Fatima Bhutto (; , born 29 May 1982) is a Pakistani writer and columnist. Born in

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

, she is the daughter of politician

Murtaza Bhutto Murtaza Bhutto (; , 18 September 1954 – 20 September 1996) was a Pakistani politician and leader of al-Zulfiqar, a Pakistani left-wing militant organization. The son of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, he earned a ...

, sister of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr, niece of former Pakistani Prime Minister

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...

and granddaughter of former Prime Minister and President of Pakistan,

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

. She was raised in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

, and received her bachelor's degree from

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

, followed by a master's degree from the

SOAS University of London The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

. Bhutto is a critic of her aunt Benazir Bhutto and her husband

Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari (born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician serving as the 14th president of Pakistan since 2024, having held the same office from 2008 to 2013. He is the president of Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians and was the ...

, whom she accused of involvement in her father's murder. Her non-fiction book, '' Songs of Blood and Sword'' (2010), is about her family. Bhutto has written for ''The News'' and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' among other publications.

Early life and education

Bhutto was born on 29 May 1982 to

and his

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

wife, Fauzia Fasihudin Bhutto, the daughter of Afghanistan's former foreign affairs official in

. 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

and they married. Bhutto considers Ghinwa as her real mother. Her half-brother Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr. is an artist based in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Bhutto is the granddaughter of

and

Nusrat Bhutto Begum Nusrat Bhutto (; ; ; []; 23 March 1929 – 23 October 2011) was an Iranian-born Pakistani public figure who served as the First ladies and gentlemen of Pakistan, First Lady of Pakistan from 1970 Pakistani general election, 1971 to Operat ...

, an Iranian Kurd, niece of

and her husband

, and

Shahnawaz Bhutto Shahnawaz Bhutto (21 November 1958 – 18 July 1985; Sindhi: شاھنواز ڀٽو) was the son of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the former President and Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1971 to 1977 and Begum Nusrat Bhutto, who was of Persian descent. ...

. Her father was killed by the police in 1996 in

during the premiership of his sister, Benazir Bhutto. Her biological mother Fauzia Fasihudin unsuccessfully tried to gain parental custody of Bhutto. She lives with her stepmother in Old Clifton, Karachi. Bhutto received her secondary education at the Karachi American School. She received a B.A. degree ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'', majoring in Middle Eastern and Asian languages and cultures from

, an affiliated women's

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on Undergraduate education, undergraduate study in the Liberal arts education, liberal arts of humanities and science. Such colleges aim to impart ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States, in 2004. She received her M.A. in South Asian Studies from the

SOAS, University of London The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public university, public research university in London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, ...

in 2005, there she wrote her dissertation on the resistance movement in Pakistan.

Career

Publications and politics

In 1998, at the age of 15, Bhutto published her first book named ''Whispers of The Desert''. Her second book ''8.50 a.m. 8 October 2005'' marks the moment of the

2005 Kashmir earthquake An earthquake occurred at on 8 October 2005 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, a territory under Pakistan. Its epicenter was 19 km northeast of the city of Muzaffarabad, and 90 km north north-east of Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, ...

; it records accounts of those affected. Bhutto's family memoir '' Songs of Blood and Sword'' was published in 2010. In the book Bhutto accuses her aunt Benazir and her husband Asif Zardari for killing her father Murtaza. The book got mixed to negative reviews from critics for being biased on the history of her family. Several family members have accused her of falsifying information. In November 2013, her first fictional novel '' The Shadow Of The Crescent Moon'' published. The book had been long-listed in 2014 for the Baileys

Women's Prize for Fiction The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–2012), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017) is one of the United Kingdom's ...

. In 2015 Bhutto's short story titled ''Democracy'', an e-book, under

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

was released. In 2019, her second novel, ''The Runaways'' was published. The book explores three young Muslim men's journey to

radicalization Radicalization (or radicalisation) is the process by which an individual or a group comes to adopt increasingly radical views in opposition to a political, social, or religious status quo. The ideas of society at large shape the outcomes of rad ...

. The novel received critical acclaim for its subject. In October of the same year , ''New Kings of the World: Dispatches from Bollywood, Dizi and K-Pop'' was published.

Tash Aw Tash Aw , whose full name is Aw Ta-Shi (; born 4 October 1971) is a Malaysian writer living in London. Biography Born in 1971 in Taipei, Taiwan, to Malaysians, Malaysian parents, Tash Aw returned to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at the age of two, ...

in the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' described it as a "razor-sharp, intriguing introduction to the various pop phenomena emerging from Asia." Following the assassination of her aunt,

in 2007, 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 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. Bhutto also mentors several South Asian writers as the Head of Climate Projects at the SouthAsia Speaks Literary Fellowship

Personal life

In 2009, it was reported that she was in a relationship with

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and philanthropist. Known for his leading man roles on screen in both blockbuster and independent films, Clooney has received numerous accolades, including two Ac ...

, but neither she nor Clooney ever confirmed their relationship. On April 27, 2023, Bhutto married American national Graham Byra, who adopted the name Gibran following his

conversion to Islam Reversion to Islam, also known within Islam as reversion, is adopting Islam as a religion or faith. Conversion requires a formal statement of the '' shahādah'', the credo of Islam, whereby the prospective convert must state that "there is none w ...

. The ceremony was held in Fatima's ancestral home in

. Byra holds a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

organizational psychology Industrial and organizational psychology (I-O psychology) "focuses the lens of psychological science on a key aspect of human life, namely, their work lives. In general, the goals of I-O psychology are to better understand and optimize the effec ...

from

. Regarding her religious faith, Bhutto has stated that she is a

cultural Muslim Cultural Muslims, also known as nominal Muslims, non-practicing Muslims or non-observing Muslims, are people who identify as Muslim but are not religious and do not practice the faith. They may be a non-observing, secular, or irreligious individ ...

and describes herself as a

secularist Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion. It is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened ...

. She has defended

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

on many occasions and supported Muslim women's right to wear burqa.Fatima Bhutto: “Everyone connects the burqa to oppression, but this isn’t the full story”
''Verdict''

Bibliography

* ''Whispers of The Desert'' Karachi : Oxford University Press, 1998. , * ''8.50 a.m. 8 October 2005'' Karachi : Oxford University Press, 2006. , * '' Songs of Blood and Sword'' New York : Nation Books, 2011. , * '' The Shadow of the Crescent Moon'' New York : Penguin Books, 2013. , * ''Democracy'' (2015) * ''The Runaways'' London : Viking, 2018. , *''New Kings of the World: Dispatches from Bollywood, Dizi, and K-Pop'' New York : Columbia Global Reports, 2019.

References

External links

Fatima Bhutto: Living on the Edge
by William Dalrymple for the Times Online, 18 May 2008
Fatima Bhutto on Her Memoir, ''Songs of Blood and Sword''

In Conversation: Songs of Corruption: Christian Parenti with Fatima Bhutto, ''The Brooklyn Rail''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhutto, Fatima 1982 births Cultural Muslims Living people Pakistani women poets Pakistani activists Pakistani women activists Pakistani women short story writers Writers from Kabul People from Clifton, Karachi

Fatima Fatima bint Muhammad (; 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fatima al-Zahra' (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, the fourth of the Rashidun caliphs and the first Shia imam. ...

Pakistani people of Afghan descent Barnard College alumni Alumni of SOAS University of London Writers from Karachi Journalists from Karachi Pakistani women journalists Karachi American School alumni Pakistani novelists Pakistani expatriates in Syria Pakistani people of Iranian descent Pakistani people of Kurdish descent Pakistani exiles 21st-century Pakistani writers 21st-century Pakistani women writers