Female Heads of State | Modern Women in Power in Asia
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• Chandrika Kumaranatunga, Sri Lanka
As the daughter of two former prime ministers, including Sirimavo Bandaranaike (listed above), Sri Lankan Chandrika Kumaranatunga (1945-present) was steeped in politics from an early age. Chandrika was just fourteen when her father was assassinated; her mother then stepped into party leadership, becoming the world's first female prime minister.
In 1988, a Marxist assassinated Chandrika Kumaranatunga's husband Vijaya, a popular film actor and politician. The widowed Chandrika left Sri Lanka for some time, working for the United Nations in the UK, but returned in 1991. She served as President of Sri Lanka from 1994 to 2005, and proved instrumental in ending the long-running Sri Lankan Civil War between ethnic Sinhalese and Tamils .
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• Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh
As with many of the other leaders on this list, Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh (1947-present) is the daughter of a former national leader. Her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was the first president of Bangladesh, which broke away from Pakistan in 1971.
Sheikh Hasina has served two terms as Prime Minister, from 1996 to 2001, and from 2009 to the present. Much like Benazir Bhutto, Sheikh Hasina was charged with crimes including corruption and murder, but managed to regain her political stature and reputation.
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• Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Philippines
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (1947-present) served as the fourteenth president of the Philippines between 2001 and 2010. She is the daughter of ninth president Diosdado Macapagal, who was in office from 1961 to 1965.
Arroyo served as vice president under President Joseph Estrada, who was forced to resign in 2001 for corruption. She became president, running as an opposition candidate against Estrada. After serving as president for ten years, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo won a seat in the House of Representatives. However, she was accused of electoral fraud and jailed in 2011. As of this writing, she is in both prison and the House of Representatives, where she represents the 2nd District of Pampanga.
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• Megawati Sukarnoputri, Indonesia
Megawati Sukarnoputri (1947-present), is the eldest daughter of Sukarno , the first president of Indonesia . Megawati served as president of the archipelago from 2001 to 2004; she has run against Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono twice since then, but has lost both times.
Pratibha Patil, President of India. Chris Jackson / Getty Images
• Pratibha Patil, India
After a long career in law and politics, Indian National Congress member Pratibha Patil was sworn into office for a five-year term as the president of India in 2007. Patil has long been an ally of the powerful Nehru/Gandhi dynasty (see Indira Gandhi, above), but is not herself descended from political parents.
Pratibha Patil is the first woman to serve as president of India. The BBC called her election "a landmark for women in a country where millions routinely face violence, discrimation and poverty."
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