Italian Senator Says Motherhood Should Be Women's Main Mission

Facts

• A senator with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy has declared that the highest aspiration of young women must be to have children, triggering criticism from opposition groups that have accused her of promoting outdated ideas to restrict women's choices.¹
• The 47-year-old mother of three and lawmaker Lavinia Mennuni, speaking on a talk show on the La7 TV channel next to a Catholic archbishop, argued that bringing 'the future Italians' into the world is a beautiful thing — and a mission for women.²
• Mennuni further claimed that her mother used to tell her that she could aspire to do whatever she wanted but not to forget that becoming a mother should be the first one, adding that Italian institutions and the Vatican have to make motherhood 'cool' again for young women.³
• In response, Raffaella Paita of the centrist Italia Viva party called such remarks an example of 'embarrassing backwardness' that 'echoes ideas of an obscurantist past,' while Five-Star Movement's Chiara Appendino alleged there's recurrent medieval 'nostalgia' within Brothers of Italy.⁴
• This comes as Italy's overall population — currently at 59M people — is projected to drop by 1M by 2030 and by 5M by 2050, with less than 400K births registered in 2022 — the lowest number since the country was unified in 1861 and the 14th straight year of decline.⁵
• Senator Mennuni was caught in another controversy last week after introducing legislation to prevent schools from banning Christian Nativity displays from classrooms to make the celebrations more generic and avoid offending non-Christians.⁶

Sources: ¹Voice of Europe, ²reuters.com, ³Ilmessaggero, ⁴Agenzia ANSA, ⁵USA Today and ⁶Daily Wire.

Narratives

• Conservative narrative, as provided by Catholic Herald. Italy's shockingly low birth rate is but one example of an issue that has spread across Europe and the Western world. While some blame the economic burden of child-raising, it is more likely that the decline is a sad consequence of the nuclear family no longer being championed. Symptomatic of wider cultural degradation, Italy's slow acceptance of the secular message will only have disastrous long-term consequences for the nation's future.
• Progressive narrative, as provided by SheThePeople. Mennuni's message is yet another attempt by tradition to erode the autonomy of women's body. While Italy's declining birthrate is of concern, this is outweighed by fears that the country's right-wing government will force its policies upon women at the expense of their right to freedom of choice. The ability for women to make their own decisions concerning their livelihoods, no matter the consequences, should always be championed.

Predictions