By Anbreen Ajaib
Program Officer Women & Youth Rights Action Aid Pakistan
A tribal council decided a woman should be gang raped. This was retribution for the heinous crime her brother committed.- he sent a marriage proposal to a girl from another tribe.
The people of village Jatoi in district Muzaffargarh, Pakistan, gathered to make a decision regarding this "crime". The punchayat decided that, ?because the young man (brother of Mukhtaran Mai) had damaged the honor of the family by proposing to their daughter, so as revenge the boy's sister, Mukhtaran Mai, should be raped by the brothers of the girl to retaliate for the "dishonor" done to them." Mukhtaran Mai, who was also sitting there waiting for a "just" decision, was forced to come to the hut nearby. She cried and asked for help, but nobody did anything to help her. Six men grabbed her in the hut and raped her collectively. After this inhuman revenge they pushed her outside, half clad, to go home in disgrace. Nobody dared to challenge the situation.
Mukhtaran decided not to keep quiet and asked for help from different people. She went to police station, but the police refused to lodge or register the complaint. She went to a small NGO working in the area. This NGO decided to take up the issue and started networking with other organizations at national level. The media took up the issue. Finally, through the efforts of civil society organizations, determined support from the media, and the painstaking efforts of Mukhtaran Mai herself, the Court decided to arrest and prosecute the guilty and announced capital punishment for one and life imprisonment for the other five men.
Mukhtaran does not stop her efforts after this decision. She decides to open a school for girls in the village so that they can be empowered enough to take a stand in such situations. Presently she is running a school and takes part in initiatives for women rights. During her struggle against "honor" killing of women, she participated in a national level rally held in Islamabad, and advised the crowd to raise their voice against all forms of discrimination against women.
The story does not end here. Once more patriarchy showed its dominance, the decision given by the lower court was overturned and the Lahore High Court decided, on 6th March 2005, to release five of the accused and converted capital punishment to life imprisonment for the sixth. Civil society organizations on the appeal of Mukhtaran Mai stood together again and protested this decision by launching the rallies on 8th of March, which is International Women's Day. AA prepared a gender analysis of the High Court judgment to show how patriarchal biases colored the verdict. Prominent lawyer, Chowdry Aitezaz Ahsan, was asked to file an appeal in the Supreme Court. ActionAid along with other organizations is supporting the effort to obtain justice for the brave woman, who has challenged the powerful forces in her village. The lawyer has volunteered to take the case free of cost, while incidental expenses are being supported by Actionaid.
The story is a good example of joint action and networking between different individuals and organizations and of positive civil society intervention in the cause of justice.
Despite the strong opposition and hindrance from the patriarchal system, the struggle for change is strong and alive.
