In 2013, the scientific series "East: Historical Portraits" of the publishing house "Vostochnaya Literatura" was supplemented with the book"Benazir Bhutto by the well-known orientalist, author of numerous works on literature and spiritual culture of South Asian countries A. A. Suvorova (Moscow, "Vostochnaya Literatura", 2013, 223 p).. Benazir Bhutto (1953-2007) - daughter of the executed Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a worthy representative of the family, whose life, as the author rightly writes, is most directly and directly connected with the history of Pakistan, the first woman in the world to head a government in a Muslim country (1988-1990 and 1993-1996). An active politician, a fighter against dictatorship and simply a charming and beautiful woman, a mother of three children, was the victim of a political murder on December 27, 2007. At a certain stage of independent development in South Asian countries - India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka-women become the first leaders. At the same time, A. Suvorova draws our attention to a certain pattern: "in the destinies of women, presidents or prime ministers, there is a common family and hereditary component-all of them were widows or daughters of the "fathers of the nation", founders of new states, charismatic leaders in the struggle for national independence or democratization " (pp. 5-6).. This is Indira Gandhi in India, the daughter of the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, whose life was tragically cut short by a terrorist attack on October 31, 1984. The world's first female Prime Minister in Ceylon was Sirimavo Bandaranaike, who came to power in 1960, immediately after her husband was assassinated. page 75 husband of Solomon Bandaranaike, Prime Minister of Ceylon. Their daughter, Chandrika Kumaratunga, widow of Vijaya Kumaratunga, the founder of the Sri Lanka People's Party, who was assassinated in 1988, won the presidential election in 1994 and was herself the victim of a fortu ... Read more