In the past few weeks, a lot of women have come out and declared that they will be running for president in 2020.

Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris and Amy Klobuchar are just some of these presidential hopefuls that UK students should look out for in the upcoming election season.

After the events of the last presidential election, many women lost hope about the future of our country. Seeing a strong, capable woman like Hillary Clinton lose to Donald Trump was devastating for both men and women across the nation. I think the time has come for our country to have a female president, and this just might happen next year.

A lot of the issues facing our nation today directly affect women. Abortion rights, access to affordable birth control and violence against women are all major problems that females in this country have to deal with on a regular basis, and things that we as college students should pay attention to since we are the next leaders of this country.

Having someone in office who understands these struggles and truly wants to make the lives of American women better is crucial for the future well-being of our nation. The current administration has made it clear that the rights of women are not a priority in its agenda. This must change.

Although I think having a female president would be an amazing step forward for our country, I do not think people should vote for a female candidate solely because she is a woman.

One’s decision about who should be president should be based on qualifications and character alone, not gender. Women do not need any special treatment or favors simply because of their gender.

My hope is that, come election season, we cast our votes for the person we think is best suited to run this country. We need someone who is passionate about women’s rights and the rights of minorities, and I think there is an incredible group of female candidates running for president who will prioritize these issues in both their campaign and their presidency.

So although I don’t think people should vote for a woman just because they want a female president, I am confident that all of the women running have the qualifications needed to make them a great leader, and I can only hope that the rest of the country will see this, too.