Sheikh Hasina: Having won the political war, now she must win the peace

Hasina's pragmatic policies has delivered an economic boom in Bangladesh; on the cusp of a record fourth term, she must now develop the institutions of democracy

At 71, Sheikh Hasina Wazed looks like a comfortable zamindari ginni (Bengali matriarch) who rules her extended family with an iron hand. But only the iron hand – some say fist -- is real. The Sheikh title, her pinned and brooched saree in the style of 19th century Calcutta’s anglicised Bengali memsahibs, the dangling handbag and ever-genial smile are part of the carefully tailored image of a political fighter of indomitable courage who has risen from 30th to 26th place in the Forbes’ list of the world’s 100 most powerful women.

Hussain Muhammad Ershad, the former army chief and president,