Some of you might remember the amazing story of Mukhtar Mai / Mukhtaran Bibi who fought back after having been savagely raped on the orders of her village jirga. Instead of staying silent, she took her rapists to court, and used the compensation awarded by the government to open a school for girls.
Mukhtar Mai’s bravery made her a cause celebre. Time Magazine (Asia) profiled her as one of “Asia’s Heros.” She was recently invited to the United States to speak by Amnesty International, and had an American speaking tour scheduled as well.
Last week, the Pakistani government decided that she was drawing too much attention. First they banned her from travelling, then they put her under house arrest, then they kidnapped her and detained her incommunicado.
In phone conversations in the last few days, she said that when she tried to step outside, police pointed their guns at her. To silence her, the police cut off her land line… Ms. Mukhtaran continued her protests by cellphone. But at dawn yesterday the police bustled her off, and there’s been no word from her since. Her cellphone doesn’t answer. Asma Jahangir, a Pakistani lawyer who is head of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, said she had learned that Ms. Mukhtaran was taken to Islamabad, furiously berated and told that President Pervez Musharraf was very angry with her. She was led sobbing to detention at a secret location. She is barred from contacting anyone, including her lawyer. [NYT]
The US government has made it clear that it doesn’t care:
… on Friday, just as all this was happening, President Bush received Pakistan’s foreign minister in the White House and praised President Musharraf’s “bold leadership.” [NYT]
Meanwhile, the GoP (Government of Pakistan) baldly lies (surprise!) and tells the world that its actions are designed to protect Mukhtaran Mai:
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told reporters in Islamabad that any security measures in place were for the protection of Ms Mai. [BBC]
To make matters even worse, six of her rapists, originally sentenced to death, were due to be released today after the Lahore High Court said there was insufficient evidence to support their conviction. According to Kristof, the order for their release came
on a Friday afternoon, when the courts do not normally operate… [this] apparently was a warning to Ms. Mukhtaran to shut up. [NYT]
(The men were not actually released, leading to complaints from the Lahore High Court.)
You, dear reader, know the drill. Get on the phone, get out your parchment and quill, start up the smoke signals and talking drums. Let President Musharraf, the Pakistani Embassy, the State Department, and your Congressman know how you feel. Mukhtaran Mai has been brave enough for several lifetimes. It’s time we start doing our part to thank her.
UPDATE:
Members of ANAA are arranging a protest rally due to continued detention of Mukhtaran Mai in front of Pakistan Embassy in Washington DC. If you are interested in joining us, please email: 4anaapk@gmail.com
ANAA has a partial list of news coverage on Mukhtaran Mai’s detention. See also earlier posts for background: 1, 2.
What is amazing about that picture is that Mukhtaran has her face uncovered whilst the police women accompanying her are covered up. Just look at her face all defiant and unashamed, refusing to be defeated or stigmatised whilst the police women worry about their own profile. That sums the whole thing up I suppose. Power and strength to Mukhtaran.
here’s a puzzle — i thought that her web site had disappeared since the front page (http://www.mukhtarmai.com/) gives a “bandwidth exceeded” message that has been there for a while now. but if you go to one of the internal links it’s still there (e.g.: http://www.mukhtarmai.com/Mai'sTragedy.htm).
question for you tech-saavy folks — is this a case of an inept attempt at censorship, or something else altogether?
after the Lahore High Court said there was insufficient evidence to support their conviction
Which is absolutely true. No sane jury could have convicted these 6 men on the available evidence.
Looks like an inept attempt at censorship or a really bad systems administrator 😉
Any news on if the school is still in operation, or have they reverted that too?
Sadly, I saw something like this coming. 🙁 People don’t like giving up their power over others so easily.
A couple of days back I saw a news item in Pakistan paper (Jung) about a sixth grader boy booked by the police for blasphemy.
President Musharraf will be visiting New Zealand later in the week. Why not try and convince Helen Clark, the NZ Prime Minister, to raise the issue with him?
Her email address is “pm@ministers.govt.nz”.
A friend of mine has snippets of the ‘blasphemy’ article on her blog.
As for the website issue? I faced the same problem. It might be a lazy attempt at censorship, or indeed a sys error. I’ve saved the pages anyway.
Declan Walsh, the Guardian’s fellow in Pakistan/Afghanistan, has a couple of articles on this matter, and on the official ‘response’ or lack thereof.
“Ban On Rape Victim Leaving”
and my fave, “Facing The Awkward Truth”
“Neither moderate nor enlightened, the crude gagging order has confirmed suspicions that Mr Musharraf pays lip service to human rights but often fails to deliver.
There were earlier warning signs. After Time magazine nominated Ms Mukhtaran as one of “Asia’s heroes” last year, he told a meeting of newspaper editors that he was furious at the inclusion. He would have liked to “slap the reporter on the face”, he raged.”
This afternoon I heard a radio interview with her. She was asked about what happened to her in Islamabad and whether she felt safe now. It was heartbreaking to hear the short response to both questions and then the translation that she didn’t feel comfortable answering or couldn’t say. Also, there was some mention of her mother’s illness being given as a reason for denying her visa, I think.
Good news, high level US intervention from the Bush administration has pushed the authorities to let her travel. Or so this link says.
http://normblog.typepad.com/normblog/2005/06/can_travel.html
*Couldn’t use the link tab above, is it just me or anyonelse with this problem?
MD, I’ve seen this report elsewhere in the US media, including The Times, but bbc is saying that Pakistani government officials are still holding her passport. Excerpt:
I am disgusted at what is happening to her. I just read about this lady as there is an article on her in the Australian News. It seems like the men rule Pakistan.. There is no shame, no dignity from the Shariah Court. How could it overturn the sentences??!!! I just hope that she’s fine right now, especially when they are not allowing her to roam freely.
This case is not an isolated one but something that happens with frequency all over Pakistan. Most Pakistanis view it with disgust and embarassment but very few actually take action to right the wrongs. The attention that this case has brought should not be allowed to fade. The international community should continue to put pressure on Pakistan to force the end to such barbarism. Nothing – not culture, not tradition, not honour, could ever justify the way that women are treated. Men throw acid on women for wearing make-up. Fathers murder their daughters for following what they perceive to be an immoral path! Cases like this are reported nearly every week! Keep up the pressure until Musharaf stands up to the ultra-conservative religious thugs who claim moral supremacy while perpetuating the suppression of women and claiming justification in the Quran.
I was extremely heartbroken when i read ms Mai’s piece, but I know that God will be her strength and guide. And a big Thank you to Glamour magazine for recognising the beauty and strength in women. To Miss Mai know that we constantly pray for you and kudos to your bravery. God Bless you always.
P.s I hope those”animals” have been punished and the government of Pakistan better look into such outdated and animalistic “honor” punishments. when will men be punished for crimes the committ??
I tried the http//www.mukhtarmai.com URL and got a commercial website.
Has somebody hijacked her name??
For those who are interested in hearing her story in her own words,we have translated and published Mukhtar Mai Izzat ke Nam Ek Dastavez ( translation of Deshonoree which Mukhtar Mai wrote in collaboration with Marie-Therese Cuny published by Oh! Edition,Paris 2006)The book in Hindi is available in leading Indian book stores.I hope this book helps her reach out to all her supporters across the world in the languages they read.Her voice must be heard through out the world,and people should get united and demand that the justice prevails.
God bless Mukhtaran Bibi, she is a symbol of courage & bravery, who has fought not only against the evils of sosiety, but also all the ill-wills of powerful Satanic interests. Let us all not only compliment her courage and for her long-life but must ask the oppressed millions and millions of people to unite and stand firm against the evil-system in our society so that Justice could prevail.
Mukhtaran Mai and the rape culture
I wonder how a low-cast woman of Mirwala, named Mukhtaran, became so famous, ‘honored’ and rich only because she was ‘dishonored ‘ by allegedly having been raped in compliance with a verdict of the village Panchayat, manifestly to avenge the dishonor of another woman of Mastoi tribe by Mai’s brother.
It was, as the story goes, first a village mullah, then the NGOs and finally the trial Session Court, which blew the matter out of proportion. No wonder the media also stepped in and made the best use of the sex story adding fuel to the fire. The western media gave extra-ordinary importance to the story not because there is dearth of rape stories in their own countries but because of their ulterior motive of vilifying Islam and the Muslim culture, which the Mai and her ‘fucking honor’ presented.
As I stated above it was the alleged violation of ‘honour’ of a Mastoi woman, which necessitated the holding of village Punchayat (Peoples’ Court). The Mai and her family seemed to be in a compromising situation and therefore wanted to apologize for the alleged misconduct of Mai’s brother. Now there are two versions about what happened afterwards. Mai’s supporters say, the panchayat decided that as a matter of justice, Mai should be fucked by Mastoies to avenge violation of their ‘honour’ violated by her brother. But according to the other party the Mai was not raped but married (nikahfied) to the brother of the Mastoi woman who was ‘dishonoured’ by Mai’s brother. No independent inquiry having been held in the matter to find facts there are as many stories as many tongues. But as the facts of the case go the proceedings and judgment of the Multan High Court still holds the ground which did not give any credence to the evidence in support of the accusation of rape of Mai. In the circumstances it is sheer injustice if any body sits in judgment over a case when one knows nothing even about the bare facts of the case. As it is such peoples are actually dishonoring Mai by insisting that she was raped when the court says there was no evidence to that effect.
Now what a display of ‘fucking honor’ was made in Mirwala when allegedly Mai was being dragged for ‘rape’ before the very eyes of her biraadari including her father and her young brother in compliance with the judgement of the Panchayat. I cannot imagine such a scene even in ‘sex-bazaar’. I can’t believe that people even of the lowest caste can be so devoid of any sense of ‘honor’ that they allow such a thing to happen without any demur. In fact no body stood up as there was perhaps no ground for standing up and it was only the suo moto action taken by the trial court after a number of days that such a halla gulla was raised by NGOs, etc., etc.
As a matter of fact, sex as such, is not a matter falling in the domain of ethics or morals. It is purely a matter of culture. In Shariah if a man accuses somebody of ‘Zina’ (irregular sex with a free person, other than one’s own slave) he is obliged to bring forth four valid eyewitnesses of the crime otherwise he himself becomes liable to ‘Qazaf’ to be condemned as a liar and vilifier and penalized severely and a woman in the same position is liable to be condemned as a self-confessed ‘Zaania’ if she herself alleges to be a victim of rape. It is perhaps why Mai avoided going to the Shariat Court to be judged by Quranic Hadood Laws. That court had recently given a verdict in a rape case that the evidence of the woman, victim of rape in a rape case, is of no consequence unless proved by evidence. God forbid, if this is allowed any whore can blackmail any man.
As regards rape and its consequences in Sharia, the ‘Fatwa’ issued recently by Deoband in case of a rape of a woman by her father-in-law in India is quite pertinent. According to that ‘Fatwa’ it was held that in consequence of her alleged rape the woman has automatically become the wife of her father-in-law. In fact this appears to be the adoption of an old Judaistic law that makes the rapist accept the victim as his wife, apparently to mitigate her dishonour.
It would perhaps be quite pertinent to quote here what the wise man of China, the great Confucius, says about rape. He says, “ If you feel the rape is inevitable, relax and enjoyâ€. One envies Mukhtaran Mai as she is lucky to have the best of the two, nay, rather three worlds and is so happy having been made so rich and honored because of her alleged rape by Mastoies, setting new values and opening new opportunities for the sex culture in our society.
What prompted me to write this post was actually the award of Maadare Millat Gold Medal to Mai, the raped, by Ms Nilofar Bakhtiar, as it seemed to me a blatant perfidy and insult to the name of Maadare Millat to associate her name with a shameless raped woman so as to present Mai as a role model for our noble women and to usher in Mukhtaran Mai ‘Rape culture’ by glorifying her just to gain some political mileage among women of that type. I say “Why make it a gender issue at all. Even men are prone to be raped and generally they are likely to welcome it unless they are ‘Muttaqi’ like the prophet, Yousaf (PBUH). Even he had escaped attempt of rape by Zulekha only by the help of Allah though admittedly he was going to succumb to itâ€.
Mai may have been to hell and back,but i feel more sorry for Talat(above) who wrote a intelectual piece with a heart of stone. May god have mercy
As Abid say,Talat has a heart of stone, and is also likely of the same nationality as Muktar Mai. He agrees with Sharia law, which is totally against women. I think men in that part of the world are so threatened by women, that they use rape, and stripping women of their clothing, whenever punishment is meted out. Man do not have this happen when they are punished for any reason, in fact most of the time men are not punished at all. It is always the woman’s fault. Even in adultery, which takes two,only the woman is punished, if the court can get away with it, which they usually can.When a brave woman like Muktar Mai fights back, then the man demean her, and humiliate her, and say, or imply it was all her fault. Talat says the rape is alleged. Yet the men admitted it happened, and were initially jailed. Who cares about low caste,& high caste. It is human life that matters. This low caste woman( Mai) is obviously far better than any high caste man who thinks as Talat does. MAy Muktar Mai overcome all the problems she has with the brutal & evil system against women in Pakistan and similar parts of the world. God be with her.
there are people in the world who make the humnnity proud and one of those is mukhtaran mai who has depicted immense strengh and courage against the evil.but there are some very unfortunate people who not only are unable to recognize the truth but are also incapable of discriminating goodness from evil.we cannot but only be extremely sorry for these unlucky people like talat.
I am a muslim, and proud of it and I salute you brave and noble lady for how you stood up to injustice – you live in a sick society and the country is governed by even sicker people I will most surely mention and talk about this to my children (same time I am afraid to because they will be more than shocked out of their wits by this) This action of honor killing is totally barbaric and unIslamic It is similar to time of ignorance amongst the Arab peoples, who used to bury their female children alive because their wives did not deliver male offspring Our Islamic teachings and the Noble Prophet put a stop to this type of barbarism As for Talat,I am shocked/horrified at you pride first of all Pride of birth / social status / class / caste sytem is condemmed in Islam – it is from Satan and brings about oppression, misery and sheer evil There exists no higher or lower caste in Islam,we are all regarded (like all other humans) the same in the sight of the Almighty I have no words for you, you disgusting thing – I wish you would end up in an penal instituion in South Africa, where you will be raped / sodomised 24/7 – maybe then you would start to realise the sheer emotional and psycological trauma and deep hurt a woman must endure when raped
Mukhtar Mai is not alone.Once again frenzy of patriarchy revealed its ugly head.The point should be to prevent this kind of lurid acts.No government,no social activists can stop this barbarity unless people become conscious,sensible.The civil society must come forward from a cocoon of smug individualism.Politics following barbarity reveals how our politicians have plunged headlong into an amoral morass.Mukhtar,we are always morally behind you.You are a signpost of history.You have shown the degree of savagery which guides patriarchy in today’s world.
Hi everyone, Yes I am a Mastoi, Yes I do speak the same native language as the Mastois and Mukhtaran Mai, No I am not related to those vulture Mastois. My Dear Talat, before you reply to my comment, take a sip of cold water and think, if we wanted to hear your opinion we’d just fart. Now, few things, I would suggest that you listen to Confuscious and go and get get raped, I’m sure you want to and I am sure you’ll like it. It is people like yourself that give us muslims a bad name, you read the Quran and think you own the world, take your head out of your arse and look at the reality of what happens in Pakistan. Until my father and his two brothers were mature enough to understand the real world and were able to make changes, My on village was close to that same nature if not actually the same, so prove me wrong if i tell you that yes, a lot of tribes marry their daughters to the Quran (ILLEGAL IN ISLAM) because they can’t find a suitable husband for her (in reality, it is done so they don’t have to part with any money, dowry, land, jewelery etc. Yes, they still punsih rape victims for being raped, yes, the rapists still get away withjust giving a couple of goats to the victims family, yes, they still have slaves (ALSO COMPLETELY ILLEGAL in Islam), Yes, they still have one sided Jargaas where police is never involved as there is no money to be made.
Mate, lets face the music, Maqbool (Mukhtaran’s 12 yo brother) said something to his friends, was overheard by the Mastoi girl who didn’t like it, went and whinged (whined) to her family, they were the people with more power, asked Maqbool’s father to come to the Jargaa with Mukhtaran to sort things out, he couldn’t question them as they were very powerful (you don’t have to be rich to be owerful in Pakistan, trust me I know, coz my relaives aren’t very rich in our village but everyone follows them like cattle), meanwhile the Mastois went and got a hold of the poor boy, raped him, and when they father and sister went to the Jargaa, the Majority of the Jargaa consisted of Mastois and no one can question the elers can they. When the father complained, he was told he wanted justice, justice was being served and to cop it sweet. THE END.
Only problem was, the girl didn’t let it go (Talat’s thoughts “How dare she? she should have been enjoying it”) some people are like that. Anyway, good on her!
I’m done talking!
So unless a rape victim can produce 4 witnesses to the crime, she will never see justice?
How often do men rape women in the presence of 4 witnesses?
Ridiculous!
Hi there,
I’m from Brazil, and I just read Mai’s book. Well I’d like to have all this “spirit” like Mai. She’s one of the most incredible women that I’ve ever known. Maybe if 5% of world’s women have this courage, we could live in a better place right now. Rape is a SERIOUS problem, and only whom have been trough this can tell how does it feel.