Benazir Bhutto

On December 2, 1988, Benazir Bhutto was sworn in as prime minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman to head the government of an Islamic state. Born in Karachi in 1953, she attended Harvard and Oxford Universities. Her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, served as prime minister during the mid 1970s and was overthrown and executed in 1979. In the following period of political struggle, Bhutto spent nearly six years either in prison or under house arrest for her leadership of the then-opposition Pakistan People's Party. Bhutto's first period as prime minister ended in 1990. She returned to power in 1993 for three years; however was again removed from power three years later on similar charges. After spending several years in self-imposed exile, Bhutto was granted amnesty and returned to Pakistan. As a leading opposition candidate in the Pakistani General election of 2008, Bhutto was assassinated on the 27th of December 2007 upon leaving a PPP rally. A year after her death she was awarded the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights.

Resources for Teachers and Students

Reflections on Working Towards Peace