Vatican: Women Can Thank Washing Machines for Liberation

A Vatican newspaper claims the washing machine as the most important innovation in women's liberation. Article is timed with UN's International Women's Day holiday.

VATICAN CITY - Talk about a spin cycle. According to Vatican newspaper, l'Osservatore Romano, and reported by Reuters, women can best thank the washing machine for their liberation in the 20th Century, trumping both the right to work and the pill. The article, titled "The Washing Machine and the Liberation of Women - Put in the Detergent, Close the Lid and Relax," coincides with Sunday's International Women's Day - a United Nations-sponsored holiday recognizing the achievements of women around globally and underscoring women's rights. As part of a general women's liberation movement, activists have often linked abortion rights and family planning with women's sense of empowerment. This generalism has led to differences between the Vatican establishment and many free women around the world. Tethering the struggle for women's liberation to the advent of the washing machine is certainly an interesting angle, and one that will likely not be welcomed among a demographic that the Catholic Church has struggled in recent years to retain.