Indira Ghandi and Benair Bhutto became Prime Ministers because they were part of important political families.

On the ground, women have a tougher time in South Asia than thtey do anywhere else in the world.  According to a report by Save the Children, a British organiation, the Asian subcontinent rates lowers in infant mortality, children’s survival and women’s access to politics.

While Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minsiter of Bangladesh, is proud of her founder father, she is still spoken off with disdain by Prime Minister Modi.  He remarked, after he said she was tough on terrorism, “despite the fact that she is a woman.”

In Sri Lanka, where a daughter has succeeded a mother, women still find it difficult to go into business and succeed.

Modi came to office without acknowledging his wife, who he was forced to marry as a teenager and has never lived with.  He rushed to his mother’s side when he was elected, but he appears to find women’s presence uncomfortable.

Yet India is a good place for women to find their place in the sun because it is a dynamic and growing country.  Perhaps Modi can use all his talents to help them.