Women who became Chief Ministers in India Despite Patriarchy and Gender Roles

List of Women Chief Ministers of India

India is country which is well known for practicing patriarchy as a culture. Even today, assuming it to be a modern world, women in India face discrimination at some stage in life. Till date, 16 women have served as the chief minister of an Indian state or union territory.

Out of these sixteen, thirteen states and union territories headed by female chief minister, only three – Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, have had two female chief ministers each. In the republic of India, a chief minister is the head of the government in the particular state and union territory.

Let us take a look at these women politicians who made it as chief ministers, defying patriarchy and gender discrimination.

1. Sucheta Kriplani (Uttar Pradesh, October 1963 – March 1967)

Sucheta Kriplani became the first woman chief minister in Uttar Pradesh. She is also the first woman to become chief minister in any state of India. She is remembered for her role in Quit India Movement. She also found the women’s wing in Congress in 1940.

Read about other women who became Chief Ministers in India Despite Patriarchy and Gender Roles

2. Nandini Satpathy (Odisha, June 1972 – March 1973, March 1974 – December 1976)

Nandini Satpathy held the position of chief minister twice, first in 1972 and then in 1974. She is often known as the ‘Iron Lady of Orissa’. She attempted to resist Indira Gandhi’ policies during emergency and hence, joined the protest led by Jagjivan Ram. She is also well known as an odia writer.

Read more: List of Important Personalities and Their Contribution to The Indian History

3. Shashikala Kakodkar (Goa, Daman and Diu, August 1973 – April 1979)

Shashikala, popularly known as ‘Tai’, was an eminent leader of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and served as the CM of Goa, Daman and Diu for six years. A staunch advocate of the Marathi language, Kakodkar served as the leader of Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch, a political outfit demanding Konkani and Marathi be made the medium of instruction in elementary education.

4. Syeda Anwar Taimur (Assam, December 1980 – June 1981)

Syeda Anwar Taimur became the first muslim chief minister of India. During her tenure, the Assam movement against illegal immigrants was gaining momentum.  These protests became increasingly violent and president’s rule was imposed in Assam during her tenure.

5. Janaki Ramachandran (Tamil Nadu, January 1988 – January 1988)

Janaki, a former actress was asked by the party member of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (AAIDMK) to her husband’s place after his death. It is then she became the chief minister of Tami Nadu but her tenure lasted only 24 days as her government was dismissed by the central government headed by Rajiv Gandhi after a violent event in the assembly which injured 30 lawmakers.

6. J. Jayalalitha (Tamil Nadu; June 1991 – May 1996; May 2001 – September 2001; March 2002 – May 2006; May 2011 – September 2014; May 2015 – December 2016)

Popularly known as ‘Amma’, Jayalalitha, an Indian actress-turned-politician, served six terms as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu. In 1991, she became the second woman CM of Tamil Nadu. She made some landmark decisions in her tenure by creating women-only police stations, introduced the foreign-based automobile plant for the first time in India, ceased activity of 500 liquor shops in the state and also introduced ‘Amma Canteens’ to benefit the poorer sections of the society.

7. Mayawati (Uttar Pradesh; June 1995 – October 1995; March 1997 – September 1997; May 2002 – August 2003; May 2007 – March 2012)

Mayawati, a leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party, has served as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. Popularly hailed as ‘Behenji’, in June 1995 she became first Dalit woman CM of India. Her appointment to the office was always followed by implementation of policies for uplifting her vote-base, primarily Dalits.

8. Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (Punjab; January 1996 – February 1997)

Rajinder, a Congress leader, is the first and only woman CM of Punjab. She was appointed the CM in 1996, after the former CM Harcharan Singh Brar resigned. Bhattal comes from a family of freedom fighters and her political prowess was noticed by the former President of India Giani Zail Singh. Her swearing-in as the CM was followed by schemes for upliftment of the poor farmers, which included free electricity to power wells but its implementation was deferred.

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