Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reportedly resigned and fled the country in the face of ongoing protests.

The longtime leader of the country has boarded a military helicopter, an aide told Al Jazeera, after crowds ignored a national curfew to storm the prime minister’s palace in Dhaka.

The landscape of women leadership in Bangladesh presents a paradox: despite notable female figures in key political positions, the overarching advancement of women into leadership roles remains stagnant. Despite having a female prime minister, a female speaker, women ministers and lawmakers and women heading the major political parties, the desired progress towards gender parity in leadership is yet to be achieved.

TOKYO -- Two strong, prominent female leaders have found themselves facing very different political futures in neighboring countries on the Bay of Bengal.

Since the restoration of democracy in 1991, the reins of the government have always been in the hands of a woman (except during the state of emergency in 2007-08). Yet, women's participation in politics has been frustrating and often largely ceremonial, as highlighted by the extremely low number of women who have contested national or even local elections over the last three decades.