Fatima Bhutto

Fatima Bhutto
فاطمہ بھٹو
Born Fatima Bhutto
(1982-05-29) 29 May 1982
Kabul, Afghanistan
Residence Karachi, Pakistan
Nationality Pakistani
Alma mater Columbia University
University of London
Occupation Writer, columnist, journalist
Religion Islam
Relatives Bhutto family

Fatima Murtaza Bhutto (Urdu: فاطمہ مُرتضیٰ بھُٹّو; born 29 May 1982), known as Fatima Bhutto (Urdu: فاطمہ بھٹو), is a Pakistani poet and writer.[1] She is the granddaughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Nusrat Bhutto, niece of Benazir Bhutto and Shahnawaz Bhutto, and daughter of Murtaza Bhutto. Bhutto came to public note after the publication of her first book, a collection of poems, Whispers of the Desert. She received notable coverage for her second book, 8:50 a.m. 8 October 2005.[2][3][4]

Bhutto is active in Pakistan's social-political arena,[5] supporting her stepmother Ghinwa Bhutto's party the Pakistan Peoples Party (Shaheed Bhutto), but has no desire to run for political office.[6]

Personal life

Background

Bhutto was born on 29 May 1982 to Murtaza Bhutto and an Afghan mother, Fauzia Fasihudin Bhutto, the daughter of Afghanistan's former foreign affairs official in Kabul.[4] Her father was in exile during the military regime of general Zia-ul-Haq. Her parents divorced when she was three years old and her father took Bhutto with him moving from country to country and she grew up effectively stateless. Her father met Ghinwa Bhutto, a Lebanese ballet teacher in 1989 during his exile in Syria and they married. Bhutto considers Ghinwa to be her real mother and political mentor. She is the granddaughter of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Nusrat Bhutto, niece of Benazir Bhutto, Shahnawaz Bhutto and Sanam Bhutto, and cousin of Bilawal Bhutto, Bakhtawar Bhutto and Asifa Bhutto.[4][7]

Her father was killed by the police in 1996 in Karachi during the premiership of his sister, Benazir Bhutto, and her mother unsuccessfully attempted to gain parental custody of Bhutto.[4] She lives with her stepmother and her half-brother Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Jr.[8] in Old Clifton, Karachi.[4]

Career

Education

Bhutto completed her B.A. degree in Middle Eastern studies[9] from Barnard College, Columbia University[2][10] in Manhattan, USA, after receiving her secondary education at the Karachi American School. She received a master's degree in South Asian Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.[11]

Politics

Following the assassination of her aunt, Benazir Bhutto, there was speculation over her entrance into politics. In an interview, she has stated that for now she prefers to remain active through her activism and writing, rather than through elected office[4] and that she has to "rule a political career out entirely because of the effect of dynasties on Pakistan" referring to the Bhutto family dynasty and its ties to Pakistani politics. Although Bhutto is politically active, she is not affiliated with any political party.[12] She also expressed great sadness at her estranged aunt, Benazir Bhutto's death.[13]

Publications

The title of Bhutto's book 8.50 a.m. 8 October 2005 marks the moment of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake; it records accounts of those affected. She has also written a book of poetry, Whispers in the Desert. A memoir, Songs of Blood and Sword, was published in April 2010. The Shadow of the Crescent Moon, her fiction debut, was published in November 2013.[14] Her latest work of fiction — a short story titled ‘Democracy’ was published in February of 2015. [15]

See also

References

  1. "Fatima Bhutto: A beauty to tame George Clooney – and even Pakistan?". Daily Telegraph. 15 February 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  2. 1 2 Zia, Urooj (15 September 2006). "Don't look back in anger, look forward with hope, urges Fatima". Daily Times. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
  3. "Fatima's Book on Quake Victims Launched". The Nation (Pakistan). 14 September 2006. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Walsh, Declan (11 January 2008). "The Broken Bloodline". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
  5. "Fatima launches her innings as Bhutto's struggle for political survival". Pakistan: The Nation. 27 January 2006. Archived from the original on 11 March 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
  6. Goodman, Amy (19 February 2008). "Outspoken Niece of Benazir Bhutto Accuses Aunt's Party of Fraud in Pakistani Elections". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
  7. Fatima Bhutto: A beauty to tame George Clooney – and even Pakistan?
  8. Fletcher, Hannah (28 December 2007). "Who's who in the Bhutto dynasty". The Times (London). Retrieved 13 October 2010.
  9. Page, Jeremy (12 January 2008). "'Real' Bhutto heir denounces family business". The Times (London). Retrieved 13 October 2010.
  10. Resmovits, Joy (29 November 2007). "Bhutto Sees Politics, Pakistan Firsthand". Columbia Daily Spectator (New York). Retrieved 13 October 2010.
  11. "Fatima Bhutto receives Masters Degree". Pakistan Press International. 16 December 2005. Archived from the original on 2 January 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
  12. http://brooklynrail.org/2010/10/express/songs-of-corruption-christian-parenti-with-fatima-bhutto
  13. THE LAST WORD ‘I Loved Benazir’ – An interview with Fatima Bhutto 6 December 2010 in Newsweek Pakistan
  14. Bhutto, Fatima (April 2010). Songs of blood and sword: a daughter's memoir (Biography). New York: Nation Books. ISBN 978-1-56858-632-8. OCLC 535492005. Retrieved 13 October 2010."Fatima Bhutto: Songs of Blood and Sword" (Video). Seattle: Pirate Television. 11 October 2010. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
  15. Zubair, Hamna (2015-03-29). "Rehashing the predictable: Review of Democracy by Fatima Bhutto". www.dawn.com. Retrieved 2016-01-27.

External links

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