Pakistani Women's Flawed Icon

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For Pakistani Women, Bhutto Leaves a Complex Legacy

As the first woman ever elected leader of a Muslim country, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto raised expectations for the advancement of women. But she struggled to overcome deep-rooted cultural obstacles, leaving some women's rights activists disappointed.

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Across South Asia, women are plagued by paradoxes pertaining to gender. The subcontinent has had more female leaders than any other region in the world, yet the health care and education available to its women are among the world's worst. About 70 percent of Pakistani women are illiterate. Domestic violence is still considered a private, family issue. And beatings, along with acid attacks, still occur in 80 percent of rural homes, according to a study by the country's Human Rights Commission.

The contrast between the achievements of female leaders and the lowly status of ordinary women has its roots in the region's dynastic traditions. Professions here are inherited, in politics as in industry. In India, former prime minister Indira Gandhi came into politics through relatives; in Bangladesh, former prime minister Khaleda Zia did the same. Bhutto inherited her station in political life from her father and mentor, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

"In South Asia, we tend to specialize in women leaders. But they always hail from a feudal hierarchy. They are schooled and raised in those elite circles," said retired justice Nasira Iqbal, daughter-in-law of the Pakistani poet and political leader Allama Iqbal and one of the first female judges appointed in Pakistan, under Bhutto in 1994. "Bhutto was an icon for women. But she was also a very astute politician who had to balance conservative forces. She couldn't just be a women's rights activist."

In the West, Bhutto, with degrees from Radcliffe and Oxford, became a symbol of female empowerment in a Muslim country. Yet at home she was Pakistan's princess and a "daughter of destiny," as she often described herself -- an icon of Pakistani royalty more than of a women's revolution.

In 1988, Bhutto won a seat in Parliament from the city of Peshawar largely through the support of men. Women were often prevented from voting. She gave birth while prime minister after keeping her pregnancy secret for as long as she could to avoid attacks from conservative Islamic parties.

Supporters of Bhutto, who was just 35 when she first came to power, point out that she had to deal with the legacy of her predecessor, Mohammed Zia ul-Haq, a military dictator who for a decade oversaw the imposition of laws that subjected women to unfair treatment.

In addition to establishing a nationwide bank to help women become self-reliant, they said, she helped open police stations for women and created special seats reserved for women in the national and provincial assemblies.

"Bhutto was up against extreme challenges. She wasn't even in office long enough to be judged the first time," said Azma Zahid Bukhari, 31, who is running for a seat reserved for a woman in the provincial assembly in Punjab province. "But I was 10 years old when Bhutto first became prime minister. You can't even imagine the pride that sends to a girl. Everyone in my school was talking about it, and the boys actually got the message: Women could rule Pakistan."

But Bhutto was also criticized for failing to improve the status of Pakistani women through legislation; activists were disappointed that she was unable to effect the repeal of the Hudood Ordinance, which required rape victims to produce four male witnesses before a court would convict and left women open to charges of adultery.

"Bhutto wanted to do so many things for women. I believe she really did have a deep vision for that," said Iqbal, the retired justice. "But the reality was that she didn't have the coalition government that could make significant progress."

Bhutto's complex legacy can be seen inside the Lahore branch of the First Women Bank, which has 35 branches and the slogan "The World's Only Bank for Women."

The women working busily at their desks are like many in cosmopolitan cities such as Lahore. They are members of Pakistan's elite, as comfortable in blue jeans as they are in salwar-kameez, the loose traditional dress. Many have attended American universities. Back in Pakistan, they can sit with boyfriends at cafes and delay marriage for careers -- options they would not have elsewhere in the Muslim world.

But the women applying for the loans come from the impoverished countryside, where girls are still raped in feuds to bring shame on their families.

Looking over their money, some of the women said they might keep a little cash for themselves, away from their husbands and brothers. They praised the bank for giving them a chance and said they would always admire and love Bhutto.

"Bhutto was our protector," said Bashiran, who tucked the cash into her bra. "To us, she's at least tried to help."