Trade minister Ann Linde and other members of Sweden’s “first feminist government in the world” walked past Iranian President Rouhani yesterday as they covered their hair in compliance with Iran’s compulsory hijab law, despite Stockholm’s promise to promote “a gender equality perspective” internationally, and to adopt a “feminist foreign policy” in which “equality between women and men is a fundamental aim.”
The scene was also a sharp contrast to Deputy Prime Minister Isabella Lövin’s feminist stance against Trump, in a viral tweetand then in a Guardian op-ed last week, in which she wrote that “the world need strong leadership for women’s rights.”
Linde “sees no conflict” between her government’s human rights policy and signing trade deals with an oppressive dictatorship that tortures prisoners, persecutes gays, and is a leading executioner of minors.