Women Empowerment via Successful First Ladies - Essay Example

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT VIA SUCCESSFUL FIRST LADIES 4. Other examples Usually, each first lady has her own unique contribution to either boosting her husband’s image or getting involved in activities that develop a particular group of individuals. As an image that complements her husband, the first lady is also expected to express support to engage in activities that that put the president in favor of the public eye. This may include joining credible welfare organizations and giving her support to the unfortunate. In most countries, the activities of the first lady should not outshine the president of the nation. This however is arguable since values of different countries in the east and the west vary despite them having been the same at one point. This is as a result of some countries opening up to new possibilities overtime and loosening up some requirements of a first lady. There are also women who are bold and determined to change the old ways of doing things. They did not accept to be controlled and aspired to be greater than second place. a.) European i. Angela Merkel Despite the differences in nationality and cultural values, the roles of the first ladies are similar in numerous ways. Several women have gone out of their way to become leaders as first ladies and not as wives to their prominent husbands. In the western countries among the Europeans, one of the first ladies to break the norm was Angela Merkel who was the first woman to become the head of Germany making her husband Joachim Sauer the gentleman of Germany. Merkel was born on July the 17th in 1954. She started out as a trained physicist and joined politics in 1989 after the fall of the Berlin wall. She joined the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) political party in 1990. Soon afterwards, Merkel was allotted to Helmut Khol’s cabinet (Ferree, 2006, p. 94). Here, she was made the Minister for Women and Youth. After Khol was defeated in the general elections of 1998, Merkel was appointed Secretary-General of the political party CDU. In the year 2000, she was selected as the leader of the party but lost the candidacy of CDU for chancellor to Edmund Stoiber in the year of 2001. However, this did not shake off her determination to prosper in the male dominated politics. In the year 2005, Merkel run for the seat once more and defeated Chancellor Gerhard Schroder by a whisker. She had won by only three seats. Once the CDU conceded to a coalition pact with the Social Democrats (SPD), Merkel was acknowledged as the first female chancellor of Germany (Crawford, 2013, p. 38). Merkel’s political career gained more media visibility to her husband Sauer who is a quantum chemist and full professor at the Humboldt University of Berlin. However, he is rather humble and avoids making political comments during interviews. While others would use the situation in favor of making a career or even joining politics, Sauer declines to give any media interview that concerns political issues. He usually accepts interviews that his career. Merkel is an inspiration to many women having achieved such a prestigious seat and also maintaining a stable family (Mistree, 2011, p. 63). She shows that it is possible to get ahead regardless of one’s gender or past failures. ii. Trierweiler In France, there is a different example of a first lady who is not married to the head of state. Valerie Trieweller is French journalist and an author. She was the girlfriend of the former president of France, Francois Hollande. She was actively involved in political discussions as she begun to host political talk shows and especially interviews. Valerie is a highly controversial persona famous for various factors (Laher, 2014, p. 110). Not only is she known as a political journalist, but also for her inappropriate public appearances and a score-settling book that reveals details about her relationship with Hollande. Valerie Trieweller has been marries twice with her second marriage to Denis Trieweller resulting in three teenage sons. She disregarded Carla Bruni-Sarkozy’s recent advice to get married to Hollande so as things could stop seeming so complicated by stating that marriage is a right and not a duty. Negative rumors about her have circulated the media including that she had been cheating on Denis with Hollande even before they divorced. It is also rumored that she also had an affair with a married politician while still in a relationship with Hollande. People seem to believe that she uses her femininity to get ahead and disapprove of this behavior (Scharrer, 2000, p. 58). This is arguable as the negative publicity might only be propaganda so as to tarnish her name. Despite all these rumors and at times her temperamental outbursts, many view Valerie Trieweller as Hollande’s glacial opposite even as they have totally different personalities. The two seems to complement each other. While Hollande is an upper-middle class individual, Valerie his girlfriend comes from an on the breadline family. They come from very different backgrounds. It cannot be forgotten that Valerie helped in her partner’s campaigns and stood by him. Valerie is a strong woman who does not let her be bound by societal norms (Beasley, 2005, p. 51). Her desire to stay unmarried could be as a result of an open mind or simply what she prefers. b.) Eastern culture i. Philippines In the Eastern countries, there has also been a deviation from the norm of women taking the position of first lady in second place. Corazon Aquino was the first female president of Philippines and Asia a now self proclaimed housewife. She was married to the Senator Benigno Aquino. Her husband warned the public about the possibility of the establishment of a ‘garrison state’ by President Ferdinand Marcos. He was later arrested during the 1972 martial law implementation. Her husband was then assassinated in 1983. Agitated and determined to bring change to her country, she decided to run against the president who had murdered her husband. Corazon Aquino had the support of international countries such as the United Stated. The public also rallied behind her. Aquino won and was congratulated by fellow international leaders. She brought Democracy to Asia and with it came progress (Denmark, 1993, p. 350). Having had to endure the pain of losing a husband and the struggle of succeeding in becoming the head of Germany at a time when men dominated the positions of power, Aquino is an icon to many. ii. Akie Abe Another female first lady from the East is Akie Abe of Japan who is also known as ‘domestic opposition party’ in Japan. This is as a result of her active involvement in political criticism. Abe is the wife if Prime Minister Shinzo. She urges that women should be able to work under conditions that they are comfortable in. in Japan; career women struggle to succeed and be taken seriously in a male-dominated business culture. Most men believe that a woman should work under male supervision (Thomson, 2002, p. 535). Akie Abe feels that women in Japan do not have a strong will and mindset to continue with work after particular episodes such getting married or joining motherhood. She also advices that housewives should obtain reliable skills of work as a backup plan in case problems arise. This will also enable a woman to contribute to the income of the house and have a say in decision making. She urged that more men should attend symposium rallying for women to take initiatives in being independent. Abe said that if more men spoke at such conventions perhaps the women would be more encouraged and open to progression. As a result of her speech in an attempt to encourage women to engage in occupations, a panel of three successful female executives talked about diversity. Abe is also a supporter of sexual minorities and the LGBT community. She recently joined the gay pride parade in Tokyo (Niu, 1999, p. 94). This was a step aimed at showing her followers that that she is also for broader rights to Japan’s LGBT society. Abe is open-minded and wants to instill this virtue to fellow Japanese women. With all these women from different races, different countries and different cultural beliefs rising to being the first ladies of their nations, it goes to show that the world has evolved. Not only has their successes brought to light the possibility of total equality but also instill a sense of pride in their followers. These prominent female leaders have revolutionized the world to becoming more receptive of progress. They are human at heart and their courage to go against the status quo of societal leadership is impressive. They understand that being a first lady is more than just a title. Figures such as Akie Abe who are going out of their way to promote awareness as well as support their husbands are true leaders. Abe steps away from the norm of a first lady who is silent behind the husband and confront an issue that might even touch on her husband who is the president in a male power-dominated country. Corazon Aquino fearlessly went against a man of great power so as to ring great reforms to her country despite him being influential enough to murder her husband (Aquino, 2012, p. 1). These women reflect the potential hidden in women across the globe. In conclusion, each individual is capable of anything. These first ladies have incredibly proved this to be true. They made a choice to beat the odds. However, it is still the men who hold most of the powerful positions in the world. There is still more to be done so as to motivate other women to step up in terms of business and politics. The world is changing at a fast rate and more women are needed at the fore-front in determining the direction in which the change takes place. We all have a role to play. The first ladies who have made inspire hope in the rest of the world that a time will come when gender equality in all sectors will be upheld. Women will not have to work twice as hard as men to prosper and prove themselves as relevant as men. Success is a combination of desire and determination and everyday more women are rising with the hope of becoming great leaders in the world. References Dana, J. A. 2006. Women in the Superintendency: Discarded Leadership. Rowman & Littlefield Education. Mistree, D., & Scherer, T. 2011. The Womens Wave: Gendered Strategies in Electoral Politics. 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