Dilma Rousseff

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Above all, Dilma Rousseff is the first female president of Brazil, so since her elections a gender issue plays a big role in the Brazilian patriarchal state, where “the rule of father” is prevalent (Kamla). According to Heidi Hartmann, patriarchy is ‘a set of social relations which has a material base and in which there are hierarchical relations between men, and solidarity among them, which enable them to control women’. Even from the early ages women were under the power of men, who were known to be authority figures. In comparison to men, women were less likely to hold a male gender-typed post and more likely to hold low-valued positions. Since then attitude to female has changed: there is less discrimination, women are able to do almost anything men can do and even capable to rule a country, but anyway, the women’s opinion in the society is not as important as the men’s. ‘Subordination of women to men is [still] prevalent in [some] parts of the world’. (Ray) Currently female heads of states continue to fight for women rights and Dilma Rousseff is one of them. She wants to prove people that men and women should be equal, and plans to improve women’s lives; therefore, it is believed that her voting ‘represented a victory for Brazilian women’ (Fernandes).
Dilma Rousseff is far from being the first among female heads of states in the world. But nevertheless this work is not easy for her although she is strong, domineering and volitional woman. The very first woman in the world who had become a president was Isabel Peron. From 1974 to 1976 she was leading one of South American countries - Argentina. She took office after her husband, who was dead in 1974 (The women presidents of Latin America). Isabel and Dilma have both similar a...

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