By now you’ve likely heard of Benazir Bhutto, the woman leading the charge against Pakistan's president, General Pervez Musharraf. On Thursday, Bhutto was released from house arrest, where she was held by police to prevent her from leading a march against military rule there. (See last week's WeeklyDIVA.)
Not your ordinary woman
In fact Bhutto has already been prime minister of Pakistan—twice. In 1988 she became the first woman elected to lead a Muslim state. She’s also the daughter of a former prime minister in Pakistan and sports impressive academic credentials, with degrees from Oxford and Harvard.
Bhutto and her family fled Pakistan in 1998 for Dubai to avoid corruption charges. Now she’s back, leading the largest opposition party in Pakistan—the Pakistan Peoples Party, and attempting to take control.
If she succeeds, she’ll join a growing club of female heads of state
Two weeks ago, Argentina elected Cristina Fernández de Kirchner—the wife of the country’s current president–-to become its next leader. Argentina's neighbor to the east, Chile, is also run by a woman, Michelle Bachelet. Some Latin American countries even have gender quota laws in government.
Last year Liberia elected Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson, also a Harvard graduate, as the first female to run an African nation. As of now, there are seven woman presidents: in Chile, Finland, India, Ireland, Liberia, The Philippines and Switzerland; and four female prime ministers: in German, New Zealand, Mozambique and The Netherlands Antilles.
The big picture
The tide may be slow, but it does appear to be turning as women gradually gain more power in politics. Back here at home, where a scant 16 out of 100 U.S. senators are women, we may also be poised for a monumental change. Although it still sounds a little unfamiliar and surreal to say it, the front-runner for the U.S. presidency is also woman.
