Counted among the oldest democracies globally, the United States of America has never been served by a woman president as its executive head. More than 200 years since it became a republic, 46 presidents have helmed the country, none of them women. Hillary Clinton came close to becoming the first woman president after winning the primaries and emerging as the Democrat candidate. Still, she lost to Donald Trump of the Republican Party in the 2017 electoral contest.
Compared to the US, several democracies that spawned after it have had women leaders as the state head. India, which is the largest democracy globally, has already been headed by a woman president and a prime minister. The first woman to become the president of the country was Pratibha Patil. She held the post of president from 2007 to 2012. The Late Indira Gandhi was sworn in as the prime minister not once but thrice.
Women have held and are holding important positions, handling different political portfolios throughout the world. In the Indian subcontinent itself, neighbouring countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, ranked way below the US in development and economic indices, have had women as state heads.
Among the developed nations, women leaders such as Angela Merkel, Germany's Chancellor, and Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand spearheaded the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. Ardern was the first state head to declare New Zealand Covid-free.
As the world's political landscape is becoming increasingly gender-neutral, women are taking up responsibilities traditionally viewed as men's domain. This includes politics and the world order. It is, therefore, nothing short of an irony that the country that champions the cause of women's rights and liberation around the world has never elected a woman as its state head.
The US shall certainly have a woman president in the near future. The serving vice-president, Kamala Harris, is already being touted as the next Democratic Party nominee after President Joe Biden's term draws to an end in 2024. Even though the former first lady of the US, Michelle Obama, has declined to contest presidential elections in the future, a huge segment of the American population views her as an ideal candidate for the job.
One must not forget that the US never had a black president until Barack Obama was elected president in 2009. The fact that American citizens are looking up to women candidates to lead them is a sure sign of the country getting its first woman president in the coming years.
