The Hope of Every Little Girl: Jacinda Ardern

I want to be a good leader, not a good lady leader.’ - Jacinda Ardern

The youngest Prime Minister of New Zealand in 150 years, a young girl who joined the Labour Party at the age of 17, the world's second elected Head of Government to give birth to a beautiful daughter while in office: Jacinda Ardern.

Jacinda Ardern graduated from the University of Waikato in Hamilton. The stepping stone of her career was when she started working as a researcher with the (then) Prime Minister, Helen Clark. She considers herself a progressive social democrat and has exclusively dedicated her time and effort in solving crises such as the housing issues, poverty and social inequality. She continues to break gender stereotypes and has transformed the antiquated concept of leadership as she stands firm as a woman, a leader, a mother, a sister and a daughter.

Amongst her early accomplishments before being elected as Prime Minister, Ms Ardern has worked in the Cabinet Office in London and was elected the President of the International Union of Socialist Youth.

As one of the youngest female leaders, Ardern challenged the stereotype that women can either be successful at work or successful at home when she became the first world leader to give birth in office since Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto in 1990. She is living proof that women can indeed have successful careers, whilst having a beautiful family. When she announced she was expecting in January 2018, her partner Clarke Gayford announced he was resigning from his job to become a stay at home dad. She then gave birth to a beautiful baby girl in June of 2018 and took just a six-week leave of absence from the office. After her leave, the mommy job did not just stop as she regularly took her baby girl with her to conferences and meetings all around the world. Jacinda Ardern garnered a lot of attention at the National Mandela Peace summit when a picture of her kissing her daughter during a UN conference was widely circulated. Despite Jacinda Ardern telling BBC News ‘I’m a mother, not a superwoman’, she is definitely both in the hearts of many across the world.

Jacinda’s exquisite leadership is not only imminent in her strong commitment but was also especially highlighted when New Zealand was hit by the worst terror attack in its history, The Christchurch mosque attacks of March 2019. Jacinda was quick to condemn the gunman calling him a terrorist - stressing he did not represent New Zealand at all. She refused to name him in every interview and meeting she had as she wanted to deny him notoriety. It was Jacinda’s message of hope and peace that helped the country mourn the death of 51 Muslims along with her empathetic character and incredible leadership skills. She was seen comforting those whose loved ones had died and giving speeches to the youth about a safer and brighter tomorrow for everyone no matter their race, religion or identity. The next few days following the attack, Jacinda was quick to propose a reform to the country’s gun laws. She banned the sale of semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles, Jacinda was adamant in making sure there were no more senseless murders taking place in New Zealand. Jacinda Ardern was a leader with nothing but love in her heart who wanted nothing but the best for all people in New Zealand. This is one of many acts of intuition displayed by Jacinda during her 3 year term.

As terrorism remains a dangerous issue targetting many innocent people, a global pandemic is also an influential political crisis. In March, Jacinda Ardern implemented the necessary precautions required to control the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected every country around the world and forced every citizen into intense lockdowns and quarantines. Ms Ardern's quick and effective response to the virus resulted in a nation free of the coronavirus by June 2020. She moved the country to a Level-4 lockdown, a nationwide lockdown, and executed strict border restrictions. She was praised 'for addressing both the human and economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.' Despite her exceptional efforts, there was a lawsuit filed against her as multiple government officials claimed their freedom was being restricted and the lockdown was being implemented as a means of 'political gain'. However, this lawsuit was disregarded and thrown out by Justice Mary Peters. Nevertheless, Jacinda Ardern, being the diligent woman she is, created a trans-Tasman safe travel zone for COVID-19 which allowed the residents to travel to and fro without the COVID 19 travelling guidelines; this was done to ease the restrictions that caused many people to feel suffocated and cooped up in their homes.

Furthermore, Jacinda Ardern has always been commended by the public for her authenticity. She is a woman who welcomes the weaknesses of the country and uses her time, effort, resources and dedication into moulding those weaknesses into strengths. She has the capability and the aptitude to bring together a world torn to pieces - a world where race is a means to determine inferiority, a world where the working class don't receive the wages to feed their families or provide them with a roof over their heads, a world where many women are afraid to walk on an unlit street after 10 pm, a world where a girl has to think twice about her outfit to steer clear of prying, unwelcomed eyes. This world needs women like Jacinda Ardern more than our human mind can comprehend. Therefore, as a global citizen, work your way towards a world to which you would've fled. Jacinda Ardern is merely the beginning that helps us rectify our flaws. It is upon us to continue the legacy she desires to leave behind.

Veda Varma, 10A

Emmanuella Erhunmwunsee, 12B