Jacinda Ardern: New Zealand Women's Prime Minister Often Targets Sexism

Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand PM who often gets sexist attacks just because she is a woman. (Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - A safe political space for women like a fatamorgana. They are often the target of sexism gender discrimination. They are insulted by not being able to work. Sometimes it is also considered only able to work in kitchens and mattresses. Jacinda Ardern has faced this narrative many times.

The New Zealand Prime Minister (PM) has been full of criticism. He received nasty jokes to the threat of murder. She is called a woman with big teeth. Sometimes the photo is also used in a strip club advertisement.

The presence of women in the world of politics is not new. The space for women in politics has received support from everywhere. Sometimes also the appearance of women is considered capable of working more carefully than men.

The matter of sensitivity to the lives of the people, the best woman. The narrative comes within Jacinda Ardern. The woman who was born in Hamilton, New Zealand, July 26, 1980, tried to break the line by becoming a member of the new Zealand parliament.

His existence as a representative of the people has been recorded since 2008. Ardern also grew up as a vocal politician. He often voiced the interests of the people 'from cultural affairs to poverty eradication. This condition made his political career continue to be successful.

Later he was able to become the chairman of the Labor Party in 2017. The career made him elected as PM of New Zealand since 2017. His actions as PM of New Zealand boomed. He became a person who cared about culture in New Zealand.

He also has special attention to the agenda of saving the environment and raising the lives of the people of New Zealand. However, his actions that made Ardern's name known throughout the world emerge unexpectedly from a bloody tragedy: The shooting of the Christchurch mosque in 2019.

Ardern immediately took quick response action. He went directly to the victim's family to show his condolences. He immediately determined the day of national mourning. Ardern also committed to fighting all kinds of acts of terror in New Zealand.

Another action that Ardern remembers the most is when the COVID-19 pandemic entered New Zealand. He did not hesitate to inflame a regional quarantine (lockdown) so that the transmission rate of the corona virus did not increase sharply and succeeded.

As New Zealand stepped up with an approach to handling COVID-19, so did its prime minister, Jacinda Ardern. After bringing the country through the pandemic without many victims contracting the virus from Wuhan, he was rewarded with a lot of popularity and political trust.

"Now the prime minister is facing a difficult task to guide him through a new era of overcoming COVID-19. This could be the most significant political challenge he has ever faced," said Tess McClure in his writing on The Guardian's website entitledJacinda Ardern Facing Largest Challenge Yet as New Zealand Switches to Covid Suppression (2021).

Ardern's achievements as leader of New Zealand are hoarding. However, his presence on the political stage was not smooth. He is often the target of sexism. The gender discrimination came from those who incidentally were politicians, journalists, to netizens in New Zealand.

Ardern's existence in the world of politics is often in doubt. All because Ardern is a woman. Ardern, who often actively speaks on the podium, was often shouted at: just be silent, dear. Ardern's accusations are getting worse day by day.

Some say Ardern's existence in the world of politics is like just lipstick from the mouth of a pig. The sexism attack against Ardern did not stop. He continues to receive criticism from various parties. The threat of murder is not uncommon for Ardern to get.

Nicknames that demean Ardern's dignity as a woman also surfaced, from Aunt Cindy to the Beautiful Communists. Netizens do not want to be less mocked by Ardern. The picture contains making fun of harassment being spread in cyberspace.

Worse, there is something that engineers Ardern's photo used to promote strip clubs. Later Ardern began to lose power to become the target of sexism. Sexism began to disturb his family. He felt he needed calm.

Conditions are one of the reasons Ardern chose to resign from his post as PM of New Zealand on January 25, 2023. Ardern also felt relieved. Recently, many politicians regretted Ardern's resignation.

They consider Ardern's resignation an undignified political form in New Zealand. This condition will bring harm to other female leaders in the future. They could be harassed and threatened with murder.

"This is a sad day for the world of politics. Where an extraordinary leader has been removed from office due to constant personalization and defamation."

"His family has survived the worst attack. The attack was carried out over the past two years with what we believe to be the most demeaning political form we've seen," said one of Maori's party leaders,ola Ngarewa-Packer, as quoted by Tess McClure on The Guardian's website entitledJacinda Ardern: Political Figures Believe Abuse and Threats Contributed to PMs Resignation (2023).