Bhutto at her meeting with Glamour
She was, at age 35, one of the youngest world leaders on the planet and the first woman to head a modern Muslim nation. Now Pakistan's former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, 54, is making news again: In October she will return to her country after being in self-imposed exile since 1999. Her reported plan: to run for her old job, reduce the power of strong-arm president General Pervez Musharraf and reform Pakistan's antiwoman culture. Can this avowed champion of democracy pull off a comeback? Joseph Braude sits down with Bhutto for Glamour in one of her first recent American interviews.
GLAMOUR: One report estimates that in Pakistan a woman is raped every two hours, another that 60 percent of women are illiterate. As prime minister, how would you improve the status of women in your country?
BENAZIR BHUTTO: I am a woman, so I feel deeply about issues particular to women. The judicial system is weak where women are concerned. In our culture, there's a prejudice that [rape] is the woman's fault: Who told her not to stay behind the four walls of her house? So we should bring women into the police force and there should be women courts, so that cases of rape and cases against women can at least be heard by women judicial authorities. And I expect to put together a team that would deal with women's issues and implement a policy for women's rights.
I would like to see the spread of education, especially for girls—during my two terms in office we set up 48,000 new schools—but I would also like to see women play a greater role in the social and economic life of Pakistan. When I was prime minister I opened a bank run by women that gave credit only to women. With this a lot of women have opened small businesses. We also need to be changing the climate; you know, there are the religious parties who say that a woman should not work, and I think that's wrong. The first convert to Islam was a businesswoman, Bibi Khadija.
GLAMOUR: One Pakistani woman who became an international sensation is Mukhtar Mai; she was gang-raped, but instead of committing suicide as was expected of her, she brought her rapists to trial. But there are still threats against her. How would you guarantee her safety?
BB: I would give her full security. I feel very proud of Mukhtar al-Mai. She had the courage to speak up and challenge the centuries of taboos that forced a woman to keep silent. And since then she's done remarkable good work; she set up a [school and shelter], she's tried to reach out to other women. I read her book; it brought tears to my eyes. [Choking up.]
I would like to sit down and talk to Mukhtar al-Mai, and find out what she thinks we should be doing for women. I think that she could be a very good ambassador for us for women's rights.
GLAMOUR: Some critics doubt that a feminist prime minister can control Pakistan's growing Islamic extremism. What's your strategy?
BB: In dealing with extremists, one must empower the people. If they are unemployed, if their child is kidnapped, they turn away. If the state responds to their needs, the citizens stand up.
GLAMOUR: How would you handle the issue of terrorism?
BB: We have to deal with the madrassa system [of fundamentalist Islamic education]. The madrassa is supposed to be a school. But the law of the land does not allow you to teach people to kill others in the name of religion. These schools have become a decoy—they have suicide bombers, they have rocket launchers, they give refuge to militants. These people are teaching hate, and I think that should not be permitted. When I was prime minister the World Trade Center had already been attacked [this was the first attack, in 1993]. So we arrested the mastermind of that attack. We found out his connection to some of the madrassas. Then we started cleaning up the madrassas, and this is what led to the backlash against my government.
GLAMOUR: During your second administration, in the 1990s, the Taliban consolidated their power in Afghanistan with the support of Pakistan. How do you feel now about backing them?
BB: You know it is true, but it was a mistake. It was a mistake that Washington, London, Pakistan—we all thought the Taliban would be a factor for peace, and we were wrong.
GLAMOUR: Do you think that a county that has a woman in charge is inherently more peaceable?
BB: I think a woman wants to create the conditions of peace. And I feel that the people in my country know if I'm elected, I will end this terrorism [now taking place in Pakistan] so they can live in peace. When I was prime minister there was terrorism, so we worked to break the back of the terrorists. But it wasn't easy.
GLAMOUR: Your administration was charged with corruption, as was your husband, who had the unforgettable nickname Mr. Ten Percent, for allegations that he took a portion of government contracts. How do you respond to those charges?
BB: I say they are politically motivated, and I say that whoever causes trouble to the forces of dictatorship is charged with corruption in Pakistan. My husband has been investigated for decades, and I've been investigated since 1967, when my father formed the Pakistan People's Party. And not one charge against us has been proven. My husband did not break Pakistan's laws. I did not break Pakistan's laws.
GLAMOUR: Can these corruption charges serve as a learning experience for your next administration?
BB: I think there should be freedom of information in government, so that people can know what the facts are. I feel like in America when there were charges against President Clinton, his government was not overthrown. He continued in office while the charges were investigated. I think we need to evolve a system like this so that there can be greater transparency.
GLAMOUR: Let's go back further in time. You got your degree, and were exposed to American feminism, at Radcliffe College, Harvard University.
BB: In the early seventies, I remember the discussions, late at night over milk and cookies and coffee mugs; we would say that history is written by men, and unless women start writing history, the male perspective will dominate. So I think it's important for women scholars to come forward, within the Muslim world, on Islam, because women will bring a different perspective.
