German far-right rebuked for reportedly suggesting women aren’t fit to be MPs

Deputy speaker of Bundestag calls on AfD to respect parliamentary protocol after party member says low number of female lawmakers due to ‘natural selection’

By AP 21 February 2019, 10:57 pm

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Illustrative: German leaders of the parliamentary group of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) far-right party Alexander Gauland (bottom-R) and Alice Weidel (bottom-L) and MPs vote to adopt functioning rules during the first session of the newly elected parliament on October 24, 2017 at the Bundestag in Berlin. (AFP/Odd Andersen)

BERLIN — The deputy speaker of Germany’s parliament rebuked members of a far-right party Thursday for reportedly suggesting women aren’t fit to be lawmakers.

Green party lawmaker Britta Hasselmann had noted during a speech on gender equality in politics that women make up only a small share of Alternative for Germany’s parliamentarians, to which an unidentified member of the party reportedly replied: “Natural selection.”

Deputy speaker Claudia Roth called on the party, known as AfD, to respect parliamentary protocol.

Separately, German public broadcaster ARD reported Thursday that the far-right party submitted an incorrect list of donors who it claimed had given money to co-leader Alice Weidel ahead of 2017 national elections.

ARD reported that several of the people named on the list Alternative for Germany submitted to parliament denied giving money to Weidel.