Editing Women's suffrage (section)

==== Bangladesh ====
[[Bangladesh]] was (mostly) the province of Bengal in [[British Raj|British India]] until 1947 when it became part of [[Pakistan]]. It became an independent nation in 1971. Women have had equal suffrage since 1947, and they have reserved seats in parliament. Bangladesh is notable in that since 1991, two women, namely [[Sheikh Hasina]] and [[Khaleda Zia|Begum Khaleda Zia]], have served terms as the country's Prime Minister continuously. Women have traditionally played a minimal role in politics beyond the anomaly of the two leaders; few used to run against men; few have been ministers. Recently, however, women have become more active in politics, with several prominent ministerial posts given to women and women participating in national, district and municipal elections against men and winning on several occasions. [[Chowdhury|Choudhury]] and [[Hasanuzzaman]] argue that the strong patriarchal traditions of Bangladesh explain why women are so reluctant to stand up in politics.<ref>{{cite journal|author= Choudhury, Dilara and Hasanuzzaman, Al Masud|title=Political Decision-Making in Bangladesh and the Role of Women|journal=Asian Profile|date=February 1997|volume= 25|issue=1|pages= 53–69}}</ref>