Sexism “occurs on a daily basis” in Parliament

Being a young woman in Parliament has its price, with sexism and inappropriate behaviour occurring on a daily basis in Parliament.

So say MPs Hervør Pálsdóttir (Tjóveldi) and Ingilín D. Strøm (Javnaðarflokkurin), who have registered a complaint with the presidency of Parliament.

“A fellow MP recently addressed me in a rather unusual way,” explains Pálsdóttir.

“Instead of saying, ‘Hi Hervør, can we have a chat?’, he grabbed me by the hair. When I stood up from my hair, he asked me if I was going to report him for grabbing me by the hair.”

She mentions another instance in which a male colleague asked her playfully if he should put his hand on her lap before he went home.

Casual sexism

Strøm, who recently introduced a bill seeking to improve sex education in schools, mentions another example of inappropriate behaviour:

“Shortly after I introduced my bill, a male colleague asked me in the Parliament cafeteria if I provided personal sex education services. This comment appeared to be greeted with much amusement by the men sitting at his table.”

Other female MPs have also frequently noted incidents of casual sexism or misogynistic behaviour in Parliament, say the two young MPs, who hope their complaint will help establish more civilised and respectful behaviour toward women in Parliament.

Read the Faroese version of this article here.

More Faroese News in English.