On December 27, 2007, Rafia Zakaria's Uncle Sohail nearly died of a stroke. On that same night, Benazir Bhutto, the only woman to serve as Prime Minister of Pakistan, was assassinated. For one brief, singular moment, the catastrophes of Rafia's family and her country had become entwined, and she found she couldn't fully celebrate Sohail's survival or mourn Bhutto's death. The mixed emotions she felt lead her on an exploration of her family's and her country's troubled past.
The Upstairs Wife tells the story of Karachi's increasing religious conservatism and political instability through the eyes of its women.
