IRON LADY: The woman, brave enough to enter the man cave.

Defeat? I do not recognized that word

For a long time, the political world was considered a man’s world. The house of men where no women were allowed to take part in, not even vote in who they considered right to lead them. Slowly as time passed, women were allowed to vote for their leaders, but they were to hush when a group of men would begin discussing politics and would at times be sent to the kitchen to ‘’wash the tea cups’’, something which most women were comfortable doing. Always being the lesser sex. However, from a town grocery store, rose a renowned politician who changed the face of politics. Margaret Thatcher: The iron lady.

 

Born in 1925 and graduating from Oxford University 29 years later, Margaret Hilder Roberts had the dream of being a research chemist. She married her husband Denis Thatcher in 1951. On the other hand, she had political interest. Early in her university, Thatcher had begun taking part in political groups to the point of being the president of the Conservative party of her school.

 

If you want something said, ask a man.

If you want something done? Ask a woman.

She became a member of the Conservative party in 1959. When the party lost in the 1964 General elections, a new leader of the party, Edward Heath appointed her as the opposition spokesman for the party whereby she held various opposition posts. In 1970, the party won the General Elections and Thatcher became the Secretary State for Education and Science. However, she caused controversies when she put an end to free milk supply for children and increasing the prices of school meals. This may have been one of the causes of fights between trade unions and the party, leading to the party’s loss in the following 1974 General Elections to Labour party.

 

In 1975, Thatcher decided to challenge Heath’s leadership of the party and she won by 11 votes thus being the party leader. She emphasized on the country’s economy especially, Market economy. On the other hand the Labour party which was in power at the time was putting tight monetary policies on education and health hence being known as monetarism. In the 1979 General Elections, Labour party was easily defeated by the Conservative party. Margaret Thatcher became the Prime minister of Britain. The first woman prime minister.

 

As a prime minister, Thatcher developed a close relationship with President Ronald Reagan. They took a firm stance with the Soviet Union hence being known ‘the iron lady’. Her government reduced the power of trade unions and improved the economy although the unemployment levels increased. Her popularity as a prime minister was damaged when her government introduced community tax also known as poll tax which caused various controversies. Her leadership was challenged in the party causing her to resign as prime minister in 1990.

 

Thatcher, who had ruled for 11 years as a prime minister, left the House of Commons in 1992 and entered the House of Lords as Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven.

 

Margaret Thatcher was honest, blunt, radical and had strength of character. Though Thatcher’s government had setbacks, she still had the dream of making the citizens work for what they want by cutting back social welfare groups, trade unions and privatizing certain industries. She left the country being one of the financial capitals of the world, far from where it was before then. During her political career she kept the quote, ‘One of the things of being in politics is that men are not a reasoned or reasonable sex.’ She rose from the crowd paving way for many political women in the world.

''My policies are based not on some economics theory but on things I and a million like me were brought up with: An honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay: live within your means.'' Margaret Thatcher