Benazir world’s 2nd most influential woman: MSN list

“Benazir Bhutto is the first woman to be elected to leadership of a post-colonial Muslim nation and she’s done it twice. Though this former Prime Minister of Pakistan has also been twice removed on charges of corruption, that doesn’t make her less influential or impressive,” read the citation for Bhutto on the website.

“She has headed the secular, liberal Pakistan People’s Party from exile for years, but returned to Pakistan in 2007 to run for prime minister a third time. Her policies typically stand in direct opposition to those of conservative President Pervez Musharraf, of whom she is an outspoken critic.

“She survived an assassination attempt in October and continues to persevere in dangerous political times. Bhutto is a walking example of the bumper-sticker motto, ‘Well-behaved women rarely make history’.”

The list also includes India-born model Padma Lakshmi, who was married to novelist Salman Rushdie. Lakshmi also figured in People magazine’s “Most Beautiful People list in 2007”.

“This year the host of the hit TV show ‘Top Chef’ released her second cookbook, ‘Tangy, Tart, Hot, and Sweet’.

She also divorced her famous husband, writer Salman Rushdie,” said the citation for Lakshmi.

“In fashion shoots and on TV, Lakshmi openly displays the large scar on her right arm, caused by a car accident when she was 14, making her seem refreshingly less self-conscious about her body than the typical supermodel.”

The editors of MSN Lifestyle decided to choose women whose influence is often wielded behind the media screen. They also decided to make the list for reasons that have nothing to do with their surface appearance.

“Being attractive can, of course, be a big help on the journey to becoming influential. Even a gorgeous model like Padma Lakshmi didn’t make the final cut just because she’s beautiful, or even mostly because she’s beautiful. She made it because of her enlightened approach to her flaws,” the MSN editors wrote.

The list includes Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who “champions creationism and the war in Iraq”, singer Carrie Underwood, US basketball coach Pat Summitt, actress Miley Cyrus, fashion designers Vera Wang, Erin Fetherston, Alice Temperley and Sarah Jessica Parker, actor-producer Tina Fey and Harry Potter series author J K Rowling.