Of Queens and King

Reminder: The second meeting of the Madison Women's Autonomous Movement (affectionately called WAM!) will be on Monday, January 30, at 6:30 pm on the UW campus (Memorial Union, see TITU a few days before the meeting for room location). For more about WAM!, see this post.

Hurray for Bachelet!

She's a single mother, a socialist, a doctor - and Chile's new president.

Michelle Bachelet told BBC News last month, "It is a big honour to have the chance to be the first female president of Chile. ... But what I think is more important is that it means Chile has been changing. We have a mature, democratic society that believes men and women can hold responsibility."

What can this mature, democratic society look forward to under its new president? According to the BBC, Ms. Bachelet's priorities are "to give a greater voice to women, to the country's poor people and to indigenous people ... with more women expected to be appointed to public office." Sounds good, eh?

From this list, it appears that Ms. Bachelet is the only female head of state in North or South America. We live on a pretty unenlightened land mass - not like New Zealand, which boasts a woman indigenous leader, a woman prime minister, and a woman governor general. Go kiwis!

One thing that's quite disconcerting about the list of female heads of state - in addition to how short it is - is how many women on the list are queens. Of the 22 women leaders, four owe their position to their royal parentage. That means only 18 of the 192 countries in the world currently have non-monarchical women at their helm. So, half the population holds less than one-tenth of national leadership positions.

Martin Luther King Jr

Tomorrow is Martin Luther King Jr Day, but, as this fine article points out:

At the time of his death, King was not the universally popular figure he has become today.

He had begun to speak out against the Vietnam War and the policies in South Africa. He criticized the American government and its global effect. And, he said the refusal of some white people to give up power kept people of all races, not just blacks, from opportunity.

That's a far cry from the peace and harmony message that usually surrounds King's legacy.

Also, near the time of his death, King spoke often about what he had come to believe were the three great evils: war, poverty, and racial hatred. King spoke often of his belief that these three things were intricately linked.

I'll end with a quote from King himself, courtesy of Women's Action for New Directions:

The large power blocs talk passionately of pursuing peace while expanding defense budgets that already bulge, enlarging already awesome armies and devising ever more devastating weapons. Call the roll of those who sing the glad tidings of peace and one's ears will be surprised by the responding sounds. The heads of all the nations issue clarion calls for peace, yet they come to the peace table accompanied by bands of brigands each bearing unsheathed swords.