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Mass baby grave discovered in Tuam

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Mass baby graves, Tuam, Magdalene laundries, single mothers, Single mothers and their children subjected to punitive measures.

The bodies of almost 800 young children have now officially been found in the disused septic tank of a former “mother and baby home” in Tuam, Ireland.

Though this is only just making national news, the town’s residents have known about the mass grave for almost 40 years.

In 1975 the skeletons were discovered by accident. A priest said prayers over the bodies and the makeshift grave – a sewage tank – was sealed up (again).

No further investigation was made.

Until historian Catherine Corless examined the death records from the home and discovered hundreds of names without corresponding graves.

There are now calls for a criminal investigation to be launched into these deaths.

Considering the history of the treatment of single mothers in Ireland, it should come as no great surprise that their children were also abused and treated as less than human.

Ireland’s homes for single mothers, such as the now infamous Magdalene laundries (named after Mary Magdalene, seen as a ‘fallen woman’ in some circles), were known for cruelties including forced labour, physical and verbal abuse, and ostracisation from the rest of the community.

Usually run by nuns, the last one only closed in 1996; a disturbingly recent date.

It is not unusual within patriarchal societies – especially religious patriarchies – for women’s sexuality to be criminalised in such a way, and for single mothers and their children to be subjected to punitive measures as an example for the “good” women.

But you can see these attitudes towards single mothers carry on today – they are shamed and often struggling to survive. Even JK Rowling is not immune.

We need to get rid of the attitude that mothers and children who don’t have a husband or the child’s father living with them are automatically deviant.

Families come in all shapes and sizes, and it is well past time that this was accepted.

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