Goddesses, Heroes, Sacrifices: Female Political Power in Asia

Women at the head of states and governments have become a regular phenomenon in South and Southeast Asia in the last decades, even though patriarchal structures have endured. A dynastic principle is seen to be at work where women are frequently preferred over available male successors. This book discusses the relationship of the state and secularism, the significance of religion in society, the concept of the goddess, the perception and interpretation of martyrdom and sacrifice, and the question of moral capital as background for the emergence of women political leaders and their career paths.