-fashioned language» from the constitution, written in 1937.

In 2015, in a country where the Catholic Church wielded enormous power, there were landmark votes to repeal constitutional restrictions on same-sex marriage in 2015 and on abortion in 2018.

“I think the vote is no.” will be a setback for the country, to be honest. For many people — hundreds of thousands of people and children — it would say that in terms of our constitution they are not members of the family, and that would be a step backwards,” Mr Varadkar said on Thursday.

“And in terms of care, it will also mean that very old-fashioned language about women in the home and the responsibilities of mothers in the home will be retained, and the opportunity to add special recognition to family caregivers will be lost.”

The definition of family may be affected. expanded

Voters will be asked two questions, one of which expands the definition of a family based on marriage to include “long-term relationships,” such as cohabiting couples and their children.

In January, the government was forced to clarify that this did not include «threesomes» or polygamous people, following claims from fringe groups.

Meanwhile, the care amendment replaces language about the role of «women in the home» with a clause recognizing the care shown to each other by other family members.

All major political parties support a yes and yes vote in the referendum held on International Women's Day.

“A win is a win win&# 39;

The 45-year-old Taoiseach admitted the results were «in the balance» this week.

“The divorce referendum passed by a very narrow margin: only one vote in each ballot box. A win is a win and I will be happy with the result, no matter how narrow,” he said Thursday.

Polls predicted a smooth passage for both and low turnout, but it is growing. concerns about the ambiguity of the two issues.

«No one knows exactly what a 'long-term relationship' is, but everyone knows exactly what marriage is,» said David Quinn, founder of the conservative advocacy group Iona. family. An institution that opposed the legalization of abortion and same-sex marriage.

It also highlighted the exclusion of the words “women” and “mothers” from the constitution.

“Don’t abolish women,” read a campaign poster «No» on lampposts in Dublin.

«No matter how my wife wants me to vote, that's how I'll vote,» said Aidan Connolly, a 54-year-old veteran director of an IT company in Grafton. street in Dublin.

“The constitution talks about the role of women, and if she wants that changed, I have no objection.”