Magdalene laundries

The Magdalene Laundries of Ireland and the role of Women

Ireland was known, until the late 90’s, as the European country which exerted the most sexual oppression on women. These suffered many injustices due to this so exaggerated oppression on them, and, many times, this repression was exerted by the Catholic Church until the 20th century. This had an important role in shaping Irish people’s minds from a certain time on.

Women have always had few rights due to the social differences inside the family.

Until the great famine of 1845 – 1851, it was normal among wealthy farmers to divide their lands among all their children without any distinction when they got married. This means that they could get married at any time and the sooner they married more children would be born. The result would be a population growth at the end of 17th century, from 1.5 million in 1673 to 3 million by the 1750s and 4 million by the 1780s. At the beginning of the 19th century, population had grown from 6,802,000 in 1821 to 7,767,000 in 1831 and 8,175,000 in 1841[1].

Up until then, the Church had a small influence on the families’ lives and sexual customs, and even the idea of women controlling their fertility was not a taboo subject as it turned to be.

Up until then, marriage was based on love and before famine were an essential contribution to the family’s economy. But famine put an end to all this. While many were obliged to emigrate, millions also died of hunger. With these economic changes, poor rural areas and Irish workers were obliged to adjust their families’ ways of life.

Before the lands were divided among all the children, now only one child would get it and the number of children had to be reduced.

To achieve this aim, the Church’s role was crucial, since it was in charge with the education of farmer’s children who could pay for it. On being educated according to an ideology of sexual repression, marriages happened much later.

To console those