Sunflowergirl
Jul 21st, 2007, 06:58 PM
India Names Its First Female President
NEW DELHI - India chose its first female president Saturday in an election hailed as a victory for women in a country where gender discrimination is deep-rooted and widespread.
Still, it's not clear how much 72-year-old Pratibha Patil _ a lawyer, congresswoman and former governor of the northern state of Rajasthan _ can or will do in the mostly ceremonial post to improve the lives of her countrywomen.
Patil won 65.82 percent of the votes cast by national lawmakers and state legislators, said P.D.T. Achary, the secretary general of Parliament. She had the support of the governing Congress party and its political allies, and had been expected to win...
...Patil defeated incumbent Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, the candidate of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, in a race dogged by unprecedented mudslinging...
Patil's nomination surprised many, given her lack of national recognition despite more than four decades in politics.
She was a lawyer before entering politics and became a member of the state legislature in 1962. She was appointed a minister several times in the Maharashtra state government between 1962 and 1985, then in the following decade served as a member of the Indian Parliament.
Her most recent post was governor of the northern state of Rajasthan....
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19843490/
NEW DELHI - India chose its first female president Saturday in an election hailed as a victory for women in a country where gender discrimination is deep-rooted and widespread.
Still, it's not clear how much 72-year-old Pratibha Patil _ a lawyer, congresswoman and former governor of the northern state of Rajasthan _ can or will do in the mostly ceremonial post to improve the lives of her countrywomen.
Patil won 65.82 percent of the votes cast by national lawmakers and state legislators, said P.D.T. Achary, the secretary general of Parliament. She had the support of the governing Congress party and its political allies, and had been expected to win...
...Patil defeated incumbent Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, the candidate of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, in a race dogged by unprecedented mudslinging...
Patil's nomination surprised many, given her lack of national recognition despite more than four decades in politics.
She was a lawyer before entering politics and became a member of the state legislature in 1962. She was appointed a minister several times in the Maharashtra state government between 1962 and 1985, then in the following decade served as a member of the Indian Parliament.
Her most recent post was governor of the northern state of Rajasthan....
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19843490/