NEW DELHI, July 21: India got its first woman president on Saturday in a victory hailed as a special moment in a country where discrimination against women is often deep-rooted and widespread.

Pratibha Patil, 72, won 65.82 percent of the votes cast by national lawmakers and state legislators, said P.D.T. Achary, the secretary-general of Parliament. She had the support of the governing Congress party and its political allies, and had been widely expected to win.

“It is a special moment for us women, and men of course, in our country because for the first time we have a woman being elected president of India,” said Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, who hand-picked Ms Patil.

While India has had several women in positions of power, notably Indira Gandhi, who was elected to the more powerful position of prime minister in 1966, women still face discrimination. Many Indian families regard daughters as a liability due to a tradition requiring a bride’s family to pay the groom’s family a large dowry of cash and gifts.—AP