We asked some Christian women leaders why they will vote this Saturday. Here’s what they had to say:
Katie Lynch
To my mind, voting is a civic duty. I don’t believe we have the right to be politically disengaged, even if we feel apathetic about the political system. While it is an over-used cliché, it is nevertheless true that women sacrificed their lives to be able to use their voice, and I don’t think we take that seriously enough. I can’t even imagine not being allowed to vote – it’s unthinkable to me. Which is because of the work of countless women who knew their voices mattered, and who refused to let the system tell them they weren’t important.
I vote because while my life is relatively privileged and fortunate, I feel a level of responsibility for Irish society – we cannot simply blame our politicians for the problems we see. We Irish are good at “giving out” – we complain and moan about the weather, the state of the economy, the housing crisis. We can talk until the cows come home, but how often do we turn our opinions into action?
I know this election will not change the world, but if enough of us vote for the sake of the other, it might change something.
We might not be the ones experiencing climate breakdown first-hand, but we must vote for those who are. We might not be the ones sleeping on the streets or in hostels or Direct Provision centres, but we must vote for those who are. We are one another’s responsibility, and until we take that seriously the world will continue to fracture and break.
Lucy Hill
I vote because it’s one way to use my voice – as frustrated as we might be with the way things are, or as broken as things might seem – this is the system we have to work with and our vote is a way of influencing change. I see voting as privilege and when I vote it isn’t just an opportunity to speak up for the things that affect me but to speak on behalf of others in our society. As women I think our vote really matters, statistics would tell us that we are less likely to vote than men. Overall I’d love to see more women in politics, representing the issues that affect women’s lives, but for change to begin to happen we need to be women who vote! And finally I’m voting for the little women in my life – I want them to grow up knowing their voice matters and it can make a difference.
