Back in August 2017, Jacinda Ardern was only just entering the political spotlight after being appointed leader of the New Zealand Labour Party. Less than 48 hours later, the then-37-year-old proved she was a force to be reckoned with, making headlines worldwide for calling out a reporter’s sexist question.
After a journalist asked whether she was planning on having children, Ardern promptly responded by saying that questions about women’s’ plans to have children were “totally unacceptable in 2017.” Fast-forward a year and a half and not much has changed, well, actually Ardern is now the Prime Minister of New Zealand and has had her first child with partner, Clarke Gayford. The country didn’t fall to pieces with a new mother at the helm, as many were sure would happen, and Ardern is now on a tour of the United Kingdom and Europe, where she has met Theresa May and held a private meeting with Meghan Markle at Kensington Palace.
But back to not much changing. While in London, Ardern did an interview with the BBC, wherein the journalist, Victoria Derbyshire, asked if she had plans to ask Gayford to marry her.
Ardern, who responded that she would not be the one to pop the question, was then quizzed about whether she’s a feminist. Yes, we’re talking about the same Prime Minister here, the one who marched in the Women’s March and who has spoken countless times about women’s rights.
Taking the question in her stride, the PM replied confirming she is, indeed, a feminist and making light of the situation by joking that it would be letting her partner “off the hook” if she were to organise the proposal. “Oh absolutely, absolutely I am a feminist. But no, I want to put him through the pain and torture of having to agonise about that question himself, that’s letting him off the hook, absolutely not,” Ardern said.
Ardern was later asked if she felt “guilt” about balancing her role as a mum and also as a prime minister, something we’re sure Scott Morrison, who has two daughters (yes, double that of Ardern!) has never been asked.
The Prime Minister replied that she is a “a mother, not a superwoman” and that the perception that the latter is true “does a disservice to all women, it raises expectations that no one can meet”.
Naturally, Twitter quickly responded, dubbing the questions as “totally inappropriate.”
Of course, while Ardern looked a little taken aback by the probing questions, she’s now onto the next thing: tackling climate change by telling world leaders not to be on the wrong side of history. All with her baby and boyfriend by her side.
