Kaisa Garedew

Kaisa Garedew
Member of the Finnish Parliament
for Central Finland
Assumed office
5 April 2023
Personal details
Born (1978-02-19) 19 February 1978 (age 47)
Rauma, Finland
PartyFinns Party

Kaisa Garedew (born 19 February 1978) is a Finnish politician currently serving in the Parliament of Finland for the Finns Party in the Central Finland constituency.[1]

Controversy

In December 2025, Garedew was among Finns Party politicians criticised for posting a social media image mimicking a gesture of pulling the corners of her eyes, widely regarded as a racist mockery of East Asian people. The post was made in support of Sarah Dzafce, the former Miss Finland who was stripped of her title after a similar gesture in a viral photo. Garedew described Dzafce's dethroning as an "excessive response" but did not apologise for her own action.[2][3][4][5][6] She later told local media that she had nothing to apologise for. [7] Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo apologised to citizens of Japan, China, and South Korea for the incident, stating that racism has no place in Finnish society.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Kaisa Garedew". Perussuomalaiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  2. ^ "Miss Finland's viral 'slanted-eyes' photo stirs racism firestorm". BBC News. 17 December 2025. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  3. ^ "Finns Party MPs criticised over new images mocking Asians". Helsinki Times. 13 December 2025. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  4. ^ "Finnish PM apologises to East Asia for MPs' 'racist' gestures". South China Morning Post. 17 December 2025. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  5. ^ "Government partners slam Finns Party pols over "Asian eyes" social media posts". Yle. 13 December 2025. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  6. ^ "芬蘭議員「拉眼角」惹議 總理歐爾波向亞洲國家致歉" (in Chinese). 中央社 CNA. 17 December 2025. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  7. ^ "Finland PM apologises to Asian countries over MPs' mocking posts". France 24. 17 December 2025. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  8. ^ ""つり目ポーズ"でミス・フィンランドに批判 政界巻き込み拡大…首相が謝罪". テレ朝NEWS (in Japanese). Retrieved 18 December 2025.

See also