She's travelled the world, advocated for issues like domestic violence, emigrated to Aotearoa, found love outside a shoe shop, and is New Zealand's first minister of Indian descent. But of all the interesting topics people could raise when meeting Priyanca Radhakrishnan, there's one question she can't shake: "When are you having kids?"
The 43-year-old politician and her husband Ewan Richardson have happily built a life without children, yet Priyanca frequently finds herself interrogated over the decision.
"At the start, it was very much, 'Why don't you have children?" says the Aucklander. "Now people assume I have kids, but I still get, 'You don't know what you're missing, or, 'A woman's role is to raise children. People say I'm wasting my life or that Ewan and I would make good parents and are being selfish.
"If you don't have children, the onus is on you to explain why, which is unfair because it's as valid a choice as choosing to have children.
"It's tiresome having to constantly explain - and it's not a justification expected of my male colleagues."
Born in Chennai, India, Priyanca and her older sister Manavi grew up in Singapore (on a street called One Tree Hill - the name of the Auckland region she's now MP for), where her parents Raman and Usha worked. A "girly girl" who loved playing house with her dolls, she imagined becoming a mum.
"I saw married women had children and assumed someday that would be me," she recalls. "But as I grew up, I started questioning parenthood. I had friends talking about their biological clocks ticking and couldn't relate. People said I would eventually experience a desire to have children, but that never happened."
It's a choice that defies traditional Indian expectations, but Priyanca's life has always been a colourful merging of Western and Asian influence.
Bu hikaye Woman’s Day Magazine NZ dergisinin November 14, 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Woman’s Day Magazine NZ dergisinin November 14, 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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