Benazir Bhutto’s Personal Life Essay

She was born at Pinto Hospital in Karachi, on 21 June 1953. She was the eldest child of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a Pakistani of Sindhi descent. Her paternal grandfather was Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto. Bhutto was raised to speak both English and Urdu. English was her first language, while she was fluent in Urdu. Despite her family being Sindhi speakers, her Sindhi skills were almost non-existent. She was a bright student and a well mannered Lady of fine content. She served her life for Pakistan. She was Kind hearted and goal oriented person . On 18 December 1987, she married Asif Ali Zardari in Karachi. The couple had three children: two daughters, Bakhtawar and Asifa, and a son, Bilawal. When she gave birth to Bakhtawar in 1990, she became the first modern head of government to give birth while in office. Education: She attended the Lady Jennings Nursery School and Convent of Jesus and Mary in Karachi. After two years at the Rawalpindi Presentation Convent, she was sent to the Jesus and Mary Convent at Murree. She passed her O-level examinations at the age of 15.She then went on to complete her A-Levels at the Karachi Grammar School. After completing her early education in Pakistan, she pursued her higher education in the States. From Harvard University , she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree. In June 2006, she received an Honorary LL.D degree from the University of Toronto .The next phase of her education took place in the United Kingdom. Bhutto’s father arrested: 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, 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. Prime Minister: 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. 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. Policies for women: During election campaigns the Bhutto government voiced its concern for women’s social and health issues, including the issue of discrimination against women. Bhutto announced plans to establish women’s police stations, courts, and women’s development banks. Charges of Corruption: The French, Polish, Spanish and Swiss governments provided documentary evidence to the Pakistan government of alleged corruption by Bhutto and her husband. Bhutto and her husband faced a number of legal proceedings, including a charge of laundering money through Swiss banks. Her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, spent eight years in prison on similar corruption charges 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. Asif Ali Zardari was released from prison in 2004 and rejoined his family in London In the autumn of 2007, in the face of death threats from radical Islamists, and the hostility of the government, Benazir Bhutto and her husband returned to their native country. Benazir Bhutto Murdered: Although she was greeted by enthusiastic crowds, within hours of her arrival, her motorcade was attacked after a campaign rally in Rawalpindi,by a gunman who 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 plunged Pakistan into turmoil, intensifying the dangerous instability of a nuclear-armed nation in a highly volatile region. Political Testament: In her political testament, Benazir Bhutto identified her son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, as her choice to succeed her as Chairman of the PPP. At the time of her death, Bialawal was only 19, still an undergraduate at Oxford. The party leadership agreed that his father, Asif Ali Zardari, would serve as acting chairman of the party until Bilawal completes his studies in England. Meanwhile, the PPP entered into a broad coalition, including the party of Bhutto’s former rival Nawaz Al-Sharif, and scored an overhelming victory in the 2008 election. A member of the PPP, Yousaf Raza Gillani, was chosen to serve as Prime Minister. Later that year, President Musharraf resigned, and Asif Ali Zardari was elected President of Pakistan. Although Benazir Bhutto did not live to see these developments, the party she led and the causes she championed are in the ascendant, and her spirit pervades the political life of contemporary Pakistan. May Her Soul Rest In Peace,Amen