Page Title
| Benazir Bhutto June 21, 1953 - December 27, 2007 |
Benazir Bhutto was born in Karachi, Pakistan to a prominent
political family. At age 16 she left her homeland to study at
Harvard's Radcliffe College. After completing her undergraduate
degree at Radcliffe she studied at England's Oxford University,
where she was awarded a second degree in 1977.
Later that year she returned to Pakistan where her father, Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto, had been elected prime minister, but days after her arrival,
the military seized power and her father was imprisoned. In 1979
he was hanged by the military government of General Zia Ul Haq.
Bhutto herself was also arrested many times over the following
years, and was detained for three years before being permitted to
leave the country in 1984. She settled in London, but along with her
two brothers, she founded an underground organization to resist
the military dictatorship. When her brother died in 1985, she
returned to Pakistan for his burial, and was again arrested for
participating in anti-government rallies.
She returned to London after her release, and martial law was lifted
in Pakistan at the end of the year. Anti-Zia demonstrations resumed
and Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan in April 1986. The public
response to her return was tumultuous, and she publicly called for
the resignation of Zia Ul Haq, whose government had executed her
father.
She was elected co-chairwoman of the Pakistan People's Party
(PPP) along with her mother, and when free elections were finally
held in 1988, she herself became Prime Minister. At 35, she was
one of the youngest chief executives in the world, and the first
woman to serve as prime minister in an Islamic country.
Only two years into her first term, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan
dismissed Bhutto from office. She initiated an anti-corruption
campaign, and in 1993 was re-elected as Prime Minister. While in
office, she brought electricity to the countryside and built schools all
over the country. She made hunger, housing and health care her
top priorities, and looked forward to continuing to modernize
Pakistan.
At the same time, Bhutto faced constant opposition from the Islamic
fundamentalist movement. Her brother Mir Murtaza, who had been
estranged from Benazir since their father's death, returned from
abroad and leveled charges of corruption at Benazir's husband, Asif
Ali Zardari. Mir Murtaza died when his bodyguard became involved
in a gunfight with police in Karachi. The Pakistani public was
shocked by this turn of events and PPP supporters were divided
over the charges against Zardari.
In 1996 President Leghari of Pakistan dismissed Benazir Bhutto
from office, alleging mismanagement, and dissolved the National
Assembly. A Bhutto re-election bid failed in 1997, and the next
elected government, headed by the more conservative Nawaz
Sharif, was overthrown by the military. Bhutto's husband was
imprisoned, and once again, she was forced to leave her
homeland. For nine years, she and her children lived in exile in
London, where she continued to advocate the restoration of
democracy in Pakistan. In the autumn of 2007, in the face of death
threats from radical Islamists, and the hostility of the government,
she returned to her native country.
Although she was greeted by enthusiastic crowds, within hours of
her arrival, her motorcade was attacked by a suicide bomber. She
survived this first assassination attempt, although more than 100
bystanders died in the attack. With national elections scheduled for
January 2008, her Pakistan People's Party was poised for a victory
that would make Bhutto prime minister once again. Only a few
weeks before the election, the extremists struck again. After a
campaign rally in Rawalpindi, a gunman fired at her car before
detonating a bomb, killing himself and more than 20 bystanders.
Bhutto was rushed to the hospital, but soon succumbed to injuries
suffered in the attack. In the wake of her death, rioting erupted
throughout the country. The loss of the country's most popular
democratic leader has plunged Pakistan into turmoil, intensifying
the dangerous instability of a nuclear-armed nation in a highly
volatile region.
http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/bhu0bio-1
political family. At age 16 she left her homeland to study at
Harvard's Radcliffe College. After completing her undergraduate
degree at Radcliffe she studied at England's Oxford University,
where she was awarded a second degree in 1977.
Later that year she returned to Pakistan where her father, Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto, had been elected prime minister, but days after her arrival,
the military seized power and her father was imprisoned. In 1979
he was hanged by the military government of General Zia Ul Haq.
Bhutto herself was also arrested many times over the following
years, and was detained for three years before being permitted to
leave the country in 1984. She settled in London, but along with her
two brothers, she founded an underground organization to resist
the military dictatorship. When her brother died in 1985, she
returned to Pakistan for his burial, and was again arrested for
participating in anti-government rallies.
She returned to London after her release, and martial law was lifted
in Pakistan at the end of the year. Anti-Zia demonstrations resumed
and Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan in April 1986. The public
response to her return was tumultuous, and she publicly called for
the resignation of Zia Ul Haq, whose government had executed her
father.
She was elected co-chairwoman of the Pakistan People's Party
(PPP) along with her mother, and when free elections were finally
held in 1988, she herself became Prime Minister. At 35, she was
one of the youngest chief executives in the world, and the first
woman to serve as prime minister in an Islamic country.
Only two years into her first term, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan
dismissed Bhutto from office. She initiated an anti-corruption
campaign, and in 1993 was re-elected as Prime Minister. While in
office, she brought electricity to the countryside and built schools all
over the country. She made hunger, housing and health care her
top priorities, and looked forward to continuing to modernize
Pakistan.
At the same time, Bhutto faced constant opposition from the Islamic
fundamentalist movement. Her brother Mir Murtaza, who had been
estranged from Benazir since their father's death, returned from
abroad and leveled charges of corruption at Benazir's husband, Asif
Ali Zardari. Mir Murtaza died when his bodyguard became involved
in a gunfight with police in Karachi. The Pakistani public was
shocked by this turn of events and PPP supporters were divided
over the charges against Zardari.
In 1996 President Leghari of Pakistan dismissed Benazir Bhutto
from office, alleging mismanagement, and dissolved the National
Assembly. A Bhutto re-election bid failed in 1997, and the next
elected government, headed by the more conservative Nawaz
Sharif, was overthrown by the military. Bhutto's husband was
imprisoned, and once again, she was forced to leave her
homeland. For nine years, she and her children lived in exile in
London, where she continued to advocate the restoration of
democracy in Pakistan. In the autumn of 2007, in the face of death
threats from radical Islamists, and the hostility of the government,
she returned to her native country.
Although she was greeted by enthusiastic crowds, within hours of
her arrival, her motorcade was attacked by a suicide bomber. She
survived this first assassination attempt, although more than 100
bystanders died in the attack. With national elections scheduled for
January 2008, her Pakistan People's Party was poised for a victory
that would make Bhutto prime minister once again. Only a few
weeks before the election, the extremists struck again. After a
campaign rally in Rawalpindi, a gunman fired at her car before
detonating a bomb, killing himself and more than 20 bystanders.
Bhutto was rushed to the hospital, but soon succumbed to injuries
suffered in the attack. In the wake of her death, rioting erupted
throughout the country. The loss of the country's most popular
democratic leader has plunged Pakistan into turmoil, intensifying
the dangerous instability of a nuclear-armed nation in a highly
volatile region.
http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/bhu0bio-1
Working Toward Peace
Of trying to make peace, I know a little. To make peace,
one must be an uncompromising leader. To make
peace, one must also embody compromise.
Throughout the ages, leadership and courage have
often been synonymous. Ultimately, leadership
requires action: daring to take steps that are necessary
but unpopular, challenging the status quo in order to
reach a brighter future.
And to push for peace is ultimately personal sacrifice,
for leadership is not easy. It is born of a passion, and it
is a commitment. Leadership is a commitment to an
idea, to a dream, and to a vision of what can be. And my
dream is for my land and my people to cease fighting
and allow our children to reach their full potential
regardless of sex, status, or belief.
In pursuit of peace in my land and more broadly
between East and West, I must travel the world. As a
leader, the travel is necessary. As a woman and a
mother, I miss my children. It is difficult to explain to a
nine-year-old why his mother can't be at home for his
birthday. But leadership involves making family
sacrifices. Pursuing peace means rising above one's
own wants, needs, and emotions. Leadership is tough.
There is no question of being tired; there are no
holidays.
Peace is most often seen as resolving struggles
between individuals. More broadly, finding peace
means resolving struggles between ideologies,
religions, and cultures. As the first woman leader of an
Islamic nation, peace has been for me first and
foremost resolving a struggle between the sexes.
Through much of history, women's roles in making
peace have been confined within the family. Reaching
peace and understanding, and finding compromise
between families, between villages, and between
nations has been the responsibility of men. I dare say
that families have been more peaceful than nations.
Women leaders have had to pay a high price. We are
often viewed as interim rallying points in times of crisis,
and then have to fight men who view us as rubber
stamps for their own authority.
Women leaders seeking peace pay a high price to
attain and hold leadership. When I was expecting my
first child, my opponents called fresh elections. They
thought that childbearing would prevent a woman from
campaigning. They were wrong.
Yes, I could not openly share the joy of expecting a
child-to go shopping for baby clothes or afford morning
sickness.
The first generation of women leaders felt a need to
show they were stronger than men. They often fought
wars or tried to sound as warlike as men. Twenty years
later, I see a change. Women leaders are now more
associated with social development, with nurturance
and a sensitivity to human problems.
For women leaders, the obstacles are greater, the
demands are greater, the barriers are greater, and the
double standards are more pronounced. Ultimately, the
expectations of those who look at us as role models
are greater as well. And for all women, it is critical that
we succeed.
Leadership is to do what is right by educating and
inspiring an electorate, empathizing with the moods,
needs, wants, and aspirations of humanity.
Making peace is about bringing the teeming conflicts of
society to a minimal point of consensus. It is about
painting a new vision on the canvas of a nation's
political history. Ultimately, leadership is about the
strength of one's convictions, the ability to endure the
punches, and the energy to promote an idea.
And I have found that those who do achieve peace
never acquiesce to obstacles, especially those
constructed of bigotry, intolerance, and inflexible
tradition.
Source:
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/architects-of-peace/homepag
e.html
Of trying to make peace, I know a little. To make peace,
one must be an uncompromising leader. To make
peace, one must also embody compromise.
Throughout the ages, leadership and courage have
often been synonymous. Ultimately, leadership
requires action: daring to take steps that are necessary
but unpopular, challenging the status quo in order to
reach a brighter future.
And to push for peace is ultimately personal sacrifice,
for leadership is not easy. It is born of a passion, and it
is a commitment. Leadership is a commitment to an
idea, to a dream, and to a vision of what can be. And my
dream is for my land and my people to cease fighting
and allow our children to reach their full potential
regardless of sex, status, or belief.
In pursuit of peace in my land and more broadly
between East and West, I must travel the world. As a
leader, the travel is necessary. As a woman and a
mother, I miss my children. It is difficult to explain to a
nine-year-old why his mother can't be at home for his
birthday. But leadership involves making family
sacrifices. Pursuing peace means rising above one's
own wants, needs, and emotions. Leadership is tough.
There is no question of being tired; there are no
holidays.
Peace is most often seen as resolving struggles
between individuals. More broadly, finding peace
means resolving struggles between ideologies,
religions, and cultures. As the first woman leader of an
Islamic nation, peace has been for me first and
foremost resolving a struggle between the sexes.
Through much of history, women's roles in making
peace have been confined within the family. Reaching
peace and understanding, and finding compromise
between families, between villages, and between
nations has been the responsibility of men. I dare say
that families have been more peaceful than nations.
Women leaders have had to pay a high price. We are
often viewed as interim rallying points in times of crisis,
and then have to fight men who view us as rubber
stamps for their own authority.
Women leaders seeking peace pay a high price to
attain and hold leadership. When I was expecting my
first child, my opponents called fresh elections. They
thought that childbearing would prevent a woman from
campaigning. They were wrong.
Yes, I could not openly share the joy of expecting a
child-to go shopping for baby clothes or afford morning
sickness.
The first generation of women leaders felt a need to
show they were stronger than men. They often fought
wars or tried to sound as warlike as men. Twenty years
later, I see a change. Women leaders are now more
associated with social development, with nurturance
and a sensitivity to human problems.
For women leaders, the obstacles are greater, the
demands are greater, the barriers are greater, and the
double standards are more pronounced. Ultimately, the
expectations of those who look at us as role models
are greater as well. And for all women, it is critical that
we succeed.
Leadership is to do what is right by educating and
inspiring an electorate, empathizing with the moods,
needs, wants, and aspirations of humanity.
Making peace is about bringing the teeming conflicts of
society to a minimal point of consensus. It is about
painting a new vision on the canvas of a nation's
political history. Ultimately, leadership is about the
strength of one's convictions, the ability to endure the
punches, and the energy to promote an idea.
And I have found that those who do achieve peace
never acquiesce to obstacles, especially those
constructed of bigotry, intolerance, and inflexible
tradition.
Source:
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/architects-of-peace/homepag
e.html
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