‘It is time to give women a say on their own reproductive rights’

FORGET world peace. An Aussie entrant in an Irish beauty pageant went way off script with a forthright speech on abortion. And the locals loved it.

‘I think we can do better,’ Parkins said as she called for Ireland to review its stance on abortion. Source: Twitter

BRIANNA Parkins wasn’t kidding when she said Ireland’s Rose of Tralee pageant was far from your “run of the mill” beauty contest.

And the Sydney woman made sure of that when she delivered the pageant’s aim of empowering women to be “confident, bold and articulate” — and then some — with a forthright speech calling for the locals to review their stance on abortion.

“I think we can do better here in Ireland. I think it is time to give women a say on their own reproductive rights,” Ms Parkins said on stage during the live final of the Rose of Tralee festival on Monday night.

“I would love to see a referendum on the eighth coming up soon. That would be my dream.”

The Eighth Amendment to the Irish Constitution criminalises abortion.

“In Australia we just had our funding cut for domestic violence shelters, so we’re having women who are being turned away on a nightly basis. We’re having women sleeping on police station floors,” Ms Parkins, 25, is an ABC journalist who was one of 65 women worldwide of Irish heritage to take part in the festival, said on stage.

“And it’s just not on. And I think we can do better.”

Ms Parkins’ words were met with cheers and applause from the audience.

Her call for Ireland to “do better” on reproductive rights comes as pro-choice groups campaign for a referendum to repeal the 8th amendment.

Forthright: Brianna Parkins.

Parramatta-born Parkins is a campaigner for women's rights, especially in the area of domestic violence, and was one of 65 women from around the world sent as a ‘rose’ to take part in the festival, held annually in the town of Tralee in County Kerry in Ireland. The winner is crowned the International Rose Of Tralee

She comes from a long line of “tough Irish women”,.

“My grandparents came out to Australia 50 years ago with a few hundred dollars and no friends to give their children a better life,” she told The Parramatta Advertiser ahead of the competition.

“We didn’t always fit, like the times my granny insisted on bringing a teapot to the beach, but I’m so proud of where I come from.”

The competition was eventually won by Chicago entrant Maggie McEldowney, but Parkins won the headlines, with The Irish Times saying not even a protester storming the stage on Monday night could upstage her.

From RTE+1 just now @parkinsbrea - hear the applause at the end #repealthe8th pic.twitter.com/0kEH90B0BT

— Suzy Byrne (@suzybie) August 22, 2016

Sydney Rose Brianna Parkins #RoseOfTralee pic.twitter.com/j8ptW81oTY

— Rose of Tralee (@RoseofTralee_) August 22, 2016

Thanks for the all the support #SydneyRose #RoseofTralee #repealthe8th pic.twitter.com/zqK0XPkJ34

— Brianna Parkins (@parkinsbrea) August 23, 2016

The newspaper noted that the 57-year-old festival had spent “nearly six decades trying and mostly succeeding” in being apolitical, but Parkins and the protester changed that.

Ms Parkins told the newspaper her remarks about the eighth amendment were “off the cuff” and only in response to a question about women’s issues.

“It seemed natural to talk about it as a women’s rights campaigner,” she said.

And her words won many accolades on Twitter, where she posted a picture of herself wearing a “Repeal the Eighth” T-shirt.

Among the Twitter responses was Claire Brophy, who said: “There are probably people watching who are talking about the 8th in their sitting rooms for the first time, right now. Thanks @parkinsbrea” and Roisin Ingle, who said “a lot of Irish women want to buy you a drink. Thanks for supporting us.”

There were critics too, suggesting she should “keep her nose out of our country” and criticising her for using the event “for your own agenda”, but Parkins told Storyful she was unworried by the fuss.

@parkinsbrea using the Rose of Tralee for your own agenda ... please keep in mind that many good people don't agree with your view

— Donal Power (@The_Paor) August 23, 2016

“It’s a festival about women, it’s celebrating women and so it doesn’t make sense to not talk about an issue so prevalent. We can’t say we empower women [while] denying reproductive rights," she said.

Asked if she was concerned about the fallout from her comments she said she was “more worried about the safety of my loved ones”.

“I can deal with nasty words, I’m a journalist; but the response here has been overwhelmingly positive,” she said.

Originally published as ‘It is time to give women a say on their own reproductive rights’