Gender used to be a barrier for women to overcome if they wanted

The words of Tsai Ing-wen, “Gender used to be a barrier for women to overcome if they wanted to be in politics, but today in Taiwan the situation is somewhat different. I think there is even a preference for a woman candidate, and in local elections, we have seen that younger, better-educated female candidates are overwhelmingly preferred by the voters,” resound with the triumph of progress over ancient chains. She speaks of gender, once a wall that silenced voices and locked doors, now transformed into a path where women may not only walk but lead. What was once an obstacle has become, in places, a source of strength and trust.

The ancients themselves knew the long shadow of exclusion. In Athens, the birthplace of democracy, women were denied the right to speak in the Assembly. In Rome, they were bound by law and custom, excluded from the Senate. Yet voices of wisdom always rose, declaring that virtue, intellect, and courage were not bound to gender, but belonged to the soul. Tsai’s words show that in her land, this truth has begun to find its proper form—that the people now see leadership not only in men, but in women, often preferring their clarity, diligence, and vision.

History gives radiant examples. Golda Meir of Israel, once dismissed as the “only man in the cabinet,” proved that her nation could trust a woman to lead in its darkest hours. Margaret Thatcher, called the “Iron Lady,” rose to power in Britain when many doubted a woman’s ability to govern. Yet in Tsai’s Taiwan, the tide has turned further still—not merely permitting women to rule, but often preferring them, as symbols of renewal, education, and a new way of politics.

Tsai’s words reveal not only victory, but hope. They show that when barriers are broken, the people themselves may grow wiser, seeing beyond old prejudices. In preferring younger, better-educated women, voters testify that leadership is not about gender, but about merit and vision. What was once a battlefield of exclusion is becoming a field of possibility, where the strength of women is embraced as essential to the health of the nation.

Let the generations remember: no wall of custom or prejudice can stand forever against truth. Gender may once have silenced women, but now their voices rise in assemblies, parliaments, and presidencies. And as Tsai Ing-wen reminds us, the very place that once excluded may become the place where women are most honored. This is the triumph of justice over time: that the daughters of today, once bound, may lead nations tomorrow.