If my successor is a woman then she needs to be attractive: Dalai Lama's sexist words invite censure

The Nobel peace prize winner even said people will not prefer to look at a  female Dalai Lama’s face if she was not attractive. 

In 2015, during an interview with the BBC, Dalai Lama, the Tibetan monk, had said in case a woman were to succeed him, or become the female Dalai Lama, she would have to be attractive. 

Now, in 2019, he once again voiced a similar opinion during an interview with the BBC.

He told the British news channel: "If female Dalai Lama comes, then she should be more attractive."

BBC's Rajini Vaidyanathan, who conducted the interview, tweeted: "This was perhaps the most surprising moment in the interview. I asked the Dalai Lama if he stood by his earlier comment that if his successor was female, she should be attractive."

Meanwhile, the spiritual leader's comment did not go down well with many as Twitter users  reacted sharply to the remark.

One Elaine tweeted: "And I’m sure all previous 13 Dalai Lamas were checked if they were attractive too"

Another Twitter user Claire said: " I am curious to know if attractiveness was a quality looked for when monks went to look for him??? ‘We have found the Dalai Lama but wait he is not attractive’."

Twitter user Jacob said: "#IsItOk that The Dalai Lama believes that for a female successor to happen, she must be attractive for anybody to care? #PotKettleBlack."

One Natalie tweeted: "Did the Dalai Lama just say that the female successor would have to be attractive?! I think I'll start my own Dharma that isn't based on shallowness and sexism."