A Matriarchal Future?
When Bill Clinton recently outlined his reasons to be cheerful about the future, many people noticed number four on the list: Women Rule. The former U.S. President observed that no society could afford to stifle the efforts of half its population. The good news, he added, is that in all corners of the globe “women are gaining social and economic power that they never had before.”
Clinton would know. He is married to one of America’s most powerful women, the former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, one of an increasing number of high-profile women in world politics. Clinton came second behind German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Forbes’ The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women list for 2012. In third spot was Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, with Sonia Gandhi, president of the Indian National Congress, also featuring in the top 10. Further down the list was Julia Gillard. The Australian Prime Minister gained plaudits for her withering broadside against “sexism and misogyny” in politics in a parliamentary speech last year.
Asia is hardly lagging behind in terms of female representation in the political arena. Park Geun-hye’s election to the presidency of South Korea is just the latest of several notable ascendancies. In 2011, Yingluck Shinawatra became Thailand’s first female prime minister, and Aung San Suu Kyi’s spectacular transition from political prisoner to parliamentarian grabbed the headlines last year.
女力未來式?
當比爾‧柯林頓於近期概述對未來樂觀以對的理由時，許多人注意到清單上的第四點：女性主導。這名前美國總統表示沒有社會能扼殺其半數人口所做的努力。好消息是，他還補充道，在世界的每個角落，「女性正取得前所未有的社會及經濟權力」。
柯林頓當然清楚。他娶了即將卸任的美國國務卿希拉蕊‧柯林頓這位該國最有權勢的女性之一，同時也是全球政壇上日益增加的高曝光度女性之一。在二○一二年的富比士世界百大女強人名單中，希拉蕊名列第二，僅次於德國總理安格拉‧梅克爾。名列第三的是巴西總統迪爾瑪‧羅塞夫，印度國大黨主席桑妮雅‧甘地也名列前十。名單中還包括澳洲總理茱莉雅‧吉拉德，她在去年的國會演說中因針對政治上的「性別歧視與女性仇視」做出極端批判的猛烈抨擊而博得滿堂采。
亞洲政壇的女性代表也不落後西方。朴槿惠獲選為南韓總統只是一些顯著優勢的最新表現。二○一一年時，英樂‧欽那瓦成為泰國的首位女性總理，而翁山蘇姬從政治犯成為國會議員這個引人注目的轉變則橫掃了去年的新聞頭條。
資料來源：biz 互動英語電子報
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