benazir bhutto is dead.
wow.
she was the first female political figure i ever knew. before winnie mandela, before margaret thatcher. the first. a brown woman. a liberator. a symbol of democracy and justice.
even when she was called down for corruption and deposed, she was still one of the few female figures in world politics dominated by bosnia, nato, haiti, china and taiwan, etc.
granted, she was corrupt. nepotism and accepting bribes were part of her practice and she was oppressive. but not initially. initially she represented freedom of choice, liberty, hope.
even in this election she was a symbol of democracy against an opponent who is a military leader and who just recently released control of the army (in addition to arresting opponents and removing supreme court justices).
she was strong. determined. brilliant. and resilient. she was a complex political figure with a long history in pakistani politics. and i am saddened by her death.
