Clash between MPs in Armenia’s Parliament:Controversial remarks about women spark uproar; proceedings suspended

Ruling-party and opposition MPs clashed in Armenia’s parliament on Thursday. The dispute began with an offensive remark about women. Ruling-party MP Taron Chakhoyan was asking opposition leader Narek Karapetyan to apologise. He had also made a remark about Karapetyan’s family. Angered by this, opposition MPs moved towards the Speaker’s podium. The argument soon turned into a physical fight. During the brawl, one MP was knocked to the floor. The incident left the entire corridor highly tense. Security personnel then took action and separated the two sides. Parliament proceedings had to be suspended after the incident. The opposition leader’s brother had commented on women’s sexual satisfaction According to local media reports, Chakhoyan criticised opposition leader Karapetyan’s cousin, Sargis Karapetyan, in his speech, referring to an old statement he had made. He had made derogatory remarks about women on a podcast. In January this year, a sociologist said that middle-aged women in Armenia were becoming increasingly interested in politics. He attributed this to sexual dissatisfaction. He claimed that this was why some women posted more political comments on social media. When Sargis was asked about this during a podcast, he said that if his party came to power, no woman in the country would be deprived of sexual satisfaction. Another participant on the podcast jokingly suggested setting up a “Ministry of Sex”. Sargis then said that population-related problems could not be solved without sexual relations. That is how the conversation moved from women’s political activism to sexual satisfaction and Armenia’s declining birth rate. Ruling party MP Taron Chakhoyan referred to the statement in Parliament and targeted opposition leader Narek Karapetyan. He questioned why an apology had not yet been offered to women for the remark. This led to an argument between the two, which later turned into a physical altercation.