Censorship is a weird thing.
Half-naked people being shoved in your face in print and digital ads is apparently all right, but a photo of a mother breastfeeding her child is not.
Instances where photographs of breastfeeding mothers shared online have been deemed inappropriate are quite common. Which is why when we hear about an Australian senator breastfeeding while moving a notion in Parliament, we are all for it!
Much like a lot of things women do, breastfeeding too is considered a taboo in most parts of the world. So when Australian senator Larissa Waters moved a notion in the Parliament while breastfeeding her baby girl, it made news.
Larissa shared the incident on Twitter:
And here’s her moving a notion while breastfeeding:
This isn’t the first time Larissa has breastfed her kid in the Parliament. In fact, her daughter Alia Joy has made many previous appearances in the Senate chamber.
The decision that breastfeeding be allowed in the chamber was taken after Waters introduced rule changes to the Parliament back in 2016, which now permits both mothers and fathers to take care of their infants, while sitting in the Senate, the Huffington Post reported.
A Victorian MP, Kirstie Marshall, was once ejected from the state parliament for breastfeeding her 11-day old baby girl, in 2003. And Larissa is a reminder of the fact that even though there’s a long way to go, we’ve still come far when it comes to women’s rights at the workplace.
Breastfeeding in public is totally normal. Kudos to Larissa for using her position to send out this much-needed, strong message!