The issue of women’s rights seems to have a particularly vitriolic tint in South Asia. And as the world moves forward to a more equal – radically so even by some measures – system of organising itself, South Asia lags behind on women’s issues. This idea of the ‘contemporary Asian matriarchate’ is the topic of the latest book by Russian author and Orientalist Anna Suvorova titled ‘Widows and Daughters: Gender, Kinship, and Power in South Asia.’ Suvorova makes a strong case in her book. That there have been this many females heads of government from South Asia is not a coincidence. One that is not necessarily an indictment for the South Asian identity.

Source: Pakistan Today March 10, 2019 17:15 UTC