World's Most Powerful Women Sheikh Hasina

Sheikh Hasina Wajed on Forbes Lists

• #36-Power-Women (2016) #59 in 2015
• 
  

Sheikh Hasina Wajed has command over a country with the world's eighth largest population -- 162 million people -- and she has wielded this power since 2009. 
Critics contend that she can, and should, be exercising her influence to address the recent spate of hate crimes against journalists, teachers, and gay activists. Yet Wajed's administration has been largely silent, and
claims the attacks did not come from Islamic radicals, despite evidence that points to the contrary. Critics worry the failure to roundly condemn the murders only sets the stage for worse, further destabilizing a government that already lost credibility in the 2014 elections, which left hundreds dead or injured. Wajed has been leader of the ruling Awami League since 1981, and her father, Skeikh Mujibur Rahman, was the first president of the country before his assassination in 1975.