KARACHI: On this day, exactly 29 years ago, Benazir Bhutto was sworn in as prime minister of Pakistan, thus becoming the female prime minister in the Muslim world.
Benazir was the first woman to head the government of a Muslim-majority state and she went on to become one of the most prominent female leaders of the world as well.
A staunch believer in democracy, Benazir became the chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) at the age of 29 in the early 80’s. After returning from exile in 1986, she was democratically elected in the 1988 elections as the youngest PM of the world on December 2.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari shared a tweet to mark the historic occasion stating: “2 December 1988: PPP elected the world’s youngest PM & the Muslim world’s first female PM. Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was sworn into office for the first time”.
Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, daughter of Benzair, speaking to the reporters said, “As a daughter, I am proud of my mother for her extraordinary accomplishment, the first female PM of Pakistan. The trials and hardships she faced to fight for democracy and individual’s rights, led her to become the people’s PM. As a woman, I am extremely proud as she not only inspired me but an entire generation of women around the world. An inspiration which continues to this today. As a Muslim, I am proud to have had a mother who was elected to a position of leadership in the Muslim world, a symbol of the progressiveness of our faith. Today all I want to do is share moments like this with my mother, my heart chants for her ‘Wazir-E-Azam Benazir’”.
She was a woman of stance; known for her dedication and charismatic personality who faced strong opposition from Pakistan’s Islamist lobby for her secularist ideology, yet still remained a popular leader among the people. It was perhaps these qualities that earned her the title of ‘Daughter of the East’.
Even the Quran supports the role of women in politics in its mention of the Queen of Sheeba. Hadith also provide a plethora of examples of women in public leadership roles. The Prophet’s (Peace Be Upon Him) first wife, Khadija binte Khuwaylid and third wife Aisha Abu Bakr, were well known for their roles as chief adviser and expert of medicine, history, and rhetoric.
Benazir Bhutto seemed to be following in their footsteps.
After another exile that lasted nine years, she returned on October 18, 2007. But this time her campaign met a tragic end as she was assassinated on December 27, 2007, in a suicide and firing incident at Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi.
