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PAKISTAN: Despite Hurt and Pain, Gang Rape Victim Shows Compassion

Muddassir Rizvi

MEERWALA, Pakistan, Mar 31 2005 (IPS) - Tucked away in sprawling lush green fields dotted with date palms and an irrigation canal crisscrossing nearby is the home of Mukhtaran Mai whose resistance against the powerful Mastoi tribe has made her the symbol of struggle for all Pakistani women.

Mai hit international headlines when the Lahore High Court on Mar. 3 acquitted five of the six men convicted of gang raping her in June 2002 in Meerwala hamlet – on the orders of village elders. She was publicly raped on the orders of the Meerwala council as punishment for her brother who allegedly had illicit sexual relations with a woman from a rival tribe, the Mastoi.

In the process of her legal battle that doesn’t seem to end, an otherwise illiterate 32- year-old divorced woman belonging to one of the most underdeveloped areas of the country has become famous, confident and a source of strength for people who would like to raise their voices against social injustices and skewed power distribution, but have not had the courage to do so.

Mai finds it difficult to cope with the fast pace of her new life – media exposure, phone calls by movers and shakers in society, their unending visits to her downtrodden village and invitations to meetings and conferences from within the country and abroad.

”I am overwhelmed,” she told IPS, in her house in Meerwala, which is a three and a half hours drive from the central Punjab town of Multan.

”I have become famous for what was done to me…I don’t like it,” she said thoughtfully, not realising that it was her struggle afterwards that made her an icon for Pakistani women who remain socially, economically and politically isolated in the country.

Mai now addresses rallies across Pakistan and abroad. She has shamed her government into supporting her battle for justice. Thanks to her growing international fame she has received financial contributions from around the world. These she has used to build two schools for boys and girls in her village.

For Mai, the schools also give her reason to live. ”The work has helped me to overcome my sufferings,” she said.

Nasreen Akhtar is Mai’s confidant and accompanies her wherever she goes.

”We have almost 200 girls and around 140 boys enrolled. Mai believes that education will eventually change people’s minds and enable them to breakaway from the existing mindset that takes oppression as fait accompli,” said Akhtar.

A distant relative of Mai as well, Akhtar helps Mai manage the two schools.

”The school for girls is the beginning of a silent revolution in this area where females are confined to homes and have no voice,” added Akhtar who is a university graduate.

Although Mai has been teaching Holy Quraan to the girls of her village, she has never been to school herself. She is now taking grade three lessons at the school she helped set up, but after the classes are over.

While Mai continues to be humble despite her new status, it has intimidated the people of the Mastoi tribe who once used to laugh and poke fun at her.

”We don’t even talk loud in our homes, because trouble would come to us if Mai could hear,” said Maqsood Bibi, wife of Allah Ditta Mastoi, one of the two brothers accused in the Mai gang rape case and currently under arrest. Also their house, where the rape was committed, is located just six meters away from Mai’s home.

Even local government officials feel pressured to act when Mai approaches them.

”We know Mai can just call anybody anywhere and they would listen to her too. When she calls us for some work, we are prompt,” said an official of the Muzaffargargh district government. ”But she never calls for personal favours. It is always for some problem in her area.”

Fellow villagers recognise that she has become a source of development in their area.

Mai has not been just struggling for justice for these past two years, a fact that is rather under reported by the media. She has also spent her time in meeting officials of the provincial and district governments, fighting for more funds for the people in her underdeveloped area.

It is Mai’s hard work that has ushered in a new era of development in Meerwala, much to the envy of local power brokers.

A pukka (metalled) road to the village, electricity and improvement in the heath centre are all outcomes of Mai’s constant petitions and follow-ups with the government departments.

”Everybody in the village knows that whatever is happening is due to the efforts of Mai. We are thankful for her,” said a barber who set up shop beside the canal under a shady tree.

The barber shop is traditionally a place of gossip, and a barber in any Pakistani village is considered the most informed person about happenings in the community. Another person sipping a cup of tea at the kiosk less than a meter away joined the conversation, saying what happened to Mai was heinous but despite that her efforts for her people were noble.

”Her resolve to take revenge is understandable, but her resolve to develop the area and to educate our children will benefit all equally, even the Mastois who victimised her,” he said, as others sitting around nodded in agreement.

They are not wrong. In her school, Mai has no problem teaching the daughter of one of her alleged rapists. ”This little girl has nothing to do with what her father did to me. She is as loveable as any other child,” said Mai.

But the anger becomes visible in Mai’s eyes whenever she talks about the men who gang raped her.

”I won’t rest till all of these men are put to death for what they have done…if they go loose, women will continue to be violated, abused and killed,” she said sternly.

On Mar. 26, Mai filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the Lahore High Court judgement acquitting five of her alleged rapists. A top-notch constitutional lawyer, Aitzaz Ahsan, who is also a member of parliament, now represents her pro bono.

But even the most seasoned lawyer cannot speed up the process of justice in a country where courts are burdened with caseloads beyond what they can handle.

”I will wait and fight. The Lahore High Court verdict acquitting the convicts shattered my faith in the judiciary. But I have faith in God…I will get justice,” said Mai as she stared blankly at the serene fields that surround her home.