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Mukhtar Mai put under house arrest, her rapists freed
Pakistan's most famous gang rape victim Mukhtar Mai, a courageous fighter turned social-worker, has been put under house arrest, her 12 rapists were ordered to be released from prison and General Pervez Musharraf's so called enlightened moderation has been dumped out into the deep gutter. All this has happened as Mai, a 35-year old village gal, who was punished by being gang raped on order of her village council in 2002, was planning a visit to the US on the invitation of some NGOs to highlight the miserable situation of women in Pakistan. But before she could leave her home for getting a visa, Mai was not only pushed into detention, she was also placed on the dreaded Exit Control List (ECL) which means she cannot leave Pakistan, even if she obtains any number of foreign visas.Mai was raped for more than an hour on the orders of Meerwala tribal council in June 2002, in retribution for her brother's alleged affair with a woman of a powerful rival clan. That was a concocted story but Mai, then 32, had to suffer the indignity publicly. But she recovered and vowed to fight back the system. She set up her own NGO and started raising funds for women of her area and she was successful as the world rallied to her support, not just for the undeserved punishment she received but because she had the courage to stand up and fight. For the last 10 days, however, the Government of General Pervez Musharraf has incarcerated Mai in her village home, fearing that she was about to leave for US where she may expose the brutal Pakistani tribal system and "bring a bad name to the country." Mai was earlier stopped from leaving her home when she had received a call from the US Consulate in Lahore to come and collect her US visa. She is scheduled to appear in several events in Houston and other cities this month but authorities are preventing her from obtaining the visa. The spokesperson told South Asia Tribune Mai had no intention to run away from Pakistan as she wanted to stay in her own village and provide the women there the inspiration and courage to fight the system. "They fear that Mai will speak out against the Army and the Government but this is rubbish as she has previously visited three other countries, including Spain and Saudi Arabia, but she never spoke against Pakistan," the spokesperson said. Posted by: Paul Moloney 2005-06-11 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=121398 |