Former US President George W. Bush is a feminist, according to his daughter.
Speaking to People, Jenna Bush Hager praised her father – alongside her mother – for raising her to become a strong, independent woman.
She said, “People laugh at this, but I think my dad was a feminist.”
“He showed us that we could be whatever we wanted to be.”
“I want my girls to feel that way. I want them to feel strong and capable and feel like they can conquer the world.”
She continued saying that she and her sister, “always felt sorry for the boys in class because our dad led us to believe that we were the smartest, most capable kids out there.”
She continued, “I think the thing that my parents did so well and might surprise people – although I don’t know why – is that they really wanted us to be curious, independent thinkers.”
“They wanted to raise us to have our own views and to be able to articulate them.”
“There is nothing wrong with the word ‘feminism.’ Anyone that’s for women – which I am, as a woman, as the mother of a little girl, and as someone who’s worked with women all over the world, what’s wrong with supporting women?”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. I would say I’m a feminist, and a proud one.”
George Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009. His 2004 re-election campaign was aimed at women voters, alongside the “W stands for Women” initiative.
One of Bush’s major initiatives since leaving office has been expanding women’s rights in Afghanistan and on numerous occasions he has spoken out about increasing global participation of women in politics.
Bush isn’t the only former president to hold feminist values. Barack Obama, along with his wife Michelle, openly admitted to being feminists and demonstrated this throughout their time in in office.
Since 2008, Obama has spoken numerously about gender equality and women’s rights. But in the last year, he has legitimised the idea that men can – and should – be feminists, and that he counts himself among them.
In an essay written in Glamour magazine, Obama discussed the responsibility of men to join the fight against sexism, including how risky it is to gender stereotype, which he describes as “limiting our ability to simply be ourselves.”
Former President, Jimmy Carter declared he was a feminist in 2014. At the time he said, “Yes, of course I consider myself a feminist.”
“If a feminist is someone who believes that women should not be persecuted and women should have equal rights, then all men ought to be feminists.”
In 1993, the-then President Bill Clinton signed multiple bills to reverse policies put in place by Ronald Reagan and George H W Bush, which were against abortion rights, contraceptive distribution and family planning.
