Time for a Woman President

Will she-won't she; they debated and discussed , secretly willing her to announce. And she finally did. Hillary Clinton announced her candidature for the post of President of the United States in 2008.

America, the dream destination of millions around th world, is often percieved by those OUTSIDE as a place where , if you try hard enough, you can do really well. Its democracy, its friendly people, the melting pot, and a perception, that anyone willing to put in hard work, is rewarded ; be it , in education, entertainment, research, literature, physical effort (as in sports), and what have you.

Get around to the topic of public service and at first light, every new announcement is greeted with what one may call healthy skepticism, doubts, and a firm conviction that the candidate has a secret to hide.

Its been a long time since 1776. Its not as if women have not played a part in the political and public life, and sometimes excelled. Yet, at the end of the day, screaming headlines in the paper declare "IS AMERICA READY FOR A WOMEN PRESIDENT ?"

The only question they asked for a recent successful candidate was how he managed to carry Florida. No one asked about experience, affiliations, foreign policy experience or anything like that.

America has had a long line of women candidates who tried. Elizabeth Dole, in public life since 1981, stood as a Republican candidate , in 1999, but withdrew due to lack of funding. In the year 2000, 12 women fought primaries as Independents, write-in candidates, or as members of some non mainstream parties. In 2004, it was 10 women went to various primaries , again as independents, write-ins and other minor parties. Some of these people are today having successful tenires in various state legislatures, which would give them very good training for a career in public life.

Actually, the world has always had great female rulers in various countries. Egyptian Queens have governed from around 3000 BCE, and the first to be named by the sources without any doubt is Ku-baba, who ruled the Mesopotamian City-State of Ur round 2500 BCE.

Today there are about 192 countries and 18 of these are headed by women.

We do not count women who serve as minsiters in cabinets, etc. They have always been there . But what is interesting is that the first woman head of state was Ms Bandarnayake of Sri Lanka, when it was still called Ceylon.

It is a curious fact that the Indian subcontinent, with its myriads of religions, languages, customs, attitudes bordering on ultraconservatism, and various societal taboos, (often attributed to lack of education amongst women), threw up the worlds most prominent women heads of state like Indira Gandhi(India), Benazir Bhutto (Pakistan), Chandrika Kumaratunga(Sri Lanka), begumSheikh Hasina and Begum Khaleda Zia (Bangladesh).

And Indira Gandhi was actually called the "only man in the cabinet"! And it wasnt all bravado , Iraq style. She declared and fought the war for Bangladesh in 1971, could have run over Lahore, Pakistans second most prominent city. But she declared a stateswoamnlike ceasefire, and withdrew, and presided over the war victory. Bangladesh was liberated, but she moved her troops out. Subsequently the liberated country forgot its benefactor, but thats another story.

Today there are 7 female Presidents of countries . Chile, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Liberia, The Philippines and Switzerland have the honor.

Female Prime Ministers ? Germany, Jamaica, New Zealand, Mozambique, South Korea and The Netherlands Antilles.

Just to name some of them ---

President of the Confederation Micheline Calmy-Rey, Switzerland,
Minister-President Emily de Jongh-Elhage, Nederlandse Antillen (Self-governing Part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands), 2006-
Prime Minister Han Myung-sook, South Korea,
Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller, Jamaica,
Executive President Michelle Bachelet Jeria, Chile,
Executive President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Liberia,
President of the Sameting/Sámediggi Aili Keskitalo in Norway,
Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, Germany,
Governor-General Michaëlle Jean, Canada,
Governor Deborah Barnes Jones, Montserrat (British External Territory),
President of the Government Marie-Noëlle Thémereau, Nouvelle Caledonie (10.06-) , (French Oversea's Territory),
President of the General Council Nassimah Magnolia Dindar, Réunion (French Oversea's Territory),
Prime Minister Luísa Días Diogo, Moçambique,
Executive President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, The Philippines (20.1-),
President Tarja Halonen, Finland ,
Prime Minister Hon. Helen Clark, New Zealand,
President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, Latvia,
Governor-General Hon. Dr. Dame C. Pearlette Louisy, St. Lucia,
President Mary McAleese, Ireland ......

And we have still left out folks like Queens , who rule by birthright and do not indulge in blasphemous activities like elections.

Some candidates are raw, homegrown, and rise to the top by virtue of being at the rightplace at the right time, with the right amount of funding. Some have the experience of being in a political family behinsd them, and they are, in a way "tempered", the way a cook tempers a griddle by judicious use of heat and oil, so its surface performs excellently.

We need to honor both. Instead of asking "IS America ready for a Woman President?" , we need to feel its high time someone like Hilary Clinton (with the actual experience of a Presidency, independent world travel and publications, education, actual legal work experience, family crisis experience, and most important, an understanding of funding) came on the scene.

Its actually a shame that The US has never so far had a woman president. Sometimes I wonder. Is it because we treat our Presidents like Kings, so that the Queens actually never stand a chance, in theory .

Maybe I should have said its a Royal Shame.....