Hazel Chu: “At what stage did we stop giving a crap about women’s issues?”

In a month when Her spotlights women's health, we have to ask how the pandemic has affected it.

Since lockdown first began this time last year many aspects of women's healthcare have suffered immensely. Women have found that their breast check examinations have been cancelled, in some areas there have been massive waiting lists for cervical screenings and of course, expectant mothers have had to go through scans and sometimes childbirth alone. This week, Lord Mayor of Dublin, Hazel Chu, chats to Her about the state of women's health in Ireland, motherhood, and what future she would like to see. https://www.instagram.com/p/CMKS2C6HoT8/ During her term as Lord Mayor of Dublin, Chu has tried to bring women's issues to the forefront of her agenda as much as possible. The mother of one says the women have truly felt the brunt of the pandemic;

"Women's issues are going to get worse and are getting worse. The excuse is being used that we have the pandemic to worry about, we have other things to worry about so let's leave this on the back burner. We didn't even road map it so that women could have supports going into labour."

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLSmyFKHcM9/ Chu went on to say that she not only worries for the Irish women of today, but for the generation coming after who will question why women's health issues were forgotten about during the pandemic;

Everything from health issues of cancer to maternal health has been brushed aside since last year. I think what will happen in twenty years time, for your little girl and for my little girl, they'll look at it and go, oh at what stage did we just stop giving a crap about women's issues?"

Chu most recently hosted the ‘EmpowHERment: Tackling Unconscious Gender Bias in the Workplace' webinar. She is working on more virtual events for mothers and women in Ireland before her term ends this year.