<p>Reams have been written and sound bytes expended on the results of the recent US presidential election and the return of Donald Trump, in a victory that seemed to defy projections as he swept the swing states, one after another. But an American Indian friend summarised the results better. MAGA – the Trump-inspired movement – needed a W after the M, making it Make White America Great Again, she said.</p>.<p>Amid all this talk about free speech and liberal values, many seem to have forgotten that voting rights in the United States of America did not have their origins in the idea of universal adult franchise. When the US Constitution was adopted, on June 21 1788, it gave states the right to set the standard for voting rights, in lieu of a federal requirement. Hence, at that point, it was Anglo-Saxon men who owned property and were aged over 21 years, who were granted the right to vote.</p>.<p>The 13th Amendment prohibited slavery and the 14th, enacted on July 9 1868, provided citizenship to those “born or naturalised in the United States,” and also afforded “equal protection under the law,” including for formerly enslaved people. Two more years were needed before the ratification of the 15th Amendment, on February 3 1870, that granted black men the right to vote and Congress the power to enforce the same. But there was a pushback from the Southern states that enacted restrictive laws known as the Black Codes to prevent this from happening.</p>.<p>American women, chaffed at being denied the vote and being restricted to the care of home and hearth, banded together under the Suffrage Movement to demand equal voting rights which were now enjoyed by all white men regardless of their financial or property-owning status. It was on August 18 1920 that the 19th Amendment came through, granting American women the right to vote. But again, the Southern states rose up with discriminatory laws that denied minority women voting rights, splitting the Suffrage Movement between white and black. Native and Asian Americans also had to bide their time for voting. Finally, it needed the Civil Rights Movement and the Voting Rights Act in 1965 to guarantee voting rights for black Americans.</p>.<p><strong>Women as leaders of nations</strong></p>.<p>It is to be noted that the history of electoral franchise of the USA contrasts that of democracies in Asia such as India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan; these countries provided universal adult franchise at the same time, with no distinctions made. All these countries, though known to be patriarchal, have had very powerful women holding the top job, which has so far eluded an American woman. Sirimavo Bandaranaike of then Ceylon, Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia of Bangladesh, Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan, and Indira Gandhi of India, all came from political backgrounds but the fact that they were also re-elected indicates that they did enjoy some degree of confidence with their voters.</p>.<p>Corazon Aquino of the Philippines chose to stay in the background before the assassination of her husband Benigno Simeon Aquino in 1983. She became the face of a united opposition in the 1986 presidential election. Her contentious victory that year ended a two-decade authoritarian rule of Ferdinand Marcos. Corazon, the first female president <br>of the Philippines, is noted for restoring democracy in the country.</p>.<p>Whilst Indira has been demonised for the Emergency and lauded for decisions like helping in the formation of Bangladesh, what is less mentioned is the way she initiated bold policies in protecting the environment which led to laws on forests and wildlife, including the successfully enduring Project Tiger. As her birth anniversary is celebrated on November 19 and as world leaders chalk out strategies to battle climate change at COP29 in Baku, it would be apt to recall the legacy of a woman leader who understood the importance of protecting the environment, much before it became an imperative.</p>.<p>It is also important to note that in the US, the gender wage gap has remained an issue. One can only speculate whether or not the loss of the experienced Hillary Clinton and now, Kamala Harris – both to Donald Trump, despite him being a convicted felon – has something to do with a gender and race bias that has its genesis in the way the American democracy started out, favouring white men.</p>.<p><em>(The writer is an independent journalist)</em></p>
<p>Reams have been written and sound bytes expended on the results of the recent US presidential election and the return of Donald Trump, in a victory that seemed to defy projections as he swept the swing states, one after another. But an American Indian friend summarised the results better. MAGA – the Trump-inspired movement – needed a W after the M, making it Make White America Great Again, she said.</p>.<p>Amid all this talk about free speech and liberal values, many seem to have forgotten that voting rights in the United States of America did not have their origins in the idea of universal adult franchise. When the US Constitution was adopted, on June 21 1788, it gave states the right to set the standard for voting rights, in lieu of a federal requirement. Hence, at that point, it was Anglo-Saxon men who owned property and were aged over 21 years, who were granted the right to vote.</p>.<p>The 13th Amendment prohibited slavery and the 14th, enacted on July 9 1868, provided citizenship to those “born or naturalised in the United States,” and also afforded “equal protection under the law,” including for formerly enslaved people. Two more years were needed before the ratification of the 15th Amendment, on February 3 1870, that granted black men the right to vote and Congress the power to enforce the same. But there was a pushback from the Southern states that enacted restrictive laws known as the Black Codes to prevent this from happening.</p>.<p>American women, chaffed at being denied the vote and being restricted to the care of home and hearth, banded together under the Suffrage Movement to demand equal voting rights which were now enjoyed by all white men regardless of their financial or property-owning status. It was on August 18 1920 that the 19th Amendment came through, granting American women the right to vote. But again, the Southern states rose up with discriminatory laws that denied minority women voting rights, splitting the Suffrage Movement between white and black. Native and Asian Americans also had to bide their time for voting. Finally, it needed the Civil Rights Movement and the Voting Rights Act in 1965 to guarantee voting rights for black Americans.</p>.<p><strong>Women as leaders of nations</strong></p>.<p>It is to be noted that the history of electoral franchise of the USA contrasts that of democracies in Asia such as India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan; these countries provided universal adult franchise at the same time, with no distinctions made. All these countries, though known to be patriarchal, have had very powerful women holding the top job, which has so far eluded an American woman. Sirimavo Bandaranaike of then Ceylon, Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia of Bangladesh, Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan, and Indira Gandhi of India, all came from political backgrounds but the fact that they were also re-elected indicates that they did enjoy some degree of confidence with their voters.</p>.<p>Corazon Aquino of the Philippines chose to stay in the background before the assassination of her husband Benigno Simeon Aquino in 1983. She became the face of a united opposition in the 1986 presidential election. Her contentious victory that year ended a two-decade authoritarian rule of Ferdinand Marcos. Corazon, the first female president <br>of the Philippines, is noted for restoring democracy in the country.</p>.<p>Whilst Indira has been demonised for the Emergency and lauded for decisions like helping in the formation of Bangladesh, what is less mentioned is the way she initiated bold policies in protecting the environment which led to laws on forests and wildlife, including the successfully enduring Project Tiger. As her birth anniversary is celebrated on November 19 and as world leaders chalk out strategies to battle climate change at COP29 in Baku, it would be apt to recall the legacy of a woman leader who understood the importance of protecting the environment, much before it became an imperative.</p>.<p>It is also important to note that in the US, the gender wage gap has remained an issue. One can only speculate whether or not the loss of the experienced Hillary Clinton and now, Kamala Harris – both to Donald Trump, despite him being a convicted felon – has something to do with a gender and race bias that has its genesis in the way the American democracy started out, favouring white men.</p>.<p><em>(The writer is an independent journalist)</em></p>
