Many people think New Zealand is a beautiful rural country with not much going on. But a year ago this month it made the headlines as a pioneer in social values and women's rights. This was thanks to Jacinda Ardern, the left-wing Labour Party politician who was only thirty-seven when she became the country’s 40th Prime Minister.
LET’S DO THIS!
It was not a clear victory. Ardern had to form a coalition government. But under the campaign slogan “Let’s Do This!” her optimism energised voters. She emphasised free university education, fighting poverty, and justice for marginalised people. But while her win attracted international attention, she received even more when she made a surprise announcement: that she and her partner were expecting their first child.
MEDIA ATTENTION
Pregnancy is, of course, something that working women do all the time. The lawyer Cherie Blair had a child while her partner was British Prime Minister. Pakistan's national leader Benazir Bhutto had a child in office in 1990 – and was much criticised at the time. In a radio interview during her campaign, Ardern had been asked if she planned to have kids. She responded, “It is totally unacceptable in 2017 ... that women should have to answer that question in the workplace.”
A BRILLIANT POLITICIAN
Ardern was born in a small town called Morrinsville. Her family were Mormon but she left the religion because of its views on homosexuality. She joined New Zealand's Labour Party as a teenager. She then moved to London where she worked for Prime Minister Tony Blair. At age twenty-eight she entered New Zealand's House of Representatives as its youngest member. In her first speech, she called for schools to teach the Māori language and criticised the government for its poor response to climate change.
PREGNANT IN POWER
As Prime Minister, Ardern has been open about motherhood, realising that many people saw her as an example. She has shown how much sexism there is in the world. In an interview on Australian TV she was called “attractive” and asked when her baby was conceived. Ardern said she was “unfazed” by this question, but many viewers were horrified. In April, she wore a kahu huruhuru, a traditional Māori cloak, when she met the British Queen. It was received as a great honour to the Māori people and a statement of her female prestige and power.
FOR THE CHILDREN
New Zealand is no paradise. Housing prices are among the highest in the world. Homelessness is a huge problem. Signs on farmhouses warn against child abuse. The current government has invested in the country’s future, putting billions into health, education and family support. “I want my child to judge me and this government favourably, rather than deciding to change their name,” said Ardern.