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Women Leaders in Modern Times
Why does the US lag behind so much of the world?
Kamala Harris will be the Democratic nominee for President unless something bizarre happens at the upcoming convention. If she wins, she’ll be the first woman to win the Presidency of the United States of America. She’s already broken one glass ceiling by becoming VP; will she shatter the next one?
Given America’s history she might find the hurdles are high.
Yet women have held national leadership positions in other countries for 80 years. And many of these places have been less favorable to women’s rights in many ways than the United States.
The first female head of state was Khertek Anchimaa-Toka. She was the head of the parliament of the Tuvan People’s Republic from 1940 until 1944.
The first to ascend to power in free and fair elections was Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). She became Prime Minister of her country in 1960 and again in 1970. Her daughter, Chandrika Kumaratunga, would also serve as Sri Lanka’s prime minister, and from 1994–2005, its first woman president.
Then came Indira Gandhi who became Prime Minister of India in 1966 and again in 1980, though she was assassinated in 1984 by Sikh nationalists.
