NEW DELHI, July 21 (AP) — India selected its first female president on Saturday, winning a vote seen as a symbolic victory for women contending with widespread discrimination.
Pratibha Patil, 72, won almost two-thirds of the votes cast by national lawmakers and state legislators. She had the support of the governing Congress Party and its political allies, and had been widely expected to win. The election of a woman to the office, which is mostly ceremonial, continues an Indian tradition of using the presidency to give a high-profile voice to disadvantaged groups.
Pratibha Patil, 72, won almost two-thirds of the votes cast by national lawmakers and state legislators. She had the support of the governing Congress Party and its political allies, and had been widely expected to win. The election of a woman to the office, which is mostly ceremonial, continues an Indian tradition of using the presidency to give a high-profile voice to disadvantaged groups.
Wasn't this a part of our platform as a democracy? I thought the true measure of a society was how they cared for the most vulnerable of their people?
