Was Benazir Bhutto killed because she was a woman?

Question

Did the Taliban or Al Qaeda kill Bhutto to keep a woman from ruling?

Lots of good posts here. Thanks to everyone. Thanks for the reference to the "zina" ordinance. Roshen Jehan was given a life sentence in 1987 after her first husband divorced her, then changed his mind and she was charged with raping her second legal husband.

Some of the posts suggest that the Pakistan government created the assassination. This raises two questions:
1) Are you saying the Pakistan government encourages suicide-martyrdom killings?
2) Are you imagining the Taliban or Al Qaeda would someday have a woman leader?

Too bad Bhutto's husband refused to allow an autopsy or post-mortem examination to be carried out. It would have reduced the specultation. What isn't speculation is the multimillion corruption of all Pakistan political leaders.

Answer 1

no not specifically...she had already served as prime minister before her self imposed exile. she was killed because she wanted equality and democracy. and there was a real chance that she would get it.

Answer 2

Well I have seen the last moving images released by the Pakistani Government. It clearly shows a man with a small pistol. For such a man, with an ammunition, to get so close to Benazir Bhutto is really strange. I personally believe that the blame should be put on the Pakistani Government/ Intelligence Agencies. One obvious reason that why the blame should be put on them is the lack of security. They should have ensured that the crowd could not get close to Benazir Bhutto's vehicle after she was leaving the rally. Why the security cordon collapsed after the end of the rally? She was a Former Prime Minister and clearly would have become the next one. The blame is on the Government.

Answer 3

The reasons are still swirling around about just who and why Bhutto was killed, but being a woman may have contributed to the list of reasons. One of the recent reports state Al-Qaida is responsible:
"An Al-Qaida leader based in Afghanistan has claimed responsibility for the assassination of former Pakistan Premier Benazir Bhutto, whom he described as ''the most precious American asset.''
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070037061&ch=12/28/2007%208:21:00%20AM

The article states that "Bhutto had repeatedly attacked elements who were fomenting extremism and militancy in northwestern region of the country and vowed to crack down on militant groups", which could have contributed to Al-Qaida's hatred.

On the other hand, Bhutto's family and her PPP party don't believe Al-Qaida was responsible, or that the bomb blast killed her, but that she was killed by a gunman. Other sources in the article below state that Al-Qaida states they DIDN'T assassinate Bhutto:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aWpSJGDLZJYQ&refer=home

I've also read reports critical of the Pakistani government's protection of Bhutto, and of course speculation that Bhutto's political opponents were responsible for her death.

Bhutto did push for health care changes and repeal of laws that negatively affect women such as Hudood and Zina ordinances, but neither were rescinded during her terms as Prime Minister, reportedly due to opposition from right-wing religious parties. So these groups could still be very unhappy with Bhutto's return. In addition, Bhutto was accused of "Westernizing" Pakistan during her terms, when she pushed for modernization of Pakistan, which would be another faction that would hate her return to power.

Of course, the Taliban and Al Qaeda would have no reason to want Bhutto in power, but other religious conservative groups could have hated her just as much for her views on women and modernization, and still others could have just hated her for being more popular than them.

Answer 4

I don't think she was killed specifically because she was a woman. She was killed because she was an opposition leader and therefore, a threat. However, I would like to know how she really died. I don't buy the story of her hitting her head on the sunroof of her car and fracturing her skull. I believe she was shot and the government is trying to cover it up.

Answer 5

I doubt it. For the most part, they killed her because she represented a very viable threat to their idea of how Pakistan should function.

Answer 6

Probably not as much as her politics and the likelihood of her success in the elections which were scheduled for next week.

As long as she wasn't much of a contender, she was safer than when her popularity and the likelihood of her winning became apparent.

As far as being a woman, the problems related to that emerged AFTER she won last time ~ for example, she may have been forced to back down from attempts to modify the zina laws due to being targetted for smear about her own personal life, a situation more serious for a woman in Pakistan than even the US.

Not to say it was not a factor, but I would say being a woman was not the major factor in the assassination, and it is unlikely that w will ever know the real reason, as the event has now become a matter of political history.

Cheers :-)

Answer 7

no.

This is too complicated. Suffice it to say that the truth WOULDN'T set you free.

Answer 8

You're not well informed on this subject, I take. Bhutto had been out of power for a while. She was likely killed on her rival's, orders, though Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for it, though they could be in cahoots. Then again, so many people wanted to kill her for so many reasons (and so many tried) we may never know. Her being a woman, was probably last on a long, long list of reasons.

The Taliban can't afford to go around killing foreign officials at this point, much less Bhutto, though it would be an ironic death, as she supported them for years, while she was Prime Minister of Pakistan in the 90s.

Answer 9

No.
It is far more likely that she was killed for:
1) being against the military dictatorship
or 2) because she appeared to be a U.S.-stooge

Note that there have been female leaders of a number of Muslim-dominated countries.

Answer 10

Hardly. She was a political figure, and like anyone in politics, had enemies. Unfortunately, her enemies had the means to kill her - and did.

Answer 11

No, it was because she was a moderate.