Fatima Bhutto: History in the making
The backdrop was ironic. It's the opening night of Asia House's annual literature festival and the evening before the day the UK votes for it's next Prime Minister. The topic on everyone's lips, as they wait for the evening to start is, of course, politics. My eavesdropping skills tell me that there's undoubtedly an air of skepticism among this literary bunch when it comes to change for the country. The chatter gradually quietens down as Fatima Bhutto, the evening's guest speaker, is introduced. Suddenly the audience is given a stark and timely reminder of the truly ugly face of politics that exists in other parts of the world, in this case, Pakistan, and how fortunate we are, that while we may not always get the change we want, a general election in the UK doesn't go hand in hand with death and violence.
Perhaps no one has seen a more frightening side of politics than Fatima Bhutto, niece of the former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007. But Benazir is not the woman Fatima enjoys being associated with. So I'll reintroduce her as daughter of Mir Murtaza Bhutto, Pakistani opposition leader, assassinated in 1996. Or, as grand daughter of Zulkifar Ali Bhutto, former Pakistani Prime Minister, executed in 1979, or indeed niece of Shahnawaz Bhutto, also an opposition leader, murdered in 1985. You get the picture. Bhutto is the daughter of a political dynasty for whom death has always been right around the corner. In her brand new book Songs of Blood and Sword: A Daughter's Memoir, 27-year old Fatima aims to fulfil her father's last request to write a book on his life and reveal truths about his death. She makes a clear statement that she believes Benazir Bhutto, her father's elder sister, had a significant role in planning her beloved father's assassination. She writes candidly about the corruption that's long been rife in Pakistan's government. This bold and brave move has changed her life in ways that were not unexpected. "I left Karachi three weeks ago, and I've been told not to go back," she explains. And while most first time authors will hope that the critics go easy, Fatima is pleased with the angry reactions the book has received. "People who have attacked the book are people who have benefited from the governments of Benazir Bhutto and Asif Zardari. If I wasn't attacked, I would have been doing something wrong," she says. One would expect a young woman who has experienced such trauma to be angry, revengeful and bitter. Fatima is none of these. It's quite obvious that she has no time for bitterness, or superstition for that matter, "I don't believe in the Bhutto curse that people talk about. Mistakes were made and we need to talk about these mistakes." She admits that her grandfather, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, made some of these mistakes "like all extraordinary men do", referring to the treatment of the Ahmedis and the intervention of Balochistan during his governance. She believes grandfather shouldn't have followed that path in history. Moving on to her father Mir Murtaza Bhutto, a man who, quite simply, she loved with everything she had. She speaks about the events of the night he was murdered. While gunshots were fired outside the famous Bhutto house, 70 Clifton, a 14 year old Fatima held on tightly to her six year old brother in the corner of a room in the house, worrying about the safety of her father who, at the time, was a vocal critic of his sister's government. Benazir refused to come to the phone when her frightened teenage niece called to enquire about his whereabouts. So she heard the dreaded news from an unsympathetic Asif Zardari, Benazir's husband (and the current President of Pakistan), "Oh, don't you know?" he said, "Your father's been shot." Fatima later cracks a joke which makes her feelings towards her family blindingly obvious: "With family like mine, who needs enemies?" Remembering what life was like with her father, Fatima recounts happy memories, practical jokes, teasing and lots of laughter. "We lived a full and beautiful life but there was always a warning that it may not last very long." She now lives with her (not biological) mother Ghinwa with whom she shares a very close bond. "My mother is the reason I am alive today, and we live peacefully for justice, not for anger and hate," she says. So what does justice for her father's death look like? Well, no one has been charged for it, in fact, she explains that the co-accused have been rewarded with medals. She seems a little unsurprised at this and perhaps has never expected any other outcome. Her concern now is the message this sends out to Pakistan and to the world, "These actions say that you can kill in Pakistan, and get away with it." Fatima's fearless voice is, what many believe, is desperately needed in Pakistani politics today. "Pakistan has no proper health and education service. It is a nuclear state yet we are unable to run refrigerators! People need to care more about the lack of electricity and less about cricket. We need to ask questions and hold the government accountable," she says. To the disappointment of many, in particular Pakistan's youth, Fatima has no intention to enter politics and follow her father's path. "Corruption is the political ethic of this country" she says. But equally she has no intention of being a passive bystander and maintains that she will continue to protest through her writing. "I've always wanted to be a writer and I am able to speak more freely outside the system." For now though, Fatima is busy making time for the journalists falling over themselves trying to get an interview, and who can blame them? She is quite simply a remarkable (not to mention beautiful and humble) young woman, pushing for change in one of the world's most volatile countries through her brilliant writing. Her fearless nature, her fascinating story in Songs of Blood and Sword, and of course the Bhutto name, have already made her history in the making.Fatima Bhutto will be speaking at the DSC South Asian Literature Festival, the first ever South Asian lit fest to be held in London, between 15-24th October 2010. If anyone is interested, I would like to make Songs of Blood and Sword the text for my next book club meeting. You can join this South Asian literature book club on Facebook at this link.
