Migrant Women Destabilising Borders: Citizenship Debates in Ireland

Intersectionality and Beyond: Law, Power and the Politics of Location, Cooper, D., Grabham, E., eds., London: Routledge, 2009

36 Pages Posted: 5 Mar 2010

See all articles by Siobhan Mullally

Siobhan Mullally

National University of Ireland Galway

Date Written: February 22, 2009

Abstract

This paper examines recent changes in citizenship law in Ireland, following a referendum and constitutional amendment restricting the application of the jus soli principle. The paper highlights the gendered discourse on citizenship that preceded the referendum in Ireland, and the positioning of migrant women in the moral panic that surrounded migration in Ireland in the early part of the 21st century. Women's reproductive autonomy was again placed at the center of debates on citizenship and identity in Ireland. The intersections of discrimination and exclusion arising from gender, 'race' and ethnicity and migration status became visible in the rush to reform citizenship law in Ireland. This paper highlights the potential and the limits of intersectionality analysis in challenging the many axes of discrimination experienced by migrant women and aspiring citizens.

Keywords: Citizenship, Ireland, Gender, Migration, Reproductive Rights

Suggested Citation

Mullally, Siobhan, Migrant Women Destabilising Borders: Citizenship Debates in Ireland (February 22, 2009). Intersectionality and Beyond: Law, Power and the Politics of Location, Cooper, D., Grabham, E., eds., London: Routledge, 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1557355

Siobhan Mullally (Contact Author)

National University of Ireland Galway ( email )

Galway
Ireland

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