Musings: Hail Hillarys

The history of contemporary Nepal is, in effect, the family saga of the Shahs and the Koiralas. After the return of King Tribhuvan to Nepal from his self-imposed exile in India, in 1951, the Rana oligarchy, the de facto rulers of Nepal for over 100 years, quickly collapsed. Soon the locus of power shifted to the royal palace. Initially buoyed by the fall of the autocratic Rana regime, democratic forces in Nepal were once again dismayed when they learned that the Shah kings were no democrats either. But this did not stop three brothers from the same family and the same party—Matrika Prasad, Bishweshwor Prasad and Girija Prasad—from becoming prime ministers. In time, their close cousin, Sushil, would become the fourth Koirala Nepali prime minister.

This concentration of power in a few elite families is often blamed for Nepal’s woes. But in a year someone whose sir-name is Clinton could, once again, be elected the president of a country which considers itself the torchbearer of democracy in the world, Nepalis can perhaps take some solace. Why just the US, wherever you look, political power continues to be, by and large, circulate among a small group of conniving oligarchs. Bill Clinton was able to canter into the White House, twice, with his unmatched charm and sophistication. In all likelihood Hillary, his wife, who is no less talented in the art of obfuscation and fence-sitting, will follow on the coattails of her philandering hubby into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.   

In her 2003 biography, Living History, Hillary recalls with admiration the amazing ability of her then boyfriend to talk his way out of the most difficult situations. She also shares with her readers the difficult days when Bill admitted to having an affair with a 22-year-old White House intern, Monika Lewinsky. Since Hillary hasn’t, in all these days, been completely honest about why she decided to forgive her cheating husband, she has since been accused of staying in the marriage solely to boost her own political career. That is at least how bigots like me try to justify such meteoric rise of women.

After all, if she does become the 45th president of the United States, Hillary Clinton will bring plenty of goodies to the table. First, the obvious: if she wins the November election, she would be the first woman president of the most powerful democracy in the world. (Following the election of a black president, that would be another feather in the cap of American democracy.) The rest of the world will also have plenty to cheer about as Hillary has easily the most nuanced understanding of the world, thanks to her four jet-setting years as America’s chief diplomat under Barack Obama.  

Then, compare her with her likely Republican opponents, and she starts to appear like an angel. Even with her blue blood, Hillary as president would be a blessing as opposed to the hate-mongering Donald Trump or Ted Cruz.

In our own country, the election of our first female head of state has not been without controversy. Bidya Bhandari, it is alleged, is no more than a puppet of KP Sharma Oli; that she would have been a nobody without the name recognition (and the sympathy votes) tied to her late husband. Very few of us debate her skills as a politician: her soft mannerisms, her ability to quietly bide her time in the background even as her party colleagues took the limelight. If Subhash Nembang does it, he is hailed as a canny political operator; but if Bidya Bhandari does the same, she is labeled a gold-digger, shamelessly cashing in on Madan Bhandari’s legacy.   

The rags-to-riches story of Onsari Gharti Magar—a woman who once took up a gun against the ‘feudal, patriarchal state’, but now occupies the third-most powerful post in the country—is even more remarkable. These two women are a potent rebuke to all those who only find faults in our new constitution, which, bloated as it is, has its merits: it was by stepping on the provisions of the same constitution that Bidya Bhandari and Gharti Magar reached such great heights.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is another great example of a woman who has successfully battled entrenched patriarchy of her society—the Fuhrer’s fabled Fatherland—to cement her place as among the most successful contemporary political leaders in the world. Her soothing presence has done a lot for the emotional bonding between the peoples of former East and West Germanys. Likewise, President Michelle Bachelet, a medical doctor by profession, has played her part in Chile’s recent economic success even as the rest of the region was in deep swoon. There are many such crusading women leaders, both near and far. They are compelling reminders of another obvious: women leaders are as capable as their male counterparts.

This is why, an oligarch Hillary Clinton may be, but I still support her bid for presidency. It is perhaps also time for Nepal to have a woman head of government. By the lofty South Asian standards, we are way behind.

biswasbaral@gmail.com

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