"Mom had a bad heart for many years. We have therefore talked a lot about the fact that life comes to an end someday. For us in the family, it was clear that mom's experience was that she had lived a long, exciting and meaningful life. She felt that she had done her part and that she was finished. She was prepared and calm in the face of death", the family writes in a statement to TT.
Birgitta Dahl entered the Riksdag for the Social Democrats in 1969 and ended her parliamentary career 33 years later.
Parental Insurance for Fathers
When Birgitta Dahl stepped up to the Riksdag podium in 1969 and proposed a parental insurance that also included fathers, she was ridiculed. The proposal was called insane and met with massive criticism from several quarters.
But in 1974, it was voted through, and parental insurance replaced maternity benefits. Then, fathers could also receive compensation for staying at home with their children.
The following year, Dahl motioned for an expansion of childcare, so that everyone who needed preschool would have the right to it, something that was implemented ten years later.
She also worked for a ban on corporal punishment – something that Sweden was the first in the world to introduce in 1979 – and for the criminalization of marital rape.
"A Pioneer"
"It is with sorrow that I have heard that Birgitta Dahl has passed away. She was a pioneer. A respected and courageous politician who was central to Sweden's active stance on climate and environmental issues, and drove through decisions that improved the lives of all women in Sweden", says the Social Democrats' party leader Magdalena Andersson.
"Through her work and her person, Birgitta Dahl was an important role model for me personally, as well as for many others. My thoughts are now with her relatives", Andersson continues.
Birgitta Dahl passed away on Tuesday evening, 87 years old.
