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

In a month when we talk about 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 that there have been massive waiting lists for cervical screenings and of course expectant mothers who have had to go through scans and sometimes childbirth alone. This week for Her Health month I speak to Lord Mayor of Dublin, Hazel Chu, about women's health, motherhood and what future she would like to see for the women of Ireland. 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. When speaking recently to the mother of one, Chu stated 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 lets leave this on the backburner. 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 the generation that are coming after us that will question why women's health issues were forgotten about during the pandemic;

The road map for women in Ireland, from everything from health issues of cancer to maternal health have been brushed aside this 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 held an inaugural webinar titled ‘EmpowHERment: Tackling Unconscious Gender Bias in the Workplace and is working on more virtual events for mothers and women in Ireland before her term ends this year.