Click to play videoThe race for President’s post in USA is fast becoming exciting and unpredictable. Just few weeks ago, the odds were tipped in favour of Democrat Hillary Clinton but the Iowa caucus saw co-Democrat Barack Obama making a sensational sweep.
The latest twist came during the New Hampshire primary on Wednesday when Hillary made a dramatic comeback and put herself firmly on the charts.
But US feminist icon Gloria Steinem says being female is one of the most restricting forces in American life. She says it’s no surprise that Hillary is not doing as well as predicted.
The question, therefore, discussed on the show Face the Nation was whether India has more space for women politicians than USA?
The panelists to debate the issue included former under secretary general, UN, Shashi Tharoor, former president, Samata Party, Jaya Jaitley, Washington Bureau Chief, Financial Times, Edward Luce and senior reporter, The Politico, Jeanne Cummings. The show was hosted by Sagarika Ghose.
The old cliché that "It's a woman's prerogative to change her mind" comes to play in politics. Many polls indicated older women would not vote for Hillary Clinton, however, young, single women would. In Iowa they didn't but they did vote for her in New Hampshire.
Hillary Clinton lost Iowa, but she defeated her Democratic rival Barak Obama in the New Hampshire primary. While Clinton got 39 per cent of the votes cast, Obama bagged 37 per cent.
A man’s world?
Initiating the debate, Sagarika Ghose asked Jeanne Cummings if it was true that women did not really have a bright future in American politics.
"I am sure that is not the case. Clearly, the race is wide open. We now have Obama and Hillary in face-to-face race. It is true that America has never elected a woman President. Nonetheless, we do have a woman speaker of the house. Women have started to move up in American politics. But this is like a glass ceiling that needs to be broken. The trouble this year is that you could also have the first African-American president. So we have two historic markers competing against each other. This makes the race extremely competitive,” explained Jeanne Cummings.
If one were to compare Indian women politicians with Hillary Clinton, does it seem that Indian women tend to inherit the male charisma? If the man dies, they try to exceed to the martyrdom of the male.
However, Hillary does not seem to inherit that from her husband. Is that the reason that she is not very popular?
Shashi Tharoor pointed out that one cannot deny that she has inherited some of her popularity because of her husband. “It is no accident that she became such a competitive candidate. It is because of her background, her years in the White House and husbands assistance,” he said.
He added that the percentage of women in the Parliament in India is no better than the US. Neither country has been outstanding there. However, he said that it is true that we have had more women in significant leadership positions, not just those who acquired that mantle from their husbands or fathers. Rani of Jhansi, Sarojini Naidu, Annie Besant are a few among those.
Hillary’s persona
In USA, is it important that a woman politician has to be a wife or a mother to be loved by the voters?
Jaya Jaitley pointed out that American people look for leaders who are warm, more handsome and cuddly. However, she said that Indians are politicised in a different way. “We are more politicised than the US right across the society. In India, women do not come up through a normal democratic process, as they do in US. Here it is caste, family and finally it is the party,” she added.
So would a woman like Hillary Clinton, not trying to be a wife, but one who wants to be accepted as a modern, thinking woman have any future in India?
Jaya Jaitley felt that would be very difficult. “You have to be a part of the party that has brought you up right from the start. It is not in an Indian woman’s own capacity to fight through a democratic process. It is usually propped up,” she says.
What if not Hillary was not married to Bill Clinton? Would Hillary have been be able to come this far had she not been a former President’s wife?
Edward Luce at this point put in that in political terms, she is a widow as Bill Clinton is ineligible now, as he has served his term. “To a great extent, she has reached here because she was married to Bill Clinton. She was in the White House, but that does not negate the fact that she is also an extremely talented politician,” he adds.
But why is Hillary perceived as cold, unpopular, and not too warm and cuddly?
“It is true that she is a guarded politician and she has gone through a lot in the White House because of which she has built this wall around her. To be able to get voters to accept her and like her, she is trying to expose herself, and it is not her natural self to do this. It is something that voters in US look for. Voters want to be comfortable with the politicians they are going to be with for the next four years,” said Jeanne Cummings.
Gender vs race
On the other hand, an article on the issue suggested that Hillary Clinton is a woman at a time when gender is not so much an issue than race is. If Hillary had been 21-years-old today, she would have been an Obama girl because he represents a much more important fault line in the American society. Gender is not so much on the agenda because it seems to be battle that has already been won and women are not that badly off that they need a woman president.
“I’m not so sure about that. I think both of them are very important. I think the opportunity to elect the first female president is what drove her victory in New Hampshire. There are plenty of women who would like to see her victory and so would the African-Americans. There is though, a big generational gap between the two candidates. Obama has taken on the mantle of the next generation, of change, of hope, away from the politics of the Clinton years,” said Jeanne Cummings.
What does Hillary represent in the campaign? What identity is she taking on? “She is not necessarily emphasizing on the wife and mother aspect of her life though she has had her family at her side. Former president Bill Clinton has been her greatest champion. But what’s interesting is that after the loss in Iowa, their daughter Chelsea appeared much more on the campaign trail which softened her side a bit and gave a more youthful feel to the Clinton campaign,” added Cummings.
The ‘mother’ in politics
Is the symbol of the woman politician in American still on the softer, ‘mother’ side, is that what wins the votes?
“It seems to be if 57 per cent of the voters in New Hampshire were women and that’s what they seemed to like and they voted for Hillary. With regard to the difficulty that American men have in dealing with power, perhaps the cultural phenomenon we have in India is a bit different. We are used to accepting strong women and we don’t just maternalise our Goddesses, we have Durga as Shakti, we have Kali. We’ve had some of the world’s first women doctors, pilots, CEOs and heads of state. We’ve had women in positions of authority that America is just beginning to see,” said Shashi Tharoor.
There seems to be a middle-class morality that politicians in America seem to have to defend, going up to the stage with the family and kids. But in India, politicians don’t have to do that.
“We have been very mature about it. We don’t expect our politicians, men or women, to go cuddling babies. They are supposed to stand up and deliver what the people want. Nobody bothers about people’s private lives. What is more important here is caste and whether the family in the party is pushing the politician or if the party has a stronghold in that area,” said Jaya Jailtley.
Another article reported that Hillary Clinton faced attacks by some men who held up their shirts at her rally and asked her to iron their shirts. Was there some resentment for the fact that here was a woman trying not to be a woman?
“Well, in all society there are going to be hecklers, they don’t represent the crowd that was there to see her. But to clarify a point, it’s not just Hillary, but Obama, too, who brings his family up on the stage. This is part of our political tradition. But Hillary Clinton is not going to elected because she’s a mother. The woman who will be elected, whenever, if not Hillary, will be intellectual and smart. But you do need to demonstrate that you have a good family. That says something about who you are and your values but you also have to have the whole package,” said Cummings.
Comparing her point to Indian politics, Jaya Jailtley concluding that family could work for your politics but not as far as acceptability of a politician is concerned.
Does India has more space for women politicians than USA?
SMS poll results:
Yes: 66 per cent
No: 34 per cent
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