Mukhtaran Mai’s Blog

Posted on September 8, 2006
Filed Under >Bilal Zuberi, Law & Justice, People, Women
55 Comments
Total Views: 73205

Bilal Zuberi

Mukhtaran Mai is a name familiar to most Pakistanis. In 2002, she was raped by 4 men from a rival tribe as per the decision of local elders in a tribal jirga. The story of the jirga decision is a fascinating tale itself in how our judicial and extra-judicial systems sometimes work in rural Pakistan.

While many women quietly suffer an ill fate at the hands of such tribal decisions, and sometimes committ suicide from the ‘shame’, Mukhtaran Mai fought back. Her prepetrators of the crime were tried in the anti-terrorism courts and death sentences were handed down to the guilty. Since then, the judicial process has taken the case back and forth and most recently the Supreme Court has decided in her favor.

Mukhtaran Mai has become a symbol of resistance and hope for women in Pakistan, and all over the muslim world. In addition to fighting the case in courts, she has become a movement for bringing education to her village, and attention to the broader issue of women’s rights in Pakistan. She buillt the first two schools in her local village of Meerwala, in Southern Punjab and now campaigns internationally.

But now one can read a weekly blog by Mukhataran Mai, her own own internet diary about her life, her village, and the work she is doing internationally to promote women’s causes. Her blog is in urdu and is hosted by the BBC Urdu service. Since Mukhataran cannot read or write, she tells her stories to a local BBC journalist, who types it up as a web diary.

About her blog, she says:

“Mostly I talk about incidents which are cruel and painful. I try to discuss only the most serious things in my blog: the poor treatment of women, sometimes leading to killing,” she says.

“I sometimes talk about my childhood memories – events that take place at my schools; or perhaps just about the household chores.”

“I don’t think that the people in our village know what it’s all about and what I am writing. But I’ve received a few e-mails from other places – people who have reading my blog on line and who encourage me to continue.”

Mukhataran Mai’s presence on the web, in the form of a blog, is a wonderful reminder of how digital access can open doors for a better communication between people lwho otherwise may never meet each other. Mukhataran’s audience is global, and while most support her cause, not all people agree with the path she has chosen; some may not even sympathize with her. But at least a healthy discussion is happening where a village woman can be a party to share her thoughts and opinions. Even about the naysayers, she says:

“It’s their kindness that they read the material. I am grateful to them. They encourage me to continue in my work in the village, and for women everywhere in Pakistan.”

55 responses to “Mukhtaran Mai’s Blog”

  1. Saadia Khan says:

    Its sad to that Pakistan rape reform has been failed after President Musharraf’s govt. caved in to religious conservatives by dropping its plans to reform rape laws. Its really disgusting that he had to do this only because of some illiterate Mullahs and MNAs pressure….What a shame!!!

  2. Bilal Zuberi says:

    Good point, Mast Qalandar.
    Why are our mosques silent on this issue? Do they think such issues should not be discussed, or at all contemplated upon? What are they afraid of, when their pulpits are ideal for teaching and preaching civility and justice? Those of us who raise concern on such issues from outside Pakistan are often chastened for washing our dirty laundry in public. If there was enough wasing going on inside, there would be less need to do it outside as well.

  3. Mast Qalandar says:

    Passion: I agree with most of what you say except your proposed punishment of burying the perpetrators upto their necks and stoning them to death. Brutality does not improve anything. It only begets more brutality.

    If we have a good justice system no one would feel the need take their grievances to the world.

    Did you notice one thing? Throughout the MM episode not even a squeak was heard from the country’s loudest loudspeakers!!!

  4. passion says:

    Dear Mast Qalandar
    The society and the institutions of country should be on the side of the victim. Islam says a women needs 4 witnesses for rape and here the whole village watches the rape and no one comes out and say YES I SAW THE RAPE why? just because our system is weak and injust. Police is corrupt and why blame the police when the politicians are corrupt then the whole system gets corrupt.we are not living in 18th century but this is 21st century and what we need to do is as a nation condemn these acts and improve the system. A woman should not have to wait DAYS to report a crime like that if the system is just and fast. We have all the money in the world to spend on everything else but on the improvement of system. Why is the police in Pakistan so behind in everything. How come they are not being modernized with labs and weapons and protection. We blame the police but what do you expect from somone one who stand on their feet all day and get merely 5000 rupees a month or less, is that JUST looking at the inflation in Pakistan. As long our system will not change nothing will change and only education and sincere politicians can do that.
    I am not a passionate accuser of Mai, I am just bringing up a possiblity not a judgement. Dont you think that this kind of attention can provoke false accusations in the future? My judgement is very clear that those culprits should be burried in the ground uptill their necks and stoned to death because when you rape someone you rape not just one person but the whole society.
    Our people need to know their rights and responsibilities and should be educated about their rights as citizens of Pakistan. No one should be afraid of going to police for protection, or to judiciary for justice. There should be checks on police system and prompt action on those checks.
    More scientific system is the answer where you dont have to wait for people to come upfront and say that the crime happened but the crime speaks for itself loudly with scientific evidence.
    Mai is a BRAVEHEART and I respect her bravery to break the barrier and show the ill factors of the society that women are not mere commodities but still MY THOUGHT ABOUT THE POSSIBLITY STAYS THERE and our system needs to make sure that people dont get advantage of this situation and use it for their own benefit.

  5. Mast Qalandar says:

    I think some of you guys have got this discussion all wrong. The discussion is not merely about rape as a crime. It is about the reaction of the society and its institutions towards the crime. Mukhtarn Mai’s rape was not the first and, unfortunately, it won’t be the last. But it was the conduct of the society and state institutions, during and after this particularly shameful crime was committed, what made it hit the headlines around the world.

    Those amongst us who try to minimize the gravity of this shameful crime by quoting statistics of rape and similar crimes from the US and Europe should know that in these countries the society, the police and justice system are always on the side of the victim and they do their best to catch the perpetrators, prosecute them and punish them according to the law. Such cases are never forgotten by the law. Only recently, in a well publicized case in New York, a 60 year old man was arrested and successfully prosecuted with the help of DNA test for a rape he had committed 35 years ago. He could not be successfully prosecuted then because of lack of evidence (DNA not available then), jumped bail and ran away, he thought, into oblivion. His victim, now a 55 year old lawyer, did not have to beg the president or anyone else for justice. The system worked on its own, slowly and surely, and caught up with the perpetrator.

    Mukhtaran Mai now is not just a rape victim. She has become an icon of battle against injustice. Those of you who accuse the NGOs for stirring up her case should remember that had it not been for the NGOs and the press she would have been long forgotten as one of the unreported statistics like thousands of others like her.

    To her “Passionate” accusers, once when a reporter asked Mukhtaran Mai to explain the accusation that she was doing all this for money, her simple reply was “take all that money and give me justice.”

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