![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() But Asif and I had become accustomed to a life of sacrificing our personal happiness and any sense of normalcy and privacy. It was a discussion that few husbands and wives ever have to have, thankfully. We understood the dangers and the risks of my return, and we wanted to make sure that no matter what happened, our daughters and our son, Bilawal (at college at Oxford), would have a parent to take care of them. ![]() Asif and I had made a very calculated, difficult decision. My husband, Asif, was to stay behind in Dubai with our two daughters, Bakhtawar and Aseefa. I had departed three hours earlier from my home in exile, Dubai. I felt that a huge burden, a terrible weight, had been lifted from my shoulders. But as my foot touched the ground of my beloved Pakistan for the first time after eight lonely and difficult years of exile, I could not stop the tears from pouring from my eyes and I lifted my hands in reverence, in thanks, and in prayer. A display of emotion by a woman in politics or government can be misconstrued as a manifestation of weakness, reinforcing stereotypes and caricatures. Like most women in politics, I am especially sensitive to maintaining my composure, to never showing my feelings. As I stepped down onto the tarmac at Quaid-e-Azam International Airport in Karachi on October 18, 2007, I was overcome with emotion. ![]()
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