Is it the world or something else?

GLAMOUR MAGAZINE: One report estimates that in Pakistan a woman is raped every two hours, another that 60 percent of women are illiterate. As prime minister, how would you improve the status of women in your country?

BENAZIR BHUTTO: I am a woman, so I feel deeply about issues particular to women. The judicial system is weak where women are concerned. In our culture, there’s a prejudice that [rape] is the woman’s fault: Who told her not to stay behind the four walls of her house? So we should bring women into the police force and there should be women courts.
I would like to see the spread of education, especially for girls—during my two terms in office we set up 48,000 new schools—but I would also like to see women play a greater role in the social and economic life of Pakistan. When I was prime minister I opened a bank run by women that gave credit only to women. With this a lot of women have opened small businesses. We also need to be changing the climate; you know, there are the religious parties who say that a woman should not work, and I think that’s wrong. The first convert to Islam was a businesswoman, Bibi Khadija.

GLAMOUR MAGAZINE: One Pakistani woman who became an international sensation is Mukhtar Mai; she was gang-raped, but instead of committing suicide as was expected of her, she brought her rapists to trial. But there are still threats against her. How would you guarantee her safety?

BENAZIR BHUTTO: I would give her full security. I feel very proud of Mukhtar al-Mai. She had the courage to speak up and challenge the centuries of taboos that forced a woman to keep silent. And since then she’s set up a [school and shelter], she’s tried to reach out to other women. I read her book; it brought tears to my eyes. [Choking up.]