Fearless Female: Mukhtaran Mai

Some in my family called her opportunistic. Many in Pakistan called her scandalous. Among the many names that could be hurled at her, opportunistic and scandalous are egregious in my book. Mukhtaran Mai, who in 2002 was raped by men from the neighboring and powerful Mastoi clan in Meerwala, in Punjab province. She courageously came forward with her story of being raped by several members of the Mastoi clan in retaliation for one of their female members being allegedly sexually exploited by Mukhtaran’s brother, Shaqoor.

A recent documentary by Mohammad Naqvi entitled Shame, chronicles the events that led up to Mukhtaran’s eventual recognition by various large organizations as woman of the year and recipient of many international awards. When I saw this movie some time ago in November, I was moved. I had heard of her case but in bits and pieces and not from her point of view. The commentary surrounding this case was always opinionated on whether she colored Pakistan’s image and not necessarily the facts of the case.

When I went to Pakistan recently, I had a long and bitter, all-out screamfest with my cousins, who I thought up until that point were rather progressive. All but one of them (the exception being my cousin from South Carolina) riled against her, saying America doesn’t praise any of its rape victims and parades them around so that they receive international press coverage. Far from the fact that we actually have rule of law that allows women to come forward and press charges against the perpetrator, my cousins were more outraged that she received so much attention and thereby reflecting negatively on Pakistan. HELLLO people, that is in fact what she was able to do: to bring attention to outdated laws that unduly favors men by forcing the proof of burden on the women in such incidences. Rape laws in Pakistan are as predated as the Badshahi Masjid. Women had more rights in the advent of Islam back in 622 AD than they do in Pakistan currently.

I can sympathize with my cousins when they say America has many more rapes per thousand women than Pakistan ever will. I don’t see that as the issue. The issue is a woman’s honor and that of her family are at risk if/when she is raped and is thereafter living in a threatened state if she dare comes forward. The act of heroism on Mukhtaran’s part was exactly that- she came forward. Aside from the fact that her brother and Salma (the Mastoi clan’s female member) probably were caught having consensual sex but needed a way to ‘redeem’ their honor by exacting revenge on Mukhtaran.

I encourage everyone to see it, at least to understand the issue and not necessarily to take sides. Mukhtaran’s courage is not that she comes forward (which is certainly noteworthy), it is that she chooses to stay in her village after receiving so much international attention and opening a school for both girls and boys which allows the children of the Mastoi to also enroll. She is at once resilient and reflective, allowing her situation to be the vehicle of change for her village. And for that she earns my sincere respect.