Point of View: Keep dancing, Prime Minister Sanna Marin

It is time to end the double standards against women in power.

Finland gained its independence from Sweden in 1917. Since then, it has had 76 administrations. The current government is led by 36-year-old Sanna Mirella Marin, the youngest Prime Minister ever elected to office in Finland’s history. 

Finland fought two wars against the Soviet Union, one in 1939 and the other that ended in 1944. It stayed out of NATO to avoid further conflict with Moscow. All of that changed after Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on February 24 of this year. Prime Minister Marin boldly endorsed Finland joining NATO as Vladimir Putin’s aggression left her northern European nation feeling vulnerable. Her move is proactive and courageous for a country that has resisted joining military alliances for decades. 

Prime Minister Marin is a dedicated and competent public servant who has served in office since 2019. She made the BBC’s 100 Women list in 2020. Forbes magazine ranked her 85th on the 2020 list of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women. Last year, Time magazine put Sanna Marin on the cover of their issue that focused on the “Time 100 Next” list of leaders. 

In spite of her many accomplishments, her life was turned upside down on August 19, 2022. The reason? A leaked video of her dancing and singing with friends at a private party was circulated on social media. Opposition parties in Finland quickly attacked her for her behavior and called her “unfit for office.” She was trending on social media sites, but frustratingly for the wrong reasons. 

In comparison, male politicians have faced substantially lighter consequences. This gender bias has unfortunately been going on for decades, actually for centuries.  

Silvio Berlusconi was first elected Prime Minister of Italy in 1994. He was troubled with controversies and sex scandals and was charged several times for bribery and corruption. He even had an illicit relationship with a nightclub dancer, Karima el-Mahroug. His punishment? He got elected Prime Minister again in 2001 and for the third time in 2008. 

Francois Mitterrand served as President of France from 1981 to 1995. He had an extra-marital affair with Anne Pingeot, and they had an illegitimate daughter, Mazarine Pingeot. His punishment? His tenure in office was the longest in the history of France. 

American history is also littered with scandals about male politicians misbehaving. In 1791, Alexander Hamilton, Founding father and first Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, had an extra-marital affair with 23-year-old Maria Reynolds. Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, fathered the children of an enslaved woman, Sally Hemings. 

In this century, Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, had an illicit relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. In 2016, Donald Trump became the 45th President of the United States even after The Washington Post released a 2005 video where he talked about women in a vulgar manner. The list goes on and on. Society seems to be conditioned to accept men behaving inappropriately. This has to change. 

Prime Minister Marin was merely dancing with friends at a private party. The opposition party leader, Riikka Purra, urged the Prime Minister to take a drug test, and she did. Unsurprisingly, she tested negative. 

Sanna Marin is thriving in a role typically monopolized by men. Her youth and gender have been a reason to attack and criticize her for unfair reasons. Women leaders have faced sexist double standards for too long. Unfortunately, this bias goes far beyond the world of politics. In recent weeks, women have thankfully begun posting dancing videos on social media with the hashtag #SolidarityWithSanna. This is a start. 

Even Secretary Hillary Clinton jumped into this debate and tweeted PM Sanna Marin with a dancing photo of her own. Her message should resonate with all women who just want to be held accountable to the same standards as men: 

“Keep dancing, @marinsanna.”