Logo
Reply

Global Women Of Inspiration



Global Women Of Inspiration

Fatima Bhutto
The granddaughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and a niece to Benazir Bhutto, the 26-year-old-poet, writer and social activist on why she refuses to get drawn into the political arena.



You've been brought up as a citizen of the world. How Pakistani do you feel?
It's who I am. I feel Pakistani because I heard its music growing up as a child. I was read ghazals and poetry by my parents. Pakistan is my country and my father's country, but because ultimately it's a place I love.

How much time do you spend there?
I travel all over the world to speak on issues like the media and women in Pakistan, but it's Karachi that I always come home to. It's a city with a great personality - it's always buzzing, it has a pulse. I do travel around Pakistan a lot, especially for my column - there's so much to discover even for those of us who live here.

You're also quite close to India…
I was 16 years old when I first went to Delhi on a school trip. It was amazing - I had the feeling I was somewhere new and at the same time somewhere familiar. People were so kind and friendly towards us, it really dispelled all the stuff we read in the newspapers and all the things our governments feed us - that we're different, that we're alien to each other, that we should hate each other. It's all nonsense. We're like siblings - we don't always get along or agree on everything, but there is more that connects us than keeps us apart.

Is peace with India possible?
Absolutely. If it's left to the people - normal Indians and Pakistanis as opposed to our governments, whose job it seems to be keep us apart. India and Pakistan are natural allies. The two countries need more people-to-people contact so we can begin to engage in discussions, dispel myths, build bridges and override the violence of our past.

Pakistan needs more people like…
Abdul Sattar Edhi. He runs the Edhi Foundation in Pakistan which acts as a state should - they run orphanages, women's shelters, asylums, the world's largest ambulance service, and so much more. Edhi and his family come from modest backgrounds and though their foundation takes in million of dollars, their lives have remained the same. They are the one transparent and reliable institution we have.

The world needs more people like…
Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird. He's a character with a remarkable sense of ethics and principles in an unprincipled, amoral society.


Which living woman do you most admire?
I know most people if asked would say a family member, but you haven't met my mother Ghinwa. She's a survivor of the Lebanese civil war, and worked in an emergency centre dealing with the wounded when she was just a teenager. She's a writer and an activist, she's tackled violence and injustice in everything she's ever done, and she's a great mother and friend. She should win some kind of award, really!

Why haven't you gone into politics?
I don't believe in perpetuating the cycle of dynastic politics. I don't want to be a symbol - inherited politics is dangerous for the country, and does not cultivate democratic reform. Power never changes hands in Pakistan, only the faces change. I love to write. So that's what I do.

Does democracy stand a chance?
This government has done everything it can to subvert the democratic process. But if we weren't always ruled by civilian or military dictators? Absolutely, yes. It's what the people want and consider their right - to live in a free country.

How does India manage it?
That's a very good question. I think Pakistan has struggled, as most new nations do - there is much ground to be broken, but it takes time. India has succeeded in giving its people a voice in their country's affairs.



What is the position of women in Pakistan?
Like women everywhere, it leaves a lot to be desired. Whether we're talking about women in parts of Europe or in Asia, women still aren't empowered politically and socially the way men are. It's not unique to Pakistan.

Your wish for 2009?
To repeal the National Reconciliation Ordinance - an odious piece of legislation that condones the corruption of politicians and includes a stipulation that makes it impossible to file charges against a sitting parliamentarian. It's the death knell of the judiciary and puts those in power above the law.

Would you ever move?
This is my home. My family is here, my father was killed here. I couldn't imagine leaving it.

What unites Asian women the world over?
The sari. All women look elegant and beautiful in them - they're simply classic. I can't carry off wearing one the way my grandmother Nusrat used to, but I try…


   
Posted on 3/8/2009 1:02:20 PM

FACTFILE
With a Bachelor's degree in Middle Eastern and Asian Cultures and languages (Columbia University) and an MA in South Asian Government and Politics (SOAS), Fatima Bhutto knows her politics. Her father, Mir Murtaza Bhutto - an elected member of Pakistan's parliament - was assassinated by state police in 1996. Her aunt, Benazir Bhutto, was Prime Minister at the time of his killing. Fatima published a volume of poetry, Whispers of the Desert, dedicated to her father when she was 15 years old, and a collection of first-hand survivor's accounts from the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan's largest Urdu newspaper Daily Jang, and its English sister newspaper, The News International. Her diary from Tehran is considered a legendary feat in publishing. Fatima also wrote a weekly diary from Lebanon during the Israeli invasion. She lives with her stepmother Ghinwa Bhutto - Chairman of the PPP(SB), (founded by her late father).

Posted on 3/8/2009 1:05:07 PM
I believe that she not to a minor level portrays the global women or the vision and agenda which a women with a Pakistani origin should have. She lacks the discipline and attitude which enabled her aunt to emerge as one of the most successful leaders of the South Asia. I believe if they would have chosen Bilqis Eidhi or someone else it would be a far more better representation.

Its not as if she is not interested in coming into politics, its more like she was not very well received in politics. Politics requires a degree of concern towards the people in one's society.
Posted on 3/8/2009 4:14:25 PM

she's good. at least she did tell on tv that she was against a few things her aunt did. she's a girl with guts
aur doosri baat, har koi Abdul Sattar Edhi ko bura kehta hai, she's the first who praises him like this.
Posted on 3/8/2009 5:32:16 PM
romeo
Posted on 3/9/2009 12:27:17 AM
^^^^another tharkee
Posted on 3/9/2009 12:37:24 AM
i don't swing that way,

they're all a waste of space as far as im concerned,

her dad is a pervet, he was caught looking down sarah palines shirt.

his son, was more of a joke comming on sky news talking about the struggle of the common Pakistani, while being an oxford graduate (he donno whats happening in the uk let alone pk)

What kind of purthetic idiot rents out the presidential palace for a wedding?

thats like me getting married at 10 downing st, its a joke, its purthetic and he's not a statesmen hes a pig
Posted on 3/9/2009 12:40:54 AM
they're all the same, in it for the glory never for justice
Posted on 3/9/2009 1:30:56 AM
She is the daughter of Mir Murtaza Bhutto. Who was murdered in 1996.
Posted on 3/9/2009 1:31:34 AM
castro:
She is the daughter of Mir Murtaza Bhutto. Who was murdered in 1996.



part of the bhutto family?

any pakistani policitian is a FAILURE!

they refuse to help society, only to help themselfs
Posted on 3/9/2009 1:40:28 AM
He was the son Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

Not every politician is a failure, there are good and bad in every field... But yes most of them are bad.
Posted on 3/9/2009 1:44:30 AM
99.99% failures lol

hows that?
Posted on 3/9/2009 1:46:18 AM
Its impossible to satisfy human beings. Thus politicians are charged with the most difficult job.
Posted on 3/9/2009 2:04:18 AM
well she has the ability

but she has no comparison wid her aunt
Posted on 3/9/2009 2:05:12 AM
yeah

her aunt was more concerned with sky news, and bad mouthing the taliban, never mind mr normal person on the lahore bus
Posted on 3/9/2009 2:08:32 AM
castro:
He was the son Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

Not every politician is a failure, there are good and bad in every field... But yes most of them are bad.


lol@ shaheed aik tu politicians jese b mare automatically shaheed ho jate hein
Posted on 3/9/2009 2:10:47 AM
mr nice guy:
castro:
He was the son Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

Not every politician is a failure, there are good and bad in every field... But yes most of them are bad.


lol@ shaheed aik tu politicians jese b mare automatically shaheed ho jate hein


Agreed.
Posted on 3/9/2009 2:16:17 AM

Assalam O Alaikum

*Nice...!
Posted on 3/9/2009 1:07:11 PM
wasalam

yeah shez nice
Posted on 3/10/2009 2:09:33 PM
Reply