(Newswire.net — July 9, 2016) —The British Prime Minister David Cameron has resigned after the Brexit vote, while heads of state, Francois Hollande in France, Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine and Enrique Pena Nieto in Mexico, frantically fight for ratings.
All this indicates that the time for women in politics has arrived, reports CNN.
Great Britain still stands as a state run by men. The best example is the recent referendum, in which the total number of women who participated in the campaigns, both for Brexit and to stay in the EU, is a mere 18 percent.
On the other hand, in some other countries, women in politics are making up for lost time.
Angela Merkel is one of the most powerful people in Europe, has been for more than a decade. The British Home Secretary, Theresa May, is in the lead to become the new Prime Minister, while Hillary Clinton has written history as probably the first female presidential candidate in US history.
These are just part of a wave of strong women who are increasingly dominating the world of politics.
Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar also belongs to this club. She is a social democratic states woman, politician, diplomat and author who serves as the First and incumbent State Counselor and Leader of the National League for Democracy. Also part of the wave of strong women is Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon, the fifth and current First Minister of Scotland and the leader of the Scottish National Party, in office since 2014. She is the first woman to hold either position.
Some countries already have a large number of women in the government. Surprisingly, the list is led by Rwanda, with as many as 64 percent women in parliament. In the top ten countries is another African country – Senegal, which has 43 percent women in the government.
It is interesting that the UK is 48th on the list, with women making up 29 percent of MPs, and the US, very low on the list, in 98th place with 19 percent women in politics. In front of them on the list is Afghanistan, which has 28 percent women in politics.
But things aren’t changing fast enough.
Although Britain in 1866 passed a law that women and men have equal rights, parliament is still dominated by men. Only 29 percent of deputies are women.
It has also been more than half a century since Sirimavo Bandaranaike became the first woman to head a government. She served as Prime Minister of Ceylon and Sri Lanka.
Until now, the world has seen numerous women political leaders: Margaret Thatcher, Golda Meir, Indira Gandhi, Benazir Bhutto, as well as Christine Lagarde, the current boss of the International Monetary Fund, report CNN.
The good news is that more and more women aspire to occupy top positions within governments, which will open doors to others to participate in a bigger numbers.