History is proof that great achievements take the world by surprise all the more when the achiever is a woman. This is thanks to a deep-rooted patriarchal mindset that has given rise to plenty of stereotypes against women over the ages.
On November 7 this year, when the American people gave their mandate to former vice president and Democratic candidate Joe Biden as the next President of the United States, history gave its own to Kamala Harris as the first female vice president of America.
Much like the people of colour creating their own identity and history in a Western world, Harris has come a long way – as the first black woman running for a national office, as the first person of Indian descent to be nominated for the vice presidential office, as the fourth woman in US history to get a presidential ticket in August this year and, finally, as the vice president-elect of the US this month.
The presidential race saw political rivals Biden and Harris come together to deliver a historic win for the Democratic Party. They put aside their differences for their common political ideology of safeguarding the national interests of their homeland.
After her own presidential bid was foiled last year, Harris bounced back by becoming a strong partner for then Democratic presidential candidate Biden. While their political rivalry was characterised by intense criticism and countless barbs, Biden and Harris miraculously became a formidable political force that eventually took down the controversial Trump government. While President Trump was often accused of dividing the American people and creating chaos in the country, Biden’s electoral campaign pushed for reuniting and ‘healing’ the country.
Although widely anticipated, the victory of Biden and Harris in the presidential race did not come easy. Despite many speaking up against the Trump government’s mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic, the billionaire businessman still enjoyed wide support in the US. Some factions were still sympathizing with Trump for his misfortune of having to battle a pandemic.
In his presidential campaign, Biden had been slowly but surely chipping away at Trump’s promises of “Making America Great Again” by exposing the reality of the economically and politically struggling America under the tycoon. Despite Biden’s early setbacks, his patience paid off as he was chosen by his party as the president-elect. And the rest was history as the 77-year-old won more votes than any presidential candidate of US till date, surpassing the record of his previous boss, President Barack Obama.
With his victory, the United States is once again ready to embrace its identity as a unified, multicultural country – a country whose vice president’s mother came from India, and father from Jamaica.
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