The Dalai Lama wants his female successor to be 'very, very attractive' — otherwise she's 'not much use'

The Dalai Lama only has one requirement for his successor, should she be female: "Her face should be very, very attractive." In an interview with the BBC earlier this week, the spiritual leader, who calls himself a feminist, was prompted to revisit a comment he made over a decade ago to a French journalist in which he called for the next Dalai Lama to be a woman because women have a greater "'biological' capacity 'to show affection... compassion,'" The Independent reports.

While he still believes that women should "take a more important role," he went on to add an additional prerequisite for the job. "If a female does come her face should be very, very attractive," the Dalai Lama recalled telling the French journalist over 10 years ago. The BBC interviewer pressed him: "So you can only have a female Dalai Lama if they're attractive? Is that what you're saying?" The Dalai Lama responded in the affirmative. "Otherwise," he said, "not much use."

Watch the full interview here.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up