Power and Women
Posted on December 14, 2008
Filed Under Women Leaders | 9 Comments
POWER AND WOMAN
By Alejandro Guevara Onofre
INTRODUCTION:
From my perspective, I think that democracy is synonymous of equality between women and men in the civil society and government. Ironically, there are more women voters, but fewer women candidates. However, From my point of view I think that “Parity Democracy” is the big difference between democracies and dictatorships. I remembered that the Taliban’s regime –the worst dictatorship in the modern history- prohibited women from participating in Afghanistan’s National Government. In 1990 Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a pro-democracy activist, won the elections in Myanmar (ex-Burma), but she was arrested and the results were cancelled abruptly by dictator Saw Maung.
Certainly, international organizations reports that 10 democracies have the highest proportion of women in its governmental structures: Sweden, Denmark, Finland, The Netherlands, Iceland, Germany, New Zealand, Mozambique, South Africa and Spain. Another example: under the Administration of Bill Clinton, Madeleine Albright was the first female Secretary of State.
Sri Lanka, formerly named Ceylon, is the home to Sirimavo Ratwate Dias Bandaranaike. She was often described as one of the most important females in the history: Mrs. Bandaranaike became World’s first female Prime Minister. She influenced Prime Minister from Janet Jagan to Gro Harlem Brundtland with her leadership for women’s rights and democracy.
Inspired by example of the “Women Revolution” in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India and Bangla Desh, Chandrika Kumaratunga, Bandaraike’s daughter, was elected Head of State in 1994.Her government was very similar that of her mother.
Certainly, there were fewer governments by women’s leaders as Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, who has fought for the democracy and women’s rights in Nicaragua, one of the most poorest countries in Latin America.
Finally I would like to finish my article with my favorite personal motto: “The future is for those people who believe in the beauty of their dreams”, by Anna Eleanor Roosevelt. Roosevelt, who was First Lady of the United States between 1933 and 1945.
ARGENTINA: In 1974 Maria Estela Martinez de Peron, best known as “Isabel Peron”, became the first woman President in the modern history. She is the widow of former President Juan Domingo Peron (1946-1955 and 1973-1974). After his death in 1974, Juan Domingo Peron was replaced by Vice President Isabel Peron. On March, 1976, after 2 years in power, she was ousted in a military coup led by Jorge Rafael Videla. She was forced into exile.
BANGLADESH: The country, an ex-British colony, has had two women in the national power. Begum Khaleda Zia was Prime Minister from 1991 to 1996. Khaleda was an advocate for the environment. She escaped assassination in 1995. However, she was reelected without opposition, but Khaleda Zia was succeeded by other woman: Sheik Hassina Wajed, anti-governmental activist. Sheik Hassina Wajed was as unpopularity as her predecessor. Bangladesh was one of the few states in the world whose government has been successively held by women.
BOLIVIA: Lydia Gueiler Tejada, former accountant, served as interim President of Bolivia from 16 November 1979 to 17 July 1980.She was elected President by Parliament. Mrs. Gueiler Tejada was overthrown by General Luis Garcia Meza Tejada, who was one of the worst dictators in the Latin American history.
CANADA: Dame Kimberley Campbell was ephemeral Prime Minister from 25 June 1993 to November 1993. But she was not the only one in power. Jeanne Sauce was Governor General from 1984 to 1989. Furthermore, Adrienne Clarkson was elected also GG in 1999. Currently, Michaelle Jean, was born in Haiti, has been elected GG in 2005.
DOMINICA: Dominica, a small country in the Caribbean, has been an independent State since 1978. Mary Eugenia Charles governed from 1980 to 1995. During her government Dominica had one of the most highest rate of human development in Latin America. In 1983, Mary Eugenia Charles, an admirer of Great Britain’s Margaret Thatcher, established diplomatic relations with Republic of China (ROC) or Taiwan. She was apparently supported by the United States and Taiwan for its anti-communism.
ICELAND: Vidis Finnbogadottir was Head of State of Iceland from 1980 to 1996.Vigdis was a key interlocutor between the Soviet Bloc and the United States. She was the first woman democratically elected President in the world.
INDIA: Indira Ghandi was one of the greatest politicians of the history. She served as Prime Minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and from 1980 to 1984. In the 1970s her government was marked by corruption, human rights abuses and pro-Soviet politics. In 1984, Mrs. Gandhi was assassinated by her bodyguards. During her government, she was an anti-Apartheid leader. Many people loved her and others hated her. Currently, she is a symbol of the India.
IRELAND: Mary Robinson was elected Head of State of Ireland from 1990 to 1997. She was a forceful campaigner for women’s rights in the world. The fruits of her efforts continue to flourish: On November 11, 1997, Mary McAleese was elected President. The world recognized Ireland’s Mary Robinson for her fight against abuses of refuges.
ISRAEL: Golda Meir governed as Prime Minister from 1969 to 1974. She is remembered as one of the most important women in the Israeli history. During her government, Israel and Egypt, Syria and Iraq went to war. After her death, Israel is the birthplace of important women as Leah Rabin and Shulamith Katznelson.
NEW ZEALAND: Jenny Shipley had an ephemeral government. She became the NZ’s first female Prime Minister. In 1999 Helen Clark was elected Prime Minister of NZ. Historically, New Zealand is the birthplace of the “Woman Suffrage”. The country´s name in the local dialect means “Land of the Woman Suffrage”.
NORWAY: Gro Harlem Brundtland served as Prime Minister for 11 years. She has been described as a “great Prime Minister”. She is equally admired as an ecologist and diplomatic. Under her leadership, Norway was an example of human development in the world.
PHILIPPINES: Corazon “Cory” Aquino was the fourth women in Asia to assume the position of President. After her victory, Aquino said that among her political projects were the anti-poverty and human rights. She was Benigno Aquino’s wife. She helped win more representation for women in the Parliament. It was under her government that full democratization began.
SRI LANKA: Sririmavo Bandaraike was the first woman who became Prime Minister in the history. Historically, she has been the first woman with real power in the 20th Century. Under her government, the Island, an ex- British colony, became a democratic republic. Mrs. Bandaranaike had taken a prominent role in national affairs during the government of her daughter, President Chandrika Kumaratunga Bandaranaike (1994-2000).
UNITED KINGDOM: Margaret Hilda Roberts Thatcher, best known worldwide as the “Iron Lady”, was Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990. She was the most powerful woman in the industrialized world. Mrs. Thatcher does not herself as a feminist. Thatcher was reelected Prime Minister in the 1980s and she was an active anti-communist leader. Her economical philosophy provided a model for many countries as Hungary, Czech Republic, Mauritius, Botswana, El Salvador, Chile and Cyprus. Under her leadership, the UK’s economy witnessed the most rapid growth in the 1980s.Ironically, she has not made campaigns for women’s rights, but she is an advocate for the ecology. Europe has produced many leaders, but none as Margaret Thatcher…
UNITED STATES: In 1996 Maria Jana Korbelova or Marie Hana Korbel, best known as Madeleine Albright, made history when she was elected Secretary of State of the United States. She was born in Czech Republic, former Czechoslovakia, but Madeleine became American citizen in the 1950s.She gained international recognition for her efforts on behalf of human rights and democracy. She was one of the few American leaders to balance good relations with North Korea…
Did you know that an American woman was Head of State?
Janet Jagan became President of Guyana, an ex-British colony and South American country. Mrs. Jagan, a naturalized Guyanan citizen who was born in Chicago, Illinois, came to power from December 1997 to 11 August 1999.
REFERENCES:
-ENCICLOPEDIA UNIVERSAL ILUSTRADA EUROPEO-AMERICANO SUPLEMENTO ANUAL 1934-2006, ESPASA-CALPE, BARCELONA
2-GUEVARA ONOFRE, ALEJANDRO. ENCICLOPEDIA MUNDOTOTAL 1999, SAN MARCOS, LIMA, 1998.
3———————- MUJER Y PODER, CECOSAMI, LIMA, 2001
4———————- NORTEAMERICANAS UNIVERSALES, CECOSAMI, LIMA, 2002
5———————- HISTORIA DE LA MUJER DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, CECOSAMI, LIMA, 2002
6-INFORME SOBRE DESARROLLO HUMANO 1995: GENERO Y DESARROLLO HUMANO, PNUD, NUEVA YORK, 1995
7-NOTES FOR SPEAKERS ONTHE ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN, NACIONES UNIDAS, NUEVA YORK, 1995
8-THE WOMEN’S BOOK WORLD RECORDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS, LOUIS DECKER O’NEILL-ANCHOR BOOKS, ANCHOR PRESS, 1979
9-THE WORLD ALMANAC AND BOOK OF FACTS 1980-2000, WORLD ALMANAC BOOKS, NEW JERSEY
10-UGLOW, JENNIFER. THE MACMILLAN DICTIONARY OF WOMEN’S BIOGRAPHY, THE MACMILLAN, LONDON, 1982
Watch the video related to women biographies
A&E Documentary about the girls of the Manson family.
Help answer the question about women biographies
What are the best autobiographies or biographies of women you've read. How can you tell which parts are?actually true and not over exaggerated? I've very leary of made up stories for added drama or effect. I've been told to stay away from any "memoirs" as memoirs are not factually checked.
About Author
Alejandro Guevara Onofre:Writing is my great passion and I can´t imagine life without writing.I am a versatile writer.I have studied Political Science and Journalism.Furthermore, I have been studying Literature, Olympic History and United States History. I have written and edited many books.I am a author of more than 400 essays…
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9 Responses to “Power and Women”
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Sexual power is only temporary. Personality is what keeps men long term.
Write a Limerick, it is a five-line poem in which lines 1, 2, and 5 are anapestic trimeters and lines 3 and 4 are anapestic dimeters, rhymed as aabba.
Or a sonnet preferably the Italian or Petrarchan sonnet. Or you could divide it into quatrains which is four lines in a stanza.
For a rhyme scheme, you could use something like terza rima or design your own.
I always find organization helpful when writing poetry. Use a refrain for dramatic effect if you want like the use of "nevermore" in Poe's The Raven. Of course it could be a phrase, not justt a word.
Not sure, but I do know that female fertility goddesses were replaced by male gods, and that before the Agrarian Revolution matrilineal kinship was replaced by the patrilineal line…I think that it still causes problems to this day
Well, to answer your question:
There is not enough of it.
(…the question is worded well.
"What do you think about the
power of women in society?")
Yeah, it's good.
The ERA started out strong and then ran out of steam. Some fear mongers, most notably Phyllis Schlafly, took credit for its defeat. Her arguments against it were it would require unisex restrooms, make drafting of women into the military mandatory, and have them lose the right to be supported by their husbands. It should be pointed out about her is that while she feels women should be in the home, she has earned three college degrees and travels around the country telling other women how to live their lives. What gets me are people who don't practice what they preach.
those of us who are traditional just ignored them. we don't need the governments permission to be who we have been for thousands of years. the status of women married to non native men was a big issue however and even though overturned, still gets in the way.
the forced band council governments are the real problem in many nations today on both sides of the border and until we return to our traditional values and ways of governing ourselves, those band leaders will continue to be tools of the state.
I am personally attracted to a woman who can take charge and do things her own way, rather than just following her man like a sheep. I like a girl who makes me try things, guys are Just idiots sometimes. Myself and a few other guys like girls like that.
The only kinds of women who try to hold power over men like this, are just plain evil. Women like this give all women a bad name. The only kind of man who would fall for a woman like this, are weak, desperate and shallow. Men like this will eventually be scorn to the point that they will no longer trust the motives of women, and they will fear women of power for the exact reason you have described.
By nature, I tend not to trust women automatically either. Woman tend to be jealous, catty, and as a rule, they can't be trusted to stick up for each other. Once upon a time, I wasn't sure I wanted to support Hillary Clinton for President either. Since then, I have come to my senses after having done massive amounts of research.
To answer your final questions:
Hillary will (or will not) gain power the same way all presidents gain power when they are elected; but Hillary will have to work much harder to win this election, because she is a woman.
Hillary will retain power by building her administration in the spirit of bipartisanship and cooperation with her former co-workers in the senate, and members of the house. She has a good reputation in the senate for being a hard worker, and a good problem solver. She will go out of her way to retain the respect of her administration, and the American people.
Finally, I disagree with your main point; but fully understand and have complete compassion for the nature of your concerns. Frankly, some women are just plain evil. I just so happen to believe that Hillary Clinton is not in that category, and many people who know Hillary Clinton personally would wholeheartedly agree with me on that.
I think it depends on the feelings the guy has for the girl. If he only has sexual feelings, then she only has sexual power. He will not really care about or even think about her until he wants sex.
On the other hand, if he cares for her or is even in love with her, she has other types of power over him. He wants to please her and cares about her opinion of him. He feels bad when he hurts her. She influences his decisions. I think this is the way it should be.
Men are the head of the family, but women are the neck. We turn the head where it needs to go!