Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari attended a ceremony to unveil a wax figure of his late mother and former Pakistan prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, at Madame Tussauds Dubai on July 30.
Two-time former prime minister, Bhutto was the first woman elected to head a democratic government in Muslim-majority Pakistan. She was assassinated in a gun-and-bomb attack on her during an election rally in Rawalpindi city on December 27, 2007.
Benazir’s wax figure is the first of a Pakistani personality at the museum’s Dubai location, according to UAE media.
Benazir’s son and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari attended the unveiling of the figure along with other dignitaries and diplomats.
“It is indeed an honor and a privilege that we are unveiling the statue of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto here at the Madame Tussauds in Dubai,” Bhutto Zardari said at the event.
The Pakistani foreign minister said Dubai has a special place in his heart as his late mother spent nearly 10 years in the city during her self-imposed exile before returning to Pakistan in 2007. “So, we have a close attachment to this city, to this country and we are immensely grateful that the memory of our mother is being honored here in the form of this wax statue,” he said.
“She is a symbol of democracy, for freedom, for equal rights for women across the world,” Bilawal Zardari said. He thanked Madame Tussauds Dubai for honoring his mother’s memory and legacy.
Madame Tussauds Dubai
Madame Tussauds Dubai officially opened its doors on Bluewaters in 2021. It is the first Madame Tussauds in the Gulf region
With the opening of the world-famous waxwork attraction, Dubai has become a hotspot for stars and celebrities.
The doors of the first Madame Tussauds opened over 200 years in Baker Street London, displaying worldwide celebrities made out of wax. Today, there are more than 20 Madame Tussauds wax museums found all around the world in the United States, United Kingdom, China, Australia, UAE, and Europe.