Daily Times

Benazir Bhutto Leadership Program (BBLP), an initiative to prepare people who will be assuming leadership positions in Muslim countries. The initiative was launched by a service organisation called Class Achieving Change Together (ClassACT HR73). The organisation was established by class fellows of slain PPP leader Benazir Bhutto from Harvard. The programme was launched through a daylong assembly titled “Leading in the Muslim World: What would Benazir do today?” BBLP comprises several components, including a fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School, a mentoring programme and an educational outreach initiative.

The initiative aims first for women applicants from Islamic countries, ranging from Lebanon to Bangladesh. The fellows will then be expected to return to their country of origin and to apply what they have learned through leadership in politics, or public or private administration, that will lead to principle based change. The programme aims to create a significant network of fellows and associates, contemporary scholars already at Harvard — who, over time, will support each other, enhancing the likelihood of their success. The first fellows are slated to arrive at Harvard during the fall of 2018. The BBPL will also have an associate programme which allows scholars already at Harvard to participate in certain aspects of the curriculum.

Other than carrying the message of his father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Benazir was a role model for the women of the world, especially the Muslim countries. She became a symbol of hope for the women of several countries where they are denied even basic human rights.

Circumstances were not rosy either when she came into power. Pakistan had just gotten rid of a dictator, who had passed draconian laws targeting the women. The ascension of Benazir was a great shift in the state policies where radical Islam had been institutionalised under the dictatorship of General Zia ul Haq. Ascension of a female candidate to the highest office was not without hurdles as she had to ward off many threats to achieve her goal. To the masses in the country, she was a symbol; a hope that her father had given them about a decade ago. The hurdles placed by the establishment and the consequent self-exile did not hamper her courage, and she returned to the country when Pakistan was facing the worst of terrorist attacks. Unfortunately, she became a victim of the same.

Internationally, she symbolised the message of women empowerment. This initiative at Harvard encompasses that message, and it is hoped that the Fellows of the initiative will be the next Benazir’s of their nations. *