Earlier in the week the greatest Rose of all time, Aoibhinn Ni Shuilleabháin tweeted:

“I entered @RoseofTralee_ with a tongue piercing, physics degree & a willingness to represent my county on a national stage. I understand that not everyone agrees with it, but it is a hugely important network for the diaspora&Irish culture. I loved my year as Rose”

The Rose of Tralee means different things to different people, for some it’s about heritage and culture, for others it’s about bumper cars and glow sticks. One thing for sure is that The Rose of Tralee differentiates itself from swimsuit pageants and goat ceremonies.

Exceptional women from across the globe enter the competition with the chance of being crowned the Rose of Tralee, some have tongue piercings, some recite poetry, some even campaigned for abortion, and yes they are all lovely girls.
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Sadly not everyone gets the chance to see the pale moon rising above the green mountains, here are some of this year’s fantastic entrants who didn’t makes it to the final stage of the competition:

1. Ahed Tamimi – Palestine

​Sponsored by Mary Black in the earlier rounds but unfortunately Ahed Tamimi couldn’t make it to Kerry because she was in jail for slapping an Israeli soldier. On 24 March 2018, Tamimi agreed to a plea bargain with prosecutors whereby she would serve eight months in prison and pay a 5,000-shekel ($1,437) fine.

2. Israa al-Ghomgham - Saudi ArabiaSaudi (only confirmed photo is from when Israa was a child)

Arabia’s entry couldn’t make it as she was arrested for offences including calling for the release of political prisoners and an end to anti-Shia government discrimination. She has been sentenced to death for political activity and is likely to face a public execution by beheading under Saudi ‘anti-terrorism’ legislation.  

3. Atena Farghadani – Iran
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​Atena was imprisoned for drawing political cartoons which satirised the government, in effect drawing Iranian leaders as monkeys and cows. After her sentencing Atena was subjected to a 'pregnancy test' and a 'virginity test' for shaking her lawyer's hand. Amnesty International considers her a prisoner of conscience. More than a year and a half after she was first arrested, and after a huge international campaign for her release, Atena was freed from prison on 3 May 2016.

4. Berta Carceras – Honduras
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​Berta Carceras was a Honduran environmental activist, indigenous leader, and co-founder and coordinator of the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH). Cáceres was shot in her bedroom just before midnight on 2 March 2016, a year after winning the prestigious Goldman Prize for leading a campaign against the Agua Zarca dam on the Gualcarque river, considered sacred by the indigenous Lenca community. 

5. Wu Rongrong – China

​Wu Rongrong is best known for being one of China’s “Feminist Five” – a group of women arrested in 2015 for planning a campaign to tackle sexual harassment. The arrests, which coincided with International Women’s Day, led to an international outcry, garnering support from the likes of Hillary Clinton. Although the women were released, the “Feminist Five” have remained under surveillance. Prior to her arrest, Wu Rongrong was a leader of the Women’s Rights Action Group, whose bold, creative stunts have drawn public attention to gender inequality and sexism. The group have shaved their heads to protest against discriminatory higher college admission requirements for female applicants, and worn wedding dresses spattered with red ink to protest against domestic violence.

“How come life has to be so difficult, just because you’re born into this world a woman”

Activist Eileen Flynn’s rally cry to the thousands of women & men who came out on International Women’s Day to support Repeal the 8th. This woman could very well be the Joan of Arc of our generation, not only because she speaks energetically with compassion and pride but also because I think she might be carrying a sword on her at all times.

Eileen speaks to the crowd about standing up for our rights, she says she wasn’t always a ‘feminist’ because she didn’t know what the label meant, but now she knows what it means and now she’s here to fight for it. Eileen’s understanding of labels comes across very clearly, she speaks about the ‘us’ Vs ‘them’ attitudes which prevent us from working together to achieve the equality we all deserve, it’s not about being male or female, it’s about what’s right and wrong and the actions we take to create a society where people have the right to full bodily autonomy and equality for all.

Eileen challenged the real values of ‘Pro-lifers’;
“If you’re pro-life how come you’re not out there helping the homeless, how come you’re not improving the lives of the 3,000 homeless children in this country”

Her words hold such integrity that I’m proud to have been here to march with her today. For Eileen it’s not about what banner you march under but what you’re marching for. I’ve no doubt in my mind that if she was organising this march herself that it would have taken a slightly different direction.

Instead of concluding with a planned protest outside the Dail this organised march, a march for access to dignified health services, took a detour to the Customs House. I’m not sure why this decision was taken but I’m quite concerned that the Repeal movement is not getting the political support it needs two months away from the referendum. The repeal movement might have grass roots beginnings but it needs to recognise the need to progress if it’s to fulfil its destiny. Unfortunately there were more SIPTU flags at the march than SIPTU members. Where were all the nurses? Where were all the midwives? One speaker from Doctors for Choice spoke but why don’t we hear more from the medical professions on RTE?

International women’s day had an opportunity to be remembered for taking on this fight but it probably lacked the numbers and pikes necessary to get to the Dail. This doesn’t make Repeal the 8th a lost cause but it does make knocking on doors a lot tougher. The march highlighted all the work that needs to be done in the next two months and I hope everyone finds the kind of energy Eileen Flynn showed in order to dig in and make Repeal The 8th happen in 2018. 

What do you do when your granny tells you she’s going to vote ‘No’ to repeal the 8th. You can threaten to leave her out of next year’s Christmas dinner and tell her that if she dies in the mean time she’ll be buried in an unmarked grave 15 miles from the cemetery. Of course that would be cruel and unusual but also means she will eliminate you from her will so let’s not be irrational here, anyway at this age of her life if she’s going to vote ‘No’ it’s probably best to make her a flask of Bovril and help her onto the community bus.

The balance of the Repeal Referendum won’t lie with conservative Grannies anyway, and everyone fighting the abortion rights campaign is aware of this. What they need to wake up to though is that there is an uphill struggle in this march for choice that they’re not fully prepared for.

You see the problem is that only 6% of Irish people identify as being non religious (as per the 2011 census). This is very significant, most people I know would be easily identifiable heretics but still say they are Catholic when presented with the question. It’s also more than just a tick in the box on a form, although people say they don’t practice religion they still baptise their children and enjoy other church rituals such as the kind of wedding ceremonies that would make Eamon de Valera proud.

This is significant in that most people still make decisions based on Catholic teachings, despite not attending Church or appearing to present liberal values. This is the result of early schooling indoctrination into the Catholic Church that we somehow have struggled to drive out of this country.

The point being that the Catholic Church is very strongly voicing its opposition to Repeal the 8th and we must assume this is a race to convert and deprogram the majority rather than a race to win the middle ground as previously stated.  

The Repeal movement is acting under the assumption that Ireland has proven it’s a country of liberal values, as 62% of the population supported the Marriage Referendum. However what has to be considered is that same sex marriage is a more straight forward issue, we see civil partnerships in films and TV soaps all the time and people are generally more accepting of same sex relationships as a result of exposure and discussion. We also have to consider the strong political support the referendum had and the fact that people are more open about their sexuality nowadays, even prominent members of the GAA have come out as being openly gay which resulted in a whole new chapter of diversity and acceptance in communities all over Ireland.   

A survey of American adults conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public life found that 57% of Millinnials are in favour of same sex marriage compared to only 46% who say abortion is morally acceptable. Although our referendum would suggest a higher percentage of Millinnial’s in favour of equal rights the sharp drop off is something to be very aware of and significant enough to suggest that the Repeal the 8th Referendum will not pass in Ireland.

The study also showed that although 70% of Americans identify as being ‘ProChoice’ a remarkable 66% also identify with being ‘Pro-Life’. This is because most people view themselves as being liberal and confuse ‘ProChoice’ as simply an issue about equal rights but when presented with an issue such as abortion revert back to the conservative norms which dominate mainstream thinking.

On a positive note the study published some factors which influence support for abortion such as;

1. Knowing someone who’s had an abortion
2. Watching MTV show about unmarried pregnant teenagers
3. Situation based approach to morality

In summary if you want to repeal the 8th locking your granny in the closet won’t be enough to pass the referendum. The tide is against you despite the recent wave of emotion and success in securing a referendum. Finally if you want to repeal the 8th you must continue the discussion with all age groups explaining the different situations women might require an abortion, leave real life articles hanging around the house/office, and watch more MTV.

As a foot note it’s also worth remembering that although the Marriage referendum passed by a 62% majority several counties voted very marginally in favour of equality, representing heavily conservative populations in Donegal South West, Cavan-Monaghan, Mayo and Donegal North-East with Roscommon-South Leitrim voting a majority 51% ‘No’ to same sex marriage. So if you live in these areas get ultra active and start organising now.  

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