Bangladesh got its first woman Speaker with the election of Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury by the Jatiya Sangsad on Tuesday. She was the lone candidate.
Dr. Chaudhury, State Minister in the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs , was nominated by the ruling Awami League’s parliamentary party on Monday. Born in 1966, Dr. Chaudhury is also the country’s youngest Speaker.
She will succeed Abdul Hamid who assumed presidency last week following the death of President Md. Zillur Rahman.
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Women now occupy many of the top posts, with the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, Deputy Leader of Parliament, Foreign Minister and Agriculture Minister, all being women.
A lawyer by profession, Dr. Chaaudhury entered Parliament for the first time as an MP from one of the reserved seats for women. She holds a Ph.D. from Essex University in the United Kingdom.
