NEW DELHI , India ( CNN ) -- India 's lower house of parliament elected a woman as its speaker Wednesday , a first in the male-dominated chamber 's history . Meira Kumar was nominated by the ruling Congress party . Meira Kumar is also a member of the `` untouchable '' Dalit class , the lowest rung in the centuries-old caste system in the country . The speaker conducts the proceedings of the house . She will preside over 543 elected members , of which 58 are women . Kumar , 64 , was elected to the position unopposed . She was nominated by the ruling Congress party but also had the backing of the alliance led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party . Women play a prominent role in the politics of India , the world 's largest democracy . The South Asian country of 1.1 billion people has a female president , Pratibha Devisingh Patil . And four of the country 's political parties , including the Congress Party , are led by women . Hindus believe there are five main groups of people . The last group is the Dalits . They 're considered impure and are often forced to work in menial jobs . They drink from separate wells and use different entry ways to come and go from buildings . Dalits number about 250 million in India , about 25 percent of the population , according to the Colorado , U.S.-based Dalit Freedom Network . India 's constitution outlaws caste-based discrimination , and barriers have broken down in large cities . Prejudice , however , persists in some rural areas of the country . CNN 's Harmeet Shah Singh contributed to this report .
Raj Kumar a member of the Dalit caste -- lowest rung in centuries - old caste system . She will preside over 543 council members , of which 58 are women . Singh , 64 , was elected to the position unopposed .