Eleven out of 14 women on the board of the National Federation of Independence Party Women already have or are planning to resign. Three among them, the federation’s current and former leaders, have declared they are leaving the Independence Party, because of “the conservative views which appear to prevail there,” RÚV reports.
Jarþrúður Ásmundsdóttir, a former head of the National Federation and one of those leaving the party, told RÚV that their declaration had received a strong response, and that women active in the party had been in contact to announce they were going to follow suit. Thus, she stated, it’s safe to talk about a kind of female rebellion in the party.
Jarþrúður said many of the eleven who resigned from the board were planning to leave the party.
The women’s resignation comes in the wake of extensive coverage of the party’s primaries in the south and southwest constituencies. In the south, experienced female MPs failed to make it to the top three seats on the list of candidates, and in the southwest, no woman made it to the top four spots.
Jarþrúður has not received any reaction from the party’s MPs. In her opinion, the results from the two primaries were the last straw.
Helga Dögg Björgvinsdóttir, who currently heads the federation and who is leaving the party, said the decision was well thought out. “First and foremost, we feel that our fight has not been successful,” she lamented. “Our conviction tells us we no longer belong in the party.” When asked if the women would join forces with another party, she denied that, stressing that they were simply leaving the Independence Party.
