Armenia will establish a ‘Ministry of Sex’ to ensure there are “no unsatisfied women” in the country, under plans proposed by an insurgent political party.
Sargis Karapetyan, who helped form the Strong Armenia party ahead of this summer’s elections, suggested a rise in political activism by middle-aged white women was the result of sexual dissatisfaction.
When pressed if a ministry should be created to tackle that apparent issue, Mr Karapetyan said it should, and that it could also help tackle Armenia’s declining birth rate.
The idea behind a Ministry of Sex was initially raised by Armenian sociologist Armen Khachikyan, who suggested on the Triangle podcast that women had become more politically involved because of sexual dissatisfaction.
Mr Karapetyan, who founded the Armenia Strong party, responded: “Can we now actually say that in a strong Armenia there will be no unsatisfied women?”
Levon Sargizov, the host, suggested a ministry should be established to oversee these issues, which Mr Karapetyan said should be called the Ministry of Sex.
Mr Karapetyan also suggested the ministry would be pivotal in tackling Armenia’s declining birth rate, though stopped short of suggesting specific measures.
Sona Ghazaryan, an MP from the Civil Contract party, described Mr Karapetyan’s comments as “pure sexism” in a post on Facebook.
“Stripping women of their agency, reducing them to the level of male fantasies and crude promises. It is disgusting,” she wrote, adding that “returning to the past, in all its forms, will not happen”.
Mr Karapetyan’s comments have been heavily criticised elsewhere on social media.
Lucy Kocharyan, a feminist influencer, said in a post: “Don’t wrap your pre-election campaign’s sexual lust around the women of Armenia.”
Mr Karapetyan later suggested his words had been taken out of context. He accused Armenia’s political leadership of “destroying” the population from within.
He questioned whether the Armenian government was “upset by my wording, or by the fact that I am speaking openly about the problems?”
“A healthy society and a healthy Armenia, in every sense, will be our main goal,” he added.
Mr Karapetyan is the son of Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, worth $4.4bn, who was arrested last summer and charged with publicly calling to seize power illegally. He has also faced allegations of tax evasion, fraud and money laundering, which he denies.
The Strong Armenia party was founded after Samvel Karapetyan’s arrest.
The newly formed party will officially announce its candidate for prime minister on Feb 12, with local reports suggesting it could be Samvel’s nephew, Narek Karapetyan.
Strong Armenia is currently polling second on 13 per cent ahead of June’s election. The ruling Civil Contract party leads on 17 per cent, with nearly half the electorate saying they do not know who they will vote for.
“There is no longer a true justice system in Armenia when it has to do with anyone who speaks out against our prime minister,” Sargis Karapetyan claimed to The New York Post.
“There is almost no one significant person left in the political field in Armenia who hasn’t been imprisoned at least once by the current regime.”
