From Iceland — Akureyri Town Council Women-Only For A Day

Akureyri Town Council Women-Only For A Day

Published June 16, 2015

Andie Sophia Fontaine
Photo by
John Rogers

Akureyri town council will be chaired and run exclusively by women for a single day, commemorating the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in Iceland.

RÚV reports that today only, the town council will be run exclusively by women. Women who have previously sat on Akureyri town council are encouraged to attend as well, to observe the proceedings.

The idea is similar to one proposed by Left-Green MP Steingrímur J. Sigfússon, who slated June 19 for the commemoration. In his version, men in parliament would take a leave of absence for the day, and let their next available woman alternate have their seat instead.

This proposal is itself a scaled-down version of one proposed by Independence Party MP Ragnheiður Ríkharðsdóttir, who did not want to limit an all-woman legislature to a single day but rather to two years. This all-woman parliament would last from 2017 to 2019, if brought to fruition.

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