Black and poor women may decide who will be the next president of Brazil or the next prime minister of Britain.
But the people of Kenya, the United States and Brazil have yet to vote for a woman for president, and have not chosen their own.
Despite these stark statistics, however, a campaign to elect a woman president in 2017 got off to an ignominious start when Trump said on Twitter last week: “If I were raped, the first thing I’d want her to do is hug me,” adding that he would let the assault happen if necessary.
The president is “being crude but the point is the way I feel when I hear such comments is that it is important to put the rape issues behind us and look at the real problems,” said Ms. Del Rosario.
“It shows us that what we need in this world are leaders that are leaders like Dr. Del Rosario – leaders who have a respect for women. We need leaders who will not take actions that demean female dignity.
“This is a matter of leadership – the fact that we have to elect leaders who are in touch with who we are and take into consideration the fact that women are not afraid to be leaders.
“They know what they want to do and they’re ready to do it.”
But Ms. Del Rosario is not the only woman on the presidential shortlist.
The first woman to challenge male rule in Brazil’s history, former president Ana Duarte was a leading candidate during the last seven presidential campaigns.
“Ana has been a beacon,” said Laura Ramos, president of the Brazilian Women in Politics Federation, a women’s political group. “A woman president will take Brazil into a new era.”
Ms. Ramos points to the successful campaign in 2010 of a woman of the same name, who ran against a right-wing candidate for the first time in the country’s history.
