Mary Aaron
Breastfeeding infants is a right that mothers have advocated for decades, as labor laws do not allow women in many countries to take their children to the workplace, but there are veteran political mothers who have another say, they have no problem breastfeeding their children during parliamentary sessions, where they have decided to break the pattern It is known about the working mother and they go about practicing their working life with their children.
Karina Gold
Gould is the first Canadian minister to give birth while taking over the Health Ministry portfolio, giving birth to her child in March 2018 and having to resume work in May from the same habit with her newborn Oliver, coinciding with that vote to pass a law against drugs in the Canadian Parliament. According to Canadian law the Minister of Health had to vote, Gould did not hesitate and went with her child to Parliament, and presented it to everyone, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
No shame in breastfeeding! Baby's gotta eat & I had votes. Clearly still work to do ... Glad @HoCSpeaker & parl colleagues supportive! :) https://t.co/5kQmWuP8Z3 - Karina Gould (@karinagould) June 20, 2018 |
Gold told the Canadian press that she is happy to belong to a country where breastfeeding is a natural matter (as it is meant to be), followed by a tweet in which she said, "Breastfeeding is not a disgrace, as the child has the right to eat ... and it is my duty to vote." She added that she was happy to be surrounded by the support of her colleagues.
Larissa Waters
Australian Parliamentarian Larissa Waters was forced to return to her work in Parliament two months after giving birth, which led her to automatically take her daughter Joy to Parliament, and she had not completed two months, and according to Larissa she was doing one of the most natural things in this world, which is breastfeeding.
The local press described her after that as the first female deputy to breastfeed her baby under the dome of the Australian Parliament, Australian mothers and many politicians around the world celebrated and described her as a heroine, and Larisa's story shed light on women MPs and politicians who denied their children the right to breastfeed.
"I don't see why a nursing mother needs to make changes when she's simply performing a biological function. If someone is offended - STOP STARING," Australian senator @larissawaters tells DW's @LizShoo on What Happened Next. |
"Really, I feel the absurdity of the situation, so how can breastfeeding children be at the forefront of international newspapers? Women have to breastfeed their baby naturally as long as possible," she told the BBC.
She added that she hoped she could only breastfeed her girl and send a message to young mothers that they belonged to Parliament.
Waters continues to support women in their careers alongside maternity and childcare, until breastfeeding has been legally supported in the Australian Parliament.
Victoria Donda Breeze
Victoria Donda Breeze attended the session of the Argentine Parliament in 2015 with her eight-month-old daughter, and during the session, the deputy spontaneously breastfed her child and continued the conversation and voting at the session.
The Argentine press took a photo of the deputy, and it soon spread widely and international newspapers took over. Perez is known to be the youngest female parliamentarian since she entered politics in 2007.
Public opinion was divided about what Breeze had done between a fan and an opponent of the matter as inappropriate, but Victoria emphasized that the working woman has to live her normal life as a mother and practice her normal life, whether she is working, political, or active, which was confirmed by Victoria Tours accompanied by her baby in All political and legal campaigns.
Forcing mothers to leave
Despite the seeming welcome of women MPs and politicians and their children, the reality is not always so, and many women MPs and their children have been forced to leave the official halls.
In 2003, Australian lawmaker Christie Marshall was forced out of the room with her eleven-day baby, due to the need for breastfeeding.
In August 2019, the Kenyan MP, Zulekha Hassan, was forced out of her baby from the Kenyan parliament and was now five months old.
Meanwhile, seven-month-old Kumamoto, a Japanese city actress, Yuka Ogata, walked out of the hall.
Kenyan lawmaker @Mpzuleikahassan was kicked out of parliament for bringing her baby to work. |
On the other hand, many parliaments in many countries such as Australia, New Zealand and even the United Nations welcome children under the age of one year, as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardran escorted her child to the United Nations annual meeting, and Lisa Ronsoli took her daughter to the European Parliament.
Although laws allowing infants to be taken to the workplace have been passed, developed countries such as Japan and the United Kingdom prevent mothers from taking their children under one year to work.