Concern mounts for Iranian climber who competed without hijab

Yahoo – AFP, Stuart Williams, October 18, 2022 

Alarm grew on Tuesday over the wellbeing of Iranian sports climber Elnaz Rekabi after she competed at an event in South Korea without a hijab in what some saw as a gesture of solidarity with the women-led protests at home. 

Rekabi, 33, in her first comment since the event on Sunday apologised on Instagram for the "concerns" caused and insisted that her bare-headed appearance had been "unintentional". 

She had come fourth representing Iran in the boulder and lead combined event at the Asian Championships in Seoul. 

In the initial bouldering discipline her head was covered with a bandana but in the later lead climbing, scaling a high wall with a rope, she wore only a headband, the stream posted by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) showed. 

This was in breach of the Islamic republic's mandatory dress rules of compulsory headscarf for women which also apply to all female athletes, even when competing abroad. 

The gesture came one month into protests in Iran over the death of Mahsa Amini, arrested by Tehran police for allegedly violating the dress rules, which have transformed into a movement against the obligatory hijab and the Islamic republic itself. 

Supporters of the protests on social media described Rekabi as a "hero", posting images of her climbing up the letters of the protest slogan "Woman. Life. Freedom." 

Nothing had been heard since the event from Rekabi until a story was published Tuesday morning on her Instagram account where she has over 200,000 followers. 

"I firstly apologise for all the concerns I have caused," the statement said. 

Due to the timing and sudden call to begin the climb "my hijab unintentionally became problematic", it said. 

"I am currently on my way back to Iran alongside the team based on the pre-scheduled timetable," it added. 

Pressure in Seoul

However, there was alarm over under what circumstances the statement had emerged after unconfirmed reports suggested she had been pressured by Iranian officials in South Korea. 

BBC Persian quoted an unnamed source as saying that friends had been unable to contact her and the team had left their hotel on Seoul on Monday, earlier than the scheduled departure date of Wednesday. 

It said her mobile phone and passport had been taken from her. 

Meanwhile news website Iran Wire reported that the head of Iran's climbing federation had "tricked" her into entering the Iranian embassy in Seoul and that she would then be taken directly to the airport. 

It said the federation chief had promised her safe passage to Iran if she handed over her phone and passport. 

The Iranian embassy in Seoul, however, issued a statement to AFP denying "all the fake, false news and disinformation regarding" her situation and adding Rekabi had left South Korea along with her teammates on Tuesday.

 The spokesperson for the UN office of the high commissioner for human rights, Ravina Shamdasani, said the UN was "aware" of the case and concerns were being raised with the Iranian authorities. 

"Women should never be prosecuted for what they wear. They should never be subjected to violations such as arbitrary detention or any kind of violence with regards to what they wear," she said in Geneva. 

"We will be following this case very closely." 

Taboo-breaking

Rekabi is believed to be the second Iranian woman to have appeared in competition without a headscarf after boxer Sadaf Khadem appeared bare-headed in a bout in France in 2019. Khadem did not return to Iran and now lives in exile in France. 

Sport has become a hugely sensitive arena during the protests, with several prominent Iranian female athletes expressing support for women's rights. 

Famous footballers have also been caught up in the crackdown with former international player Hossein Mahini arrested and the world's ex-top scorer Ali Daei having his passport confiscated. Daei's document was returned while Mahini was reportedly freed on bail. 

Iran's Fars news agency, which reflects hardline views, published an editorial Tuesday critical of Rekabi but avoided mentioning her by name. 

It asked why "Western, Zionist and Saudi" media had not paid attention to victories by Iranian women wearing headscarves in the last days in athletics and weightlifting but instead "highlighted the performance of a girl with unconventional behaviour". 

Rights groups have long accused Iran of pressuring people deemed to have violated its laws into so-called confessions either on television or social media.

Amanpour says Iran president interview scrapped over headscarf demand

Yahoo – AFP, Ebrahim Raisi, September 22, 2022 

Veteran journalist Christiane Amanpour said Thursday that an interview with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was scrapped after he insisted she wear a headscarf, the focus of major protests in the cleric-run state. 

Amanpour, the chief international anchor of CNN who also has a show on US public broadcaster PBS, said she was ready for the interview Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly when an aide insisted she cover her hair. 

"I politely declined. We are in New York, where there is no law or tradition regarding headscarves," Amanpour, who was born in Britain to an Iranian father, wrote on Twitter. 

"I pointed out that no previous Iranian president has required this when I have interviewed them outside Iran," she said. 

"I said that I couldn't agree to this unprecedented and unexpected condition." 

She posted a picture of herself -- without a headscarf -- sitting in front of an empty chair where Raisi would have been. 

An aide to Raisi, a hardline cleric, told Amanpour that he was insisting on a headscarf because of "the situation in Iran," she said. 

Iran has been swept by nearly a week of protests since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died after being arrested by morality police that enforce the clerics' rules on how women dress. 

A non-governmental group said that at least 31 Iranian civilians have been killed in the crackdown on the protests, in which women have been seen burning headscarves.

Droupadi Murmu sworn in as India's first tribal president

Yahoo – AFP, 25 July 2022 

Droupadi Murmu was sworn in as India's president on Monday, making her the first person from one of the country's marginalised tribal communities to serve as head of state. 

The former school teacher and state governor was elected to the largely ceremonial position last week with 64 percent of the vote by members of India's parliament and state assemblies. 

Murmu, who is from the Santhal tribe and was born in eastern Odisha state, paid her respects before her inauguration at a memorial dedicated to India's independence hero Mahatma Gandhi in New Delhi. 

"I started my life journey from a small tribal village," Murmu, 64, said after taking the oath of office in parliament. 

"From the background I come from, it was like a dream for me to even get elementary education," she added. 

"But despite many obstacles, my resolve remained strong and I became the first daughter from my village to go to college." 

Murmu's win was considered a certainty because of the strength of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies in the parliament and state assemblies. 

Analysts said the move will likely help Prime Minister Narendra Modi extend his base among the poor tribal communities ahead of his re-election bid in 2024. 

"Her assuming the Presidency is a watershed moment for India especially for the poor, marginalised and downtrodden," Modi said on Twitter after Murmu's address. 

Murmu said her election would give hope to those left behind by India's recent economic growth. 

"It is a matter of great satisfaction to me that those who have been deprived for centuries, who have been away from the benefits of development... are seeing their reflection in me," she said. 

India's prime minister wields executive power, but the president can send back some parliamentary bills for reconsideration and also plays a guiding role in the process of forming governments. 

Murmu is the country's second woman president after Pratibha Patil, who held the position for five years from 2007. 

She succeeds Ram Nath Kovind, the second president from the Dalit community, the bottom of the Hindu caste system.

N. Korea appoints veteran diplomat as first female foreign minister

France24 – AFP, 11 June 2022 

A career diplomat who speaks fluent English, Choe Son Hui
served as a close aide to Kim Jong Un during talks with the
United States LUONG THAI LINH POOL/AFP/File

Seoul (AFP) – North Korea has appointed veteran diplomat Choe Son-hui as its first female foreign minister, state media reported Saturday, as Pyongyang pushes ahead with a blitz of sanctions-busting weapons tests and ignores US calls for talks. 

Choe, who formerly served as the North's vice foreign minister, was tapped to lead the foreign ministry at a ruling party meeting overseen by leader Kim Jong Un, the state media KCNA reported. 

She replaces Ri Son Gwon, a hardline former military official who previously led talks with the South. 

A career diplomat who speaks fluent English, Choe served as a close aide to Kim during nuclear talks with the United States and accompanied the North Korean leader to summits with then US president Donald Trump. 

She held a rare question and answer session with reporters on the night the two leaders' summit in Hanoi collapsed without a deal in February 2019, blaming Washington for the failed talks. 

"I think the United States has missed a golden opportunity with its rejection of our proposals," she said. 

Diplomacy between Pyongyang and Washington have since stalled, with the Kim regime in recent months not responding to the United States' repeated offers to return to negotiations. 

The nuclear-armed North has meanwhile carried out a blitz of sanctions-busting weapons tests this year, including firing an intercontinental ballistic missile at full range for the first time since 2017. 

US and South Korean officials have also warned that Kim's regime is preparing to carry out what would be its seventh nuclear test -- a move that Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman warned would provoke a "swift and forceful" response.

Saudi women move from behind wheel to under the hood

France24 – AFP, 3 June 2022 

Ghada Ahmed (R) works on a car in Saudi Arabia, where garages are tapping
women as a source for mechanics Fayez Nureldine AFP

Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) (AFP) – An auto repair garage in Saudi Arabia is turning to an untapped source for new car mechanics: Saudi women, who just four years ago weren't even allowed to drive. 

At the Petromin Express garage in Jeddah, on the Red Sea coast, new female recruits check oil and change tyres alongside their male counterparts, part of a nationwide push to bring more women into the workforce. 

Yet the women trainees have, perhaps inevitably, encountered a host of barriers as they enter a field that is male-dominated the world over –- and even more so in the conservative Muslim kingdom. 

Several told AFP their first months on the job have brought flashes of self-doubt, scepticism from relatives and outright hostility from some customers. 

One "old man" who came by the garage immediately ordered all the women out, saying he didn't want them going near his car, recalled recruit Ghada Ahmad. 

"At the beginning, it's normal not to trust us, because I'm a woman and he doesn't trust my work as a woman," said Ahmad, wearing grease-streaked white gloves and a long blue overcoat. 

"It's something new for them... After years of only seeing men, now comes a woman." 

As she struggled to learn the basics, Ahmad had moments when she wondered if such men might have a point. 

"I used to go home with swollen hands, crying and saying: 'This job is not for me. It looks like their words were correct,'" she recalled. 

But as her skills improved, so did her confidence –- aided by other customers who were more encouraging. 

"One man came and said: 'I'm very proud of you. You are honouring us. You are a crown on our heads.'" 

Helpful husbands

Expanding women's rights is central to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 agenda, intended to diversify the oil-dependent economy while softening Saudi Arabia's radical image. 

The highest-profile change came in 2018, when Prince Mohammed, the kingdom's de facto ruler, oversaw the end of a decades-old ban on women driving. 

The country has also eased so-called "guardianship" rules that give men arbitrary authority over female relatives.

 

Ola Flimban checks the tyre pressure on a car at a garage in Jeddah
Fayez Nureldine AFP

These moves have burnished Prince Mohammed's reputation as a women's rights champion, despite a crackdown on dissent that has ensnared some of the very activists pushing for reform. 

Yet women mechanics in Jeddah told AFP they could never have started working without their husbands' consent. 

Ola Flimban, a 44-year-old mother of four, first heard about the jobs from a social media post, and immediately asked her husband, Rafat Flimban, if she could apply. 

Rafat agreed and helped his wife prepare for the interview by teaching her the names of spare parts. 

"Now she has experience in different car types, how to change oil, how to check cars. She's even checking my car," he said. 

The support at home has made it easier for Ola to deal with wary customers at the garage. 

"They are surprised that girls work in this field, and ask us to explain how we fell in love with this field," she said. 

"That is the most common question." 

As she spoke, 20-year-old Mechaal drove up in his silver sedan for an oil change. 

He admitted being "shocked" that the task would be carried out by a woman, but he soon came around. 

"If they are here, it must mean they are trained," he said, "and maybe they understand my car better than me." 

Petromin vice president Tariq Javed said his company was "confident that this initiative will encourage more women to join the automotive industry in all stages". 

The company says its training covers "all express services, including oil, battery, tyres, A/C, and other automotive requirements". 

'We make girls feel relaxed'

Perhaps the biggest winners from the firm's initiative are the city's women drivers. 

"We make girls feel relaxed when we operate on their cars," said 30-year-old Angham Jeddawi, who has been at the garage for six months. 

"Some girls feel shy when dealing with men. They don't know how to talk with them, and they don't know what will be done with the car. But with us they are free to talk a lot." 

For Jeddawi, the job has fulfilled a lifelong goal she once thought impossible. 

A male customer watches over Ghada Ahmed as she works on his truck
Fayez Nureldine AFP

"My dream was to enter the automobile sector, but for a Saudi woman this field was not available. So when the opportunity came, I applied straight away," she said. 

The knowledge she's gained has encouraged her to hit the road herself. 

She has been studying for her driving test and hopes to have a licence within a month. 

"If I face a problem in the middle of the road, now I know how to react," she said.

Pakistan swears in Ayesha Malik as first woman supreme court judge

Yahoo – AFP, 24 January 2022

A photo released by Pakistan's Press Information Department shows Justice
Ayesha Malik being sworn in as a supreme court judge (AFP)

Pakistan swore in Ayesha Malik as its first female supreme court judge on Monday, a landmark occasion in a nation where activists say the law is often wielded against women. 

Malik attended a ceremony in the capital Islamabad where she now sits on the bench alongside 16 male colleagues at Pakistan's highest court. 

"I want to congratulate Justice Ayesha Malik on becoming the first woman judge of the Supreme Court," Prime Minister Imran Khan said. 

"I wish her all the best," he added on Twitter. 

Lawyer and women's rights activist Nighat Dad said Malik's promotion is "a huge step forward". 

"It is history in the making for Pakistan's judiciary," she told AFP. 

Malik was educated at Harvard University and served as a high court judge in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore for the past two decades. 

She has been credited with rolling back patriarchal legal mores in her Punjab province jurisdiction. 

Last year she outlawed a deeply invasive and medically discredited examination used to determine a woman's level of sexual experience. 

Women in Pakistan often struggle to gain justice in rape and sexual assault cases, and the test was deployed as a means of discrediting victims by casting aspersion on their character. 

Malik's elevation to the apex court of Pakistan may clear the way for more women to enter the historically conservative and male-dominated judiciary of the Islamic republic.

 "She has broken all barriers in the judicial system and it will allow other women in the system to move forward," said lawyer and women's rights activist Khadija Siddiqi. 

"I hope this will lead to more women-centric decisions by the judiciary in the future." 

But her appointment has been mired in controversy for the past four months, with claims she jumped a queue of more senior male candidates qualified for the post. 

Earlier this month the Pakistan Bar Council staged a strike to protest against Malik's nomination.

China mulls bill to tackle workplace discrimination against women

Yahoo – AFP, December 25, 2021

Assembly-line workers at a factory in Fuyang in eastern China (AFP/STR)

Chinese lawmakers are discussing new rules to prevent workplace discrimination and sexual harassment against women amid a string of high-profile cases in recent months. 

A draft bill published Friday includes a ban on employers stating gender preferences on job ads and quizzing female applicants about their marital or pregnancy status –- a common practice that has been criticised for decades. 

Rapid economic growth in the past four decades coupled with the one-child rule has opened up more educational and employment opportunities for Chinese women. 

But women's participation in the workforce has dropped, due to gender-based filtering when hiring and as more women care for families amid a severe shortage of affordable childcare options. 

A report by Human Rights Watch in June found that one in five civil service job postings in 2019 specified a preference for male applicants. 

The report also says that it was a common practice for employers including schools to force female staff to sign contracts promising not to get pregnant for several years as a pre-condition for being hired. 

The proposed new rules come amid concerns that China's new three-child rule could make employers even more reluctant to hire women and as officials crack down on the local #MeToo movement after a string of cases that led to a public outcry over sexual assault in the workplace. 

Earlier this month, e-commerce giant Alibaba group fired a female staffer who had accused a manager of sexual assault. 

The proposed amendments will make enforcement easier by clearly defining what sexual harassment is, state-run Xinhua news agency said. 

According to a draft text published Friday, it prohibits "vulgar speech", "inappropriate physical behaviour" or "the display or dissemination of sexual images, information, text, audio or video". 

It also requires employers to set up mechanisms to prevent, investigate and respond to such complaints "without delay", but there were no details on any penalties for failing to do so. 

The amendments are open for public comment until January 22, 2022.

Related Article:

US, UN demand proof of missing Chinese tennis star's well-being

Malaysian mothers hail win for equality in citizenship case

 Yahoo – AFP, September 9, 2021

A group of Malaysian mothers won a landmark case overturning unequal
citizenship rules in the Southeast Asian country (AFP/Handout)

A group of Malaysian mothers won a landmark legal challenge Thursday, overturning what they described as discriminatory citizenship rules affecting women who gave birth overseas. 

The rules had meant a woman with a foreign spouse who had a child abroad was barred from automatically passing on her Malaysian nationality. 

Similar restrictions did not apply to men from the Southeast Asian country, who enjoy a straight path to citizenship for their offspring. 

Socially conservative Malaysia was among only a handful of countries worldwide with such rules, with campaigners long complaining they were discriminatory. 

But on Thursday, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur ruled in favour of a challenge brought by six Malaysian mothers, who argued the regulations breached the constitution. 

"This judgement recognises Malaysian women's equality, and marks one step forward to a more egalitarian and just Malaysia," said Suri Kempe, president of NGO Family Frontiers, which helped bring the case to court. 

The judgement applies to all Malaysian mothers, not just the plaintiffs in the case, she said. 

The lawyer for the mothers, Gurdial Singh Nijar, hailed a "momentous decision", saying the rules had "disrupted family structures". 

There was no immediate reaction from the government, and it was not clear whether they would appeal the ruling. 

Campaigners said the law had sometimes left women trapped in abusive relationships. 

If they brought their children back to Malaysia, the youngsters faced obstacles in accessing public services like free education and healthcare. 

Women could apply for their overseas-born children to be granted citizenship but authorities rarely agreed. 

According to Family Frontiers, the home ministry received over 4,000 applications between 2013 and 2018, but only approved 142. 

The government had sought to get the mothers' challenge dismissed, insisting the rules were in line with the constitution. 

But campaigners said they breached constitutional guarantees to equality before the law, and the court allowed the case to proceed.

Qatar faces scrutiny after women 'forcibly examined'

Yahoo – AFP, Gregory Walton, October 27, 2020 

Qatar Airways crew prepare to enter Sydney international airport to fly a repatriation
flight back to France on April 2, 2020, amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic

Qatar Airways crew prepare to enter Sydney international airport to fly a repatriation flight back to France on April 2, 2020, amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic

Revelations that passengers flying through Doha were forced to endure vaginal inspections have upended Qatar's efforts to boost its reputation before the Gulf state hosts World Cup 2022, experts say. 

Officers marched women off a Sydney-bound Qatar Airways flight earlier this month and forced them to undergo intimate examinations after a newborn baby was found abandoned in an airport bathroom. 

The incident sparked a diplomatic row between Australia and Qatar and comes as a setback for the gas-rich emirate, which has worked extensively to grow its soft power. 

Doha has invested heavily in its airline, Al-Jazeera broadcaster and social projects that include women's health and educational initiatives. 

But the conservative Muslim monarchy, where sex and childbirth out of wedlock are still punishable by jail, has struggled to reassure critics that its promises on women's rights, labour relations and democracy are credible. 

Mark Gell, founder of Sydney-based consultancy Reputation Edge, said "it could get out of hand from a reputational point of view for the airline", the state-run Qatar Airways. 

"Was it the airline's responsibility? We don't know. But absolutely it could impact their business," he told AFP. 

"If I shared this with my wife, I'm sure she'd turn around and say 'I'm never going through there again'." 

Adverts packed with top-flight footballers including Neymar have aired worldwide, touting Qatar Airways' extensive network, ultra-modern aircraft and glitzy Doha airport hub. 

World Cup 2022 host Qatar has struggled to reassure critics that its promises
on women's rights, labour relations and democracy are credible

Australia is a particularly important market for the carrier, which before the coronavirus pandemic served six cities Down Under and promoted repatriation flights for stranded nationals when other airlines grounded their fleets. 

'Avoid Qatar Airways' 

Alex Oliver of Sydney-based think tank the Lowy Institute said Australians -- especially women -- would "avoid Qatar Airways like the plague" after the October 2 incident. 

"It's a shocking move from a country that has spent billions of state funds on attempting to convey perceptions of a more liberal Gulf state," she said. 

But it is sport on which Qatar has staked its reputation, winning not just the 2022 World Cup and bidding for summer Olympics but also pouring cash into developing sport in poorer countries. 

Qatar has nonetheless had to contain several public relations crises in recent years linked to its shock victory in the competition to host the 2022 football tournament. 

As it began to ramp up construction, rights groups condemned Qatar's treatment of the hundreds of thousands of migrant labourers recruited from South Asia and other developing countries. 

Activists have long called on Qatar to decriminalise "love cases", women who become pregnant outside of marriage and give birth without the help of medics who are required to report such cases. 

Human Rights Watch told AFP Qatar should "examine the policy that led to the event in the first place".

Doha has invested heavily in its airline, Al-Jazeera broadcaster and social
projects to boost its image

'Betrayed' 

The ultra-wealthy country of 2.75 million people has also faced scrutiny over LGBT rights, jihadist fundraising, and its overseas military interventions since its 2010 victory in the battle to host the global soccer spectacle. 

Qatar's government has yet to address the airport allegations, despite a furious rebuke by Australia's Foreign Minister Marise Payne who called the incident "grossly disturbing, offensive (and) concerning". 

Late on Sunday, airport management released a statement claiming that "individuals who had access to the specific area of the airport where the newborn infant was found were asked to assist in the query". 

It gave no details about the procedures they were required to undergo and made no apology for the incident, but said the child was still alive and being cared for. 

Gell said it would not be enough for the airport management to downplay the allegations and suggest the women had merely been asked to help trace the abandoned baby's mother. 

"That's not going to hold up. In fact, that'll probably inflame it, to suggest that these women have voluntarily done this. I would find that difficult to believe," he said. 

Oliver said she was surprised the response "was so hardline and intransigent". 

"With the World Cup now getting very close, you would expect it to be back-pedalling madly." 

Expatriate women in Doha have reacted with shock and fear to the disclosures. 

"I can't help but think of my daughters if they had been on that plane," said one expatriate woman living in Doha who declined to be named for fear of retribution. 

"It makes me sick. I feel betrayed by the country I call home," said another.

Saudi appoints 10 women in senior roles in holy mosques

Yahoo – AFP, FAYEZ NURELDINE, August 17, 2020

Conservative Saudi Arabia is seeking to boost female employment and has
appointed 10 women in senior roles at Islam's holiest sites, according to authorities

Saudi Arabia has appointed 10 women in senior roles at Islam's two holiest sites, authorities said Sunday, as the conservative petro-state seeks to boost female employment.

The appointment of women in senior positions at religious institutions is rare in the Islamic kingdom, which is in the midst of a wide-ranging liberalisation drive spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The women were appointed in the two holy mosques in Mecca and Medina across various departments, including administrative and technical, according to statement released by the general presidency for the affairs of the two holy mosques.

The recruitment drive was aimed at "empowering Saudi women with high qualifications and capabilities", the statement said.

The two holy mosques previously recruited 41 women in leadership positions in 2018, according to Saudi media.

Prince Mohammed has sought to boost employment for women as part of his "Vision 2030" plan, which is aimed at diversifying the kingdom's economy and ending its addiction to oil.

The number of working women in Saudi Arabia reached 1.03 million in the third quarter of 2019, 35 percent of the total workforce, compared to 816,000 in 2015, according to official figures.

In other reforms, women in the kingdom are now allowed to drive cars, cinemas have reopened and genders are permitted to mix at events, including concerts, and in public places.

But the reforms have also been accompanied by a crackdown on dissent.

Saudi Arabia has detained and put on trial a dozen women activists who long campaigned for the right to drive, sparking widespread condemnation.

Some of the activists allege they were tortured and sexually harassed by interrogators.

New Zealand's Ardern kicks off election campaign after taming virus

Yahoo – AFP, MICHAEL BRADLEY, August 8, 2020

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is riding high in opinion polls after
her leadership through the Christchurch mosque attacks, the White Island volcanic
eruption and the coronavirus pandemic

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern kicked off her Labour Party's election campaign Saturday riding high in the opinion polls after a successful response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Ardern's popularity as preferred prime minister -- often referred to as "Jacindamania" -- topped 60 percent in the latest surveys following her leadership through the Christchurch mosque attacks, the White Island volcanic eruption and the pandemic.

Before the virus forced New Zealand to seal its borders, the polls had pointed to a cliffhanger election on September 19, but support swung sharply towards the centre-left Labour Party as the country eliminated community transmission in a matter on months.

In a country of five million people, New Zealand has had only 22 COVID-19 deaths and it has been 99 days since the last recorded case of infection from an unknown source.

"When people ask, is this a COVID election, my answer is yes, it is," the charismatic 40-year-old said as she launched the campaign with a NZ$311 million (US$205 million) pledge to boost jobs.

"Businesses large and small are crucial to our economic recovery."

Labour is the senior partner in a three-party coalition government but if it can maintain the support shown in recent opinion polls, where it has consistently been above 50 percent, it could govern alone after the election.

Ardern was an unheralded MP when thrust into the Labour leadership shortly before the 2017 election when the party was struggling and "there were plenty who thought it couldn't (win)," she said.

"If you had told me then that our launch in 2020 would be in the midst of a global pandemic with our borders closed –- I would have found that very hard to fathom."

The centrepiece of Labour's campaign is to support businesses in hiring at least 40,000 people whose employment has been affected by the coronavirus.

It pledged to expand existing job schemes to help employers hire staff at risk of long-term unemployment.

It will also help out-of-work New Zealanders start a business through an expanded self-employment programme which will provide the equivalent of the minimum wage for up to 30-hours a week.

"The new flexi-wage scheme is a key plank of our economic plan to support businesses to recover and to provide jobs to those who have lost work due to COVID," Ardern said.

"Our team-of-five-million approach to fighting COVID means there is huge willingness in our business community to avoid unemployment rising by retaining staff and taking on new employees where they can, but many just need a little bit of extra support to do that, which this package provides."