Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said "God forbid that a woman is elected" to lead the country he has ruled since 1994.
“God forbid that a woman is elected in Belarus,” Lukashenko told journalists on Thursday, arguing that the job of president in Belarus is much harder than in the United States. “It’s the hardest work, you shouldn’t burden a woman like that.”
Described as Europe's last dictator, Lukashenko said Belarus may eventually come to a style of politics like that of the US. “But for now, it is different. This is not a feminine style."
"A woman should be a woman. We should not shift our responsibilities to women. I admire women, I do not diminish their role at all. But they should be there for us to lean on, a strong shoulder," he added.
Lukashenko's comments, made ahead of Belarus' presidential election on January 26, were likely referring to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, his rival in the previous 2020 vote.
Tsikhanouskaya ran for president after her husband, a leading opposition candidate, was arrested and jailed during that election campaign. Now living in exile, she is the main face of the opposition.
She has urged Belarusians to “reject this farce” because “it’s a sham with no real electoral process, conducted in an atmosphere of terror.”
Bohdan Krotevych, a Ukrainian soldier of neo-Nazi outfit Azov Brigade and with the call sign Tavr, suggested in an interview with Radio NV that Ukrainian forces could invade Belarus at the request of Tsikhanouskaya, who, according to him, is the legitimate president of Belarus.
The Azov soldier expressed confidence that in such a case, “90% of the population would simply support both Ukrainian and Polish forces, and the rest would either flee or drop their weapons.”
In Belarus, the opposition leader has been sentenced to 15 years in a penal colony.
Lukashenko also claimed that a person does not become president but is “born to be president.”
“A person by nature must have basic qualities that will be useful to him as president.”
The Belarusian president in January signed a law guaranteeing his immunity, lifelong protection, and state-provided property upon his resignation from the presidency.