Meira Kumar Elected First Woman Speaker in India's Parliament

by cyn.khoo | June 3, 2009 at 09:31 am

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Meira Kumar has been elected the first female Speaker in India's parliament.

Her nomination is momentous for women in India as well as for those of the Dalit class, historically known as the "untouchables" and the lowest level in India's traditional caste system.

Kumar, 64, was elected to the position unopposed. She was nominated by the ruling Congress party but also had the backing of the alliance led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

The new Speaker resigned her recently sworn-in position as cabinet minister for the offered position, having emerged as a consensus candidate after the Congress party claimed victory.

Kumar, who has been elected to parliament five times, is the daughter of the late Babu Jagjivan Ram, a prominent Dalit leader and former deputy prime minister of India.