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Bhutto
stands as supporter of democracy The head of the military stood in the shadow of a shelter so he wouldn’t have to salute her when she came by. She may have been prime minister, but she was still a woman.
So recalls Benazir Bhutto of her first days in power in Pakistan in 1988, when she became the first woman to lead a Muslim country. “I had difficulties with religious forces as well as military forces,” she said Tuesday in a telephone interview from Atlanta. “Then when I was elected, Muslim leaders said Pakistan should be thrown out of the Muslim world. I found myself at the center of religious debate in Pakistan as well as the larger Muslim world.” Since then, Bhutto has become a model for women leaders in Indonesia, Bangladesh and Turkey. She ruled Pakistan from 1988-1990 and 1993-96, and was deposed both times on allegations of corruption. She now travels the world giving speeches on the need for democratic freedoms and gender equality in Pakistan. Bhutto will speak on campus today on “Choices to be Made by the Muslim World.” She is the daughter of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, one of the founders of Pakistan and a former prime minister. He was overthrown in 1977 by General Zia ul-Haq and subsequently hanged, and his daughter succeeded him as leader of the Pakistan People’s Party. She was put under house arrest by ul-Haq and went into exile in 1984, returning two years later. Bhutto was jailed for 3 1/2 weeks in 1987 as part of a government crackdown on the opposition. A plane crash killed ul-Haq in 1988. In November, Bhutto ran for office and won. “I know that before I became prime minister it was hard to accept women working,” she said. “I have met so many Muslim women who told me my own election was a triumph for them. Then they told their fathers and husbands, ‘If Benazir Bhutto can be prime minister, then I can work.’” Manochehr Dorraj, a professor of political science, said Bhutto’s role as a pioneer is her greatest legacy. “Given what had happened to her father it took tremendous courage on her part to run for the office of government,” he said. “And even some audacity as the first female, thinking that ‘I can win’ and given that it was unprecedented in the Muslim world.” But Bhutto also had to navigate between the military, Islamic conservatives, businesses and ethnic divisions. In 1990 she was deposed on allegations of corruption. She returned to power at the helm of a coalition government in 1993 and governed for three years before the president dissolved her government, citing widespread corruption and financial mismanagement. Dorraj said it is unclear whether the corruption charges filed against her were politically motivated. “The validity of those charges might be under question for some but for many it’s a given that her government was associated with corruption,” he said. “Her husband was implicated, she was not implicated directly. It remains to be seen to what extent she was directly involved.” After her second fall, Bhutto’s and her husband’s Swiss bank accounts were frozen following allegations of bribe-taking, as well as their Pakistani bank accounts. Her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, was indicted by the Swiss in 1998 on charges of money laundering. Both were convicted of corruption in 1999, but Bhutto appealed the verdict. Last year the Pakistani Supreme Court dropped corruption charges against the couple and has ordered a retrial for both. Haroon Xavier, a freshman computer science major from Pakistan, said Bhutto was the politician most capable of reform in the country, but was also perhaps influenced too much by her husband. “I feel that Bhutto’s father was a much better democrat than she was,” he said. “When I told my friends and family back in Pakistan that Benazir Bhutto was coming, they were excited that I would get to see her, but they also had an indifferent attitude.” Military rule dominates Pakistan’s political history, and Bhutto remains one of its only leaders to be democratically elected twice. She attended Harvard University when she was 16, after leading a “sheltered life,” and said she was amazed at Americans’ freedom to criticize their political leadership. “I found it a very liberating influence,” she said. “America is an example today of what can be if there is rule of law, human rights and if there is freedom — it breaks down the social barriers between rich and poor. I went back to Pakistan more determined than ever to try and work for freedom in my own country.” Bhutto said she would like to become prime minister of her country again. The current leader, General Pervez Musharraf, assumed power in 1999 after a bloodless coup. “I plan to contest the forthcoming elections in October,” she said. “I’m told the general won’t allow me to do so. For me, it is more important to see the restoration of democracy. What would be the icing on the cake is if there were elections and I was allowed to participate in them.” Ralph Carter, a professor of political science, said the West will always see Bhutto as a champion of democracy, but others may also see her in a second light — as a leader who may spend the rest of her life “ridding herself of the stain of corruption.” “I think whether she’s giving an address in Fort Worth or in New York City or Washington or London or Paris she is going to be an important person to articulate a different view of the role of Islam in world affairs,” he said. Priya
Abraham |
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TCU Daily Skiff © 2002 |
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