Bidhya Devi Bhandari, a women's rights activist, has been elected the first female president of Nepal.
She is the second person to serve in the mostly ceremonial role since Nepal abolished the monarchy in 2008. The BBC's South Asia editor, Charles Haviland, says the 54-year-old is a longtime political activist in a male-dominated society, and plans to champion minority and women's rights. She is the vice-chairwoman of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist) and was defense minister from 2009 to 2011.
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