India inaugurated its first female president yesterday, a move
that has been touted as a boost for women in a country where they
often face discrimination.
Some women, however, dismissed Pratibha Patil's appointment as
mere tokenism and challenged her to make good on pledges to address
gender discrimination.
Patil's black limousine was escorted through the streets of New
Delhi by a company of soldiers clad in white uniforms and riding
horses and she took the oath of office in a packed Parliament. The
ceremony was followed by a 21-gun salute that could be heard across
central New Delhi.
Patil, a 72-year-old former lawyer, legislator and governor of
the northwestern state of Rajasthan, was chosen for the largely
ceremonial post by the governing Congress party and elected by
national and state lawmakers last Thursday.
In her inaugural speech, Patil said that addressing
discrimination against women would be one of her priorities.
"Empowerment of women is particularly important to me as I
believe this leads to the empowerment of the nation," Patil said,
calling for universal education in India, where few girls are given
access to schools.
"We must banish malnutrition, social evils, infant mortality and
female feticide," she added.
Despite being touted as an important step for gender equality,
Patil's election has elicited only a lukewarm welcome from other
women, with many saying her lackluster political career and rocky
road to the presidency have given them little more than symbol -
and not a leader who represents them.
Patil was hand-picked for the post of president by Sonia Gandhi,
the head of the governing Congress party.
While India has had several women in positions of power - most
notably Gandhi and her mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, who was
elected prime minister in 1966 - women still face much
discrimination.
Daughters are often seen as a burden mostly because tradition
requires that a bride's family pay the groom's family a large dowry
of cash and gifts. Their education is often neglected, and many
don't get adequate medical treatment when ill.
Patil's victory, projected as a step forward for Indian women,
didn't impress many analysts and ordinary Indians. "I feel that
having a woman as the head of state is in some way reflective of
how progressive a society is, but Pratibha Patil is not a right
candidate," said Shradha Biyani, a marketing executive.
But there are others who believe a woman occupying the 340-room
colonial-era presidential palace will have an impact, even if it's
only symbolic.
(China Daily via agencies July 26, 2007)
