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21-07-2007, 14:56
Citaat door DeAambeiJihaat:
India names its first female president
By GAVIN RABINOWITZ, Associated Press Writer 54 minutes ago
NEW DELHI - Indian lawmakers have selected the nation's first female president in a vote seen as a symbolic victory for women contending with widespread discrimination, election officials said Saturday.
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Pratibha Patil, the 72-year-old candidate of the governing Congress party and its political allies, took nearly two-thirds of the vote for the largely ceremonial post.
She defeated incumbent Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, the candidate of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, in the vote by several thousand lawmakers and members of state legislatures.
Patil had been widely expected to win.
Her candidacy was dogged by unprecedented mudslinging from the moment it was agreed upon by coalition members, marring the usually genteel process of presidential elections.
Her comments ahead of the election calling on Indian women to abandon headscarves was roundly denounced by Muslim leaders and by historians — who disputed her assertion that women only started wearing them in India to save themselves from 16th century Muslim invaders.
Analysts say Patil, who is largely unknown on the national stage, was selected for her unswerving devotion to Sonia Gandhi, leader of the Congress party, and Gandhi's powerful family, which has historically controlled the party.
Hundreds of delighted Congress supporters danced in the streets, banging drums and setting off firecrackers outside her home in New Delhi and in her hometown in the state of Maharashtra.
The election of a woman continues an Indian tradition using the presidency to bolster disadvantaged communities.
Hindu-majority India has had three Muslim presidents, including incumbent A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, since winning independence from Britain in 1947. It has also had a president from the minority Sikh community, and Kalam's predecessor, K. R. Narayanan, came from the bottom of the society's complex social hierarchy.
While India has had several women in positions of power — most notably Indira Gandhi, who was elected prime minister in 1966, and her daughter-in-law, Sonia Gandhi, who currently heads the Congress party — many women still face rampant discrimination.
Many Indian families regard daughters as a liability due to a tradition requiring a bride's family to pay a groom's family a large dowry of cash and gifts. As a consequence their education is often neglected, and many don't get adequate medical treatment when ill.
International groups estimate that some 10 million female fetuses have been aborted in the country over the last two decades.
But it was not clear how much impact Patil would have as president.
The nomination of Patil surprised many, given her lack of national recognition despite more than four decades in politics. Opponents derided her nomination, saying she lacked the national stature for the job.
Her emergence onto the national stage also highlighted several scandals involving family members, two of who are under investigation by police.
Patil was a lawyer before she joined 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. In the following decade, she served as a member of Indian Parliament.
Her most recent post was as governor of the northern state of Rajasthan.
She will replace Kalam who has ended his five-year term and following the custom did not seek a second term.
bron:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070721/ap_on_re_as/india_president
.By GAVIN RABINOWITZ, Associated Press Writer 54 minutes ago
NEW DELHI - Indian lawmakers have selected the nation's first female president in a vote seen as a symbolic victory for women contending with widespread discrimination, election officials said Saturday.
ADVERTISEMENT
Pratibha Patil, the 72-year-old candidate of the governing Congress party and its political allies, took nearly two-thirds of the vote for the largely ceremonial post.
She defeated incumbent Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, the candidate of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, in the vote by several thousand lawmakers and members of state legislatures.
Patil had been widely expected to win.
Her candidacy was dogged by unprecedented mudslinging from the moment it was agreed upon by coalition members, marring the usually genteel process of presidential elections.
Her comments ahead of the election calling on Indian women to abandon headscarves was roundly denounced by Muslim leaders and by historians — who disputed her assertion that women only started wearing them in India to save themselves from 16th century Muslim invaders.
Analysts say Patil, who is largely unknown on the national stage, was selected for her unswerving devotion to Sonia Gandhi, leader of the Congress party, and Gandhi's powerful family, which has historically controlled the party.
Hundreds of delighted Congress supporters danced in the streets, banging drums and setting off firecrackers outside her home in New Delhi and in her hometown in the state of Maharashtra.
The election of a woman continues an Indian tradition using the presidency to bolster disadvantaged communities.
Hindu-majority India has had three Muslim presidents, including incumbent A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, since winning independence from Britain in 1947. It has also had a president from the minority Sikh community, and Kalam's predecessor, K. R. Narayanan, came from the bottom of the society's complex social hierarchy.
While India has had several women in positions of power — most notably Indira Gandhi, who was elected prime minister in 1966, and her daughter-in-law, Sonia Gandhi, who currently heads the Congress party — many women still face rampant discrimination.
Many Indian families regard daughters as a liability due to a tradition requiring a bride's family to pay a groom's family a large dowry of cash and gifts. As a consequence their education is often neglected, and many don't get adequate medical treatment when ill.
International groups estimate that some 10 million female fetuses have been aborted in the country over the last two decades.
But it was not clear how much impact Patil would have as president.
The nomination of Patil surprised many, given her lack of national recognition despite more than four decades in politics. Opponents derided her nomination, saying she lacked the national stature for the job.
Her emergence onto the national stage also highlighted several scandals involving family members, two of who are under investigation by police.
Patil was a lawyer before she joined 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. In the following decade, she served as a member of Indian Parliament.
Her most recent post was as governor of the northern state of Rajasthan.
She will replace Kalam who has ended his five-year term and following the custom did not seek a second term.
bron:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070721/ap_on_re_as/india_president