Mukhtar Mai’s story has all the makings of a nightmare. Unfortunately, the circumstances involving her happened in real life. On June 22, 2002, Mukhtar Mai, a Pakistani woman living in a village called Meerwala, was gang raped. This came as a punishment for her family because her younger brother, Abdul Shaqoor, was accused of having an affair with a young girl named Salma. Sans proof, Shaqoor was accused of raping or fornicating with Salma. This young girl happened to belong to a very influential tribe in their village, the Mastoi and it was considered forbidden for someone of Shaqoor’s (lower) stature to be seen with someone like Salma, whose family was from a higher level of society.
As a result, Shaqoor was taken and brutally sodomized by members of Mastoi tribe and was held by them. He was later freed by the police but held in a police station 18km from the village because of the accusation against him.
As a form of settlement, Shaqoor’s family offered to have him marry Salma. Mukhtar, a single woman, was offered in marriage to a Mastoi man as well. The leader of the Mastoi tribe was agreeable at first but unfortunately, some complications ensued. Members of the tribal council (called the panchayat), decided that Mukhtar had to be raped in order to avenge a previous rape — that of Salma, although take note that this had never been proven.
Mukhtar was taken at gunpoint from her home, dragged out of her house and gang raped. To further cement her public humiliation, she was later pushed out and forced to walk home naked in front of other villagers. Her father covered her with a cloth and led her home.
That night, information reached the police that the dispute between the Mastois and the Mai family had been settled and whatever charges were being thrown at Shaqoor were now being withdrawn. Shaqoor was freed from jail. Mukhtar’s rape was not mentioned.
Help from an imam
Mukhtar Mai’s plight was not lost to some people in her village. Days after her rape, Abdul Razzaq, a local imam, strongly condemned the incident during a sermon. He was also instrumental in having the rape covered by the local media by introducing Mukhtar’s father to a journalist. ]
Eight days after the rape, Mukhtar was accompanied by her family to the police station to file charges against the men who raped her.
Thanks to her bravery, Mukhtar Mai managed to have her rapists and the panchayat jailed and put on death row. She was later given recognition by the government and awarded an equivalent of US$8,500 for all her troubles. She used the money to build schools — one for boys and one for girls. Mukhtar herself had never been educated and wanted to help others who were as unfortunate as she.
After her rape, she became a vocal advocate for women’s rights in her country, promoting education in her speeches and travels. She was even invited to the U.S. to speak in front of the United Nations.
Today, her case is still pending in court. The problem now is that Mukhtar Mai is being pressured to withdraw her charges against the men who attacked her. That would effectively release the men who wronged her of their responsibilities and a corruption of justice.
The horrifying thing about this incident in not just that Mukhtar Mai was gang raped but that she became the punishment for someone else’s supposed mistake. She was not even in the game, so to speak. She was just an innocent bystander who happened to be available by virtue of her relationship by consanguinity to the person who was supposed to be at fault — a fault that was never proven at all. Her humiliation only came about as a way to avenge someone’s perceived honor.
Allowing Mukhtar’s rapists to go scot-free would be a denial that the incident ever happened. Not only that, condoning these unspeakable acts and practices will only put in danger not just Mukhtar and her family but also all the women, young girls and even young boys and men in many remote villages and areas in Pakistan. They are nameless, faceless individuals to us but that doesn’t mean they do not exist and have no right to have a decent life. They, too, have to be respected regardless of their status in life.
Take note that Mukhtar Mai was even expected to kill herself for having been raped. Now, she is being pressured to withdraw her charges against the men who brutally raped her in public. What she had to endure and is still enduring is cruel and senseless.
To all of you who read this, please help in any way you can. You can send an e-mail to the government of Pakistan or you could spread the word about this. If you wish to confirm the veracity of this account, you could perform some independent research on your own about Mukhtar Mai or you could click on this Wikipedia link. Here is another link to an article posted on Time.com.
If you wish to let your voice be heard, here are some of the e-mail addresses of Pakistani officials you and your friends can write to to appeal for Mukhtar Mai and all the other women who may be in the same situation as she:
ppp@comsats.net.pk
governor.sectt@punjab.gov.pk
interior.complaintcell@gmail.com
ministry.interior@gmail.com
Your small gesture could help save not just one life — Mukhtar Mai’s life — but also those of untold others. A small gesture could help tremendously or it could help a little. Or maybe, it might fall on deliberately deaf ears. But let it not be said that we didn’t do anything about it.
