New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been left surprised by a questioned she was asked during an interview with the BBC.
Since her rapid rise to power and her unexpected pregnancy, Jacinda has become quite accustomed to fending off any unwanted questions.
However, when the 38-year-old was interviewed by the BBC to discuss a number of topics, including New Zealand’s hopes for a fair trade deal with the UK after it eventually leaves the European Union, a stray question caught her off-guard.
Having given birth to her first child with partner Clarke Gayford in June 2018, the Prime Minister was asked by interviewer Victoria Derbyshire if she had plans to ask Clarke to marry her.
She reacted with a laugh and seemed surprised by the question before saying, “No, I would not ask, no.”
Jacinda was then questioned over her feminist credentials to which she answered, “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.”
Victoria responded by saying that “await that day”.
New Zealand political commentator Bryce Edwards told The Guardian that it was strange to question Jacinda on her feminism.
Mr Edwards said that the question is “actually very surprising, and the prime minister’s reaction suggested that she was entirely surprised by it.”
He also added that many New Zealanders would see the questions about her plans for marriage and her relationship as “being inappropriate”.
Some have taken to social media to voice their opinions on Jacinda being asked such questions.
This isn’t the first time she has been questioned about her personal life and plans for children. After she was promoted to Labour leader in 2017 she clashed with a breakfast show host who claimed that women should tell their employers if they had any plans for children.
Jacinda responded by saying that it was “totally unacceptable in 2017 to say that women should have to answer that question in the workplace.
On 21 June 2018 gave birth to a baby girl, Neve Te Aroha Gayford, and became the second world leader to give birth in office.