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ABORTION

‘Ireland could learn a hell of a lot from Sweden’

After a woman in Ireland died from a miscarriage after authorities refusal to allow an abortion, Irish native David Duff reflects on the how Sweden differs from his homeland in gender equality.

'Ireland could learn a hell of a lot from Sweden'

When I put my shoes on, step outside, and take a breakfast walk through Malmö, I’m still surprised by what I don’t see.

There’s not a single statue of the Virgin Mary; there are no nuns pottering about the streets doing whatever it is that nuns actually do, and the flocks of elderly women regularly migrating to early morning mass are nowhere to be found.

It’s great!

Sweden might not have the same veneration that Ireland has for that one woman (Mary), but what it does have is something far better: veneration for all women.

When I first came here, I had no idea how progressive gender equality was in Sweden.

I find it amazing how often Swedish women and men shun traditionally assigned gender roles. It’s something the people here unknowingly take for granted, and it’s something that my Irish eyes can only look at on with envy.

The first time a Swedish friend of mine told me that he was a kindergarten teacher, I started to laugh because I thought he was joking. He got a little annoyed at me because he thought I was laughing at his English, but after I explained things to him, he started to laugh at me and my “silly Irish way of thinking”.

It’s a way of thinking that was given to me by my parents, who in turn got it from their parents, and it’s a way of thinking from which most of Ireland still suffers.

In Ireland, certain jobs are for men and certain jobs are for women. That’s just the way it is, and there’s been no real change for decades.

I can’t help but wonder if the financial mess in Ireland would have been as big as it was or even happened at all, if a few more of the politicians and bank-managers had been women.

Just a little over 15 percent of Ireland’s parliamentarians are women, compared to 45 percent in Sweden.

From an Irish person’s perspective, the level of gender fairness in Swedish society is nothing short of amazing, and the rights that Swedish women enjoy are nothing short of incredible.

There’s one right in particular that Swedish women have that Irish people are crying out for: the right to choose.

News broke recently about a young woman in Ireland who died after she was found to be suffering from a miscarriage but was refused permission to have her pregnancy brought to an end, with doctors telling her: “This is a Catholic country”.

I was shocked and appalled by this needless tragedy, and I found myself thinking, that this would never have happened in Sweden.

I can’t imagine a doctor here refusing treatment to someone and saying they did it because Sweden is a Lutheran country.

The Swedish people wouldn’t accept that as an excuse, and in a 21st century EU country, the Irish people shouldn’t accept it either.

Ireland, despite many recent developments, is still a place that’s deeply steeped in religion, tradition, and fear. It’s why I feel so lucky and find it so wonderful to now be living in a secular country like Sweden.

I love calling over to my Swedish friends’ homes, taking off my shoes and walking into their hallways without being greeted by crucifixes on the walls or Sacred Heart pictures hanging in the living rooms.

I love being in a place where children don’t have to start their days with prayers or be baptized just so they can be accepted into certain schools.

I love the fact that same-sex couples enjoy the exact same rights as couples of the opposite sex and that women here have had the right to choose since 1938.

I love being in a country where it’s just as common for men and women to work as kindergarten teachers, and where equality is a precept that people live by and not just a buzzword bandied about by politicians.

Sweden for me has been full of surprises and not all of them have been good (surströmming and salmiak come to mind).

But having been here for a while, I can clearly see that the pros of living in this country far outweigh the cons, and when it comes to choosing a secular, progressive, and fair place to raise a family, Sweden is almost unparalleled, and Ireland could learn a hell of lot if it took a few pages out of the Swedish book of life.

David Duff is an Irishman studying at university in southern Sweden. His free time is split between doing stand-up comedy and adapting to the Swedish way of life.

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FOOTBALL

Putellas becomes second Spanish footballer in history to win Ballon d’Or

Alexia Putellas of Barcelona and Spain won the women's Ballon d'Or prize on Monday, becoming only the second Spanish-born footballer in history to be considered the best in the world, and claiming a win for Spain after a 61-year wait.

FC Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Alexia Putellas poses after being awarded thewomen's Ballon d'Or award.
FC Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Alexia Putellas poses after being awarded thewomen's Ballon d'Or award. Photo: FRANCK FIFE / AFP

Putellas is the third winner of the prize, following in the footsteps of Ada Hegerberg, who won the inaugural women’s Ballon d’Or in 2018, and United States World Cup star Megan Rapinoe, winner in 2019.

Putellas captained Barcelona to victory in this year’s Champions League, scoring a penalty in the final as her side hammered Chelsea 4-0 in Gothenburg.

She also won a Spanish league and cup double with Barca, the club she joined as a teenager in 2012, and helped her country qualify for the upcoming Women’s Euro in England.

Her Barcelona and Spain teammate Jennifer Hermoso finished second in the voting, with Sam Kerr of Chelsea and Australia coming in third.

It completes an awards double for Putellas, who in August was named player of the year by European football’s governing body UEFA.

But it’s also a huge win for Spain as it’s the first time in 61 years that a Spanish footballer – male or female – is crowned the world’s best footballer of the year, and only the second time in history a Spaniard wins the Ballon d’Or. 

Former Spanish midfielder Luis Suárez (not the ex Liverpool and Barça player now at Atlético) was the only Spanish-born footballer to win the award in 1960 while at Inter Milan. Argentinian-born Alfredo Di Stefano, the Real Madrid star who took up Spanish citizenship, also won it in 1959.

Who is Alexia Putellas?

Alexia Putellas grew up dreaming of playing for Barcelona and after clinching the treble of league, cup and Champions League last season, her status as a women’s footballing icon was underlined as she claimed the Ballon d’Or on Monday.

Unlike the men’s side, Barca’s women swept the board last term with the 27-year-old, who wears “Alexia” on the back of her shirt, at the forefront, months before Lionel Messi’s emotional departure.

Attacker Putellas, who turns 28 in February, spent her childhood less than an hour’s car journey from the Camp Nou and she made her first trip to the ground from her hometown of Mollet del Valles, for the Barcelona derby on January 6, 2000.

Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Alexia Putellas (R) vies with VfL Wolfsburg's German defender Kathrin Hendrich
Putellas plays as a striker for Barça and Spain. GABRIEL BOUYS / POOL / AFP

Exactly 21 years later she became the first woman in the modern era to score in the stadium, against Espanyol. Her name was engraved in the club’s history from that day forward, but her story started much earlier.

She started playing the sport in school, against boys.

“My mum had enough of me coming home with bruises on my legs, so she signed me up at a club so that I stopped playing during break-time,” Putellas said last year.

So, with her parent’s insistence, she joined Sabadell before being signed by Barca’s academy.

“That’s where things got serious… But you couldn’t envisage, with all one’s power, to make a living from football,” she said.

After less than a year with “her” outfit, she moved across town to Espanyol and made her first-team debut in 2010 before losing to Barca in the final of the Copa de la Reina.

She then headed south for a season at Valencia-based club Levante before returning “home” in July 2012, signing for Barcelona just two months after her father’s death.

In her first term there she helped Barca win the league and cup double, winning the award for player of the match in the final of the latter competition.

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