INDIA ELECTED ITS FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT

AZG Armenian Daily #139
25/07/2007

International

India elected its first female president on Saturday, official results
showed, in what supporters called a boost for the rights of millions
of downtrodden women, despite a bitter campaign marked by scandal.

Pratibha Patil, the ruling coalition’s 72-year-old nominee for the
mainly ceremonial post, easily beat opposition-backed challenger and
vice president, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, in a vote by the national
parliament and state politicians.

Patil won about two thirds of the Electoral College votes. There had
never been any doubt she would win, given support from the ruling
coalition.

Supporters hoped Patil’s candidacy would help bring issues that
plague women in India, like dowry-related violence, into the public
spotlight. A woman is murdered, raped or abused every three minutes
on average in India.

Her presidency also reflects the growing power of some women in India,
where an increasing number are taking part in the workforce and in
schools and hold senior positions in corporations.

However, her campaign was marked by some mishaps, i.e. the employees’
union has taken Patil and others to court, claiming loans meant for
poor women were instead given to her brother and other relatives and
not returned. She was also accused of trying to shield her brother
in a murder inquiry.

Patil is a lawyer by profession. She has participated in parliament
works since 1962. She has variously been one of the members of the
government of Maharashra state. She has been the Governor of the
northwestern state of Rajasthan recently.