THE PRESIDENCY OF CORAZON AQUINO IN THE PHILIPPINES AND THE ROLE OF PAKISTANI OPPOSITION LEADER BENAZIR BHUTTO, HAVE SHATTERED MANY OF THE TRADITIONAL MYTHS ABOUT ASIAN WOMEN AND WHERE BHUTTO IS IN THE FOREFRONT OF WOMEN STORMING POLITICAL BASTIONS. WHEN SHE RETURNED FROM EXILE IN APRIL, 1986, TO A RAPTUROUS WELCOME, BHUTTO VOWED TO OUST PRESIDENT MOHAMMED ZIA UL-HAQ, THE MAN WHO I HAD DEPOSED HERE FATHER, PRIME MINISTER ZULFIKAR ALI BHUTTO IN 1977. HE WAS EXECUTED ON MURDER CONSPIRACY CHARGES AND SINCE THEN BENAZIR BHUTTO HAS LED HER LATE FATHER'S PARTY, THE PAKISTAN PEOPLE'S PARTY. ANOTHER WOMAN TO ASSUME THE MANTLE OF HER POLITICIAN FATHER IS SHEIKHA HASINA WAZED. HER FATHER SHEIKH MUJIBUR RAHHMAN, BANGLADESH'S FIRST PRIME MINISTER, WAS KILLED BY ARMY OFFICER IN 1875.SHEIKHA HASINA'S OPPOSITION AWAMIM LEAGUE CONTESTED ELECTIONS LAST YEAR WHICH WERE WON OVERWHELMINGLY BY PRESIDENT ERSHAD'S JATIYA PARTY. THE OTHER MAIN OPPOSITION POLITICIAN BEGUM KHALEDA ZIA, LEADER OF THE BANGLADESH NATIONALIST PARTY, CRITICIZED THE AWAMI LEAGUE FOR NOT JOINING HER PARTY'S BOYCOTT OF THE ELECTIONS. HER HUSBAND, PRESIDENT ZIA, WAS ASSASSINATED IN 1981. INDIA HAS LONG BEEN USED TO THE IDEA OF POLITICALLY ACTIVE WOMEN. FOR ALMOST TWO DECADES, INDIRA GANDHI DOMINATED INDIAN POLITICS, MOST OF THAT TIME AS PRIME MINISTER, UNTIL HER ASSASSINATION IN 1984. HER FATHER, JAWAHARLAL NEHRU, WAS INDIA'S FIRST PRIME MINISTER. LAST YEAR, THE DEATH OF JAGJIVAN RAM,LEADER OF INDIAN'S LIGHT, MEIRA KUMAR, A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT, HAS TAKEN OVER HERE FATHER'S ROLE IN THE HARIJAN COMMUNITY.THE STRONGEST CHALLENGE SHE FACES COME FROM HER NIECE, MAYDHAAVI QIRTI, WHOSE FATHER WAS JAGJIVAN RAM'S ONLY SON. IN 1983, MANEKA GANDHI LAUNCHED A NEW POLITICAL PARTY,IN OPPOSITION TO HER MOTHER-IN-LAW'S RULING CONGRESS PARTY. SINCE THEN, HER POLITICAL INFLUENCE HAS BEEN ON THE WANE. LITTLE MORE THAN A DECADE AGO,TWO OF THE MOST POWERFUL POLITICIANS IN ASIA, MET IN DELHI: THEY WERE INDIRA GANDHI AND SRI LANKA'S SIRIMAVO BANDARANIKE, THE WORLD'S FIRST WOMAN PRIME MINISTER. TODAY, BANDARANAIKE'S DAUGHTER CHANDRIKA KUMARATUNGA, IS A LEADING LEFT WING POLITICIAN IN SRI LANKA.