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New president of Brazil promises to make gender equality a priority

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Dilma Rousseff, the woman elected to be Brazil’s first female president (see WVoN story) has promised to make gender equality a priority.

Ms Rousseff also promised to fight poverty and maintain continuity with her highly popular predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

She won Sunday’s presidential run-off election with 56% of the vote to rival Jose Serra’s 44%.

Ms Rousseff takes office on 1 January next year when President Lula steps down after completing the constitutional limit of two consecutive terms.

Her election as the country’s first female leader was a sign of the democratic progress Brazil had made, Ms Rousseff said in her victory speech in the capital, Brasilia.

“So I am here stating my first post-election commitment: to honour Brazilian women so that this fact – unprecedented until now – becomes something normal and can be repeated and expanded in companies, public institutions, and organisations that are representative of our entire society.”

She continued: “I would like very much today for fathers and mothers of daughters to look in their eyes and tell them: ‘Yes, a woman can.'”

And when women like her say something like this, I actually believe it’s possible. Let’s hope she delivers.

You can read the full story on the BBC news website.

The BBC has also profiled a number of women presidents in the region, past and present which is worth a read.

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