Benazir Bhutto was the first woman to ever serve as prime minister in an Islamic country, at 35 years old she was also the youngest chief executive in the world. Sadly, at a rally that took place December 27, 2007, Bhutto was killed by a suicide bomber, along with 20 others.
Benazir Bhutto was born June 21, 1953, into a well-known political family. At age 16 Bhutto attended Harvard’s Radcliffe College to study politics and government, after she also continued her studies at Oxford. At Oxford she led the debating society, known as The Oxford Union. Bhutto had all of the characteristics it took to be a great part of the government.
After finishing school, Bhutto returned home to Pakistan where her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, had just been elected Prime minister. Later that year, he was imprisoned and hanged by the military government. Like her father, Bhutto had also been imprisoned many times in her life; she spent nearly 6 years of her life in prison or under suspension. Finally Bhutto was forced to leave Pakistan, but that never stopped her from trying to restore democracy in her homeland. Although she lived a dangerous, daring life, she had a significant standing among her followers.
When Bhutto finally returned to her country in 1988, she became prime minister. Unlike Prime ministers before her, she made hunger and health her top priorities. Bhutto did a lot to help her country; she brought electricity to the countryside and built schools all over the country. Bhutto was also one of the first to voice her opinion of women’s rights.
Only two years after being elected prime minister, Bhutto was dismissed from office because of corruption allegations. She initiated an anti-corruption campaign and was re-elected in 1993; this time Bhutto was in office three years until being dismissed again because of similar allegations. She attempted to run again in 1997, but was beat by, a more conservative, Nawaz Sharif.
For the next nine years Bhutto lived with her family in London, where she still advocated for the restoration of democracy in Pakistan. In 2007 she returned to Pakistan, even though she had received many death threats from radical Islamists and hostility from the government. Bhutto was a very inspiring person because the freedom of her people was more important than her safety. Within hours of her arrival in Pakistan, her motorcade was bombed. Luckily she survived, but about 100 others did not.
Just a few weeks before the 2008 elections, where she was planning on becoming prime minister once again, Bhutto was attacked once again, by a suicide bomber. This time she did not survive. Bhutto has written two books and has received many awards. Hopefully Pakistan will be lucky enough to find another leader who cares as much about the people of Pakistan as much as Bhutto did. Even though she is gone, Bhutto will always be a hero and an inspiration to people for many years to come.
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