On this year’s Forbes list of the world’s 100 most powerful women, three of the top five most powerful were politicians. There were eight heads of state, several new faces and almost every political returnee from last year’s list moved up in the rankings. Why? "There cannot be true democracy unless women’s voices are heard," Hillary Rodham Clinton once famously said. More than ever, women are leading or running for office in many of the world’s largest nations, demanding that representation inch closer to parity. Keep clicking to see this year’s top political mavericks from around the globe.
(AP Photos)
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