The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has been rebuked after one of its members was accused of implying that women were naturally unfit to serve in parliament.
The comment was allegedly made during a speech on gender equality on Thursday by Green party politician Britta Hasselmann.
When Ms Hasselman mentioned that she had noticed women made up only a small proportion of AfD’s representatives, an unknown deputy is said to have blamed “natural selection”.
The Independent understands that the incident was reported to deputy speaker Claudia Roth, who then called on AfD to respect parliamentary protocol; however, it is not clear who made the complaint.
Digitisation minister Dorothee Bar, of the Christian Democratic Union party, tweeted about the interjection and said she was “stunned” by it.
The Independent has contacted AfD for comment.
Just 10 of the party's 91 representatives in the Bundestag are female, according to the body's website.
The controversy comes two years after Polish MEP Janusz Korwin-Mikke outraged fellow politicians by claiming that women should earn less money than men because they are “weaker" and "less intelligent”.
Additional reporting by AP
