"New Questions Arise in Killing of Ex-Premier"

I read this headline this morning, and thought what? who's dead? what happened? I've been so unplugged over this season that GW Bush could have defected to Ireland and I wouldn't have had a clue. But this story sends a chill down my spine.

Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan's ex Prime Minister (twice!) was killed on Sunday. This, after only recently returning to her country after a self-imposed exile of nearly ten years.

She was the first women to be elected to lead a Muslim country. She was elected into the position twice, and twice removed by presidents at the time on alleged charges of corruption. Her chosen exile to Dubai followed. Her recent return was based on an agreement with the current government that these charges would be dropped and she be granted amnesty.

Her death comes just two weeks before the scheduled Pakistani general election of 2008 where she was a leading opposition candidate - again. And from her position in the news lately, it's likely she would have caused a serious stir in these elections.

I've been watching news stories about her with interest. This woman so strong in an unashamedly male-dominated society. This woman not only willing to take on the status quo, but who's been garnering more and more support as she goes along. Not even in a Western country can we point to a woman this strong. Not a single one. She stands alone, and she's intrigued me for a while now.

And now this... :

"Athar Minallah, a board member of the hospital where Ms. Bhutto was treated, released her medical report along with an open letter showing that her doctors wanted to distance themselves from the government theory that Ms. Bhutto had died by hitting her head on a lever of her car’s sunroof during the attack."


Where are we in the world where someone like this can be swept away, and there's precious little we can do about it. Who will take her place now?
Someone asked me on Christmas day to name a hero - someone in the world I admired. Anyone. And I couldn't think of anyone. I wanted to pick a woman and couldn't think of a single strong woman to choose. Yet here she is, a woman to inspire us all. A beautiful, strong woman who was leading a nation. For me she's woken something up, and I hope her death does a lot more than that around the world...

An interactive timeline of Benazir Bhutto’s life and career