I was so sorry to hear the story last night on NPR, that Benazir Bhutto had been assassinated.

Probably 18 years ago, I read a biography of her. All I really remember from it was being struck by how smart, courageous, determined, and persuasive someone would have to be to be a woman heading the government of a Muslim country. And how committed you would have to be, to leave the freedom she experienced as a student at Harvard to return to the much more restrictive life of a woman in Pakistan, especially a woman under as much scrutiny as a political leader like Bhutto.

I wish she could have continued trying to make a difference for her people. Yes, I know there are lots of allegations about corruption and violence within her family; I’m not asserting that she’s perfect, or that I’m any kind of expert. But I think that she was trying to move her country in the right direction, I think she was inspiring to women and girls around the world, especially in the Muslim world, and I am deeply saddened by the fact that opportunity has been cut off.