Zofeen T Ebrahim

Though the world commemorated International Women’s Day on March 8, Pakistan had little reason to join in these celebrations as it holds its head down in shame. The verdict by the Lahore High Court acquitting five of the six men convicted in the gang rape of 30-year-old Mukhtaran Mai in the hamlet of Meerwala has put a stain on the ‘softer image’ that Pakistan is trying to project to the international community. While Pakistan’s Minister for Women Development Nilofar Bakhtiar was telling thousands of delegates gathered recently in New York — to review progress in the 10 years since the UN women’s conference in Beijing — that a bill had been tabled in parliament classifying criminal acts “committed in the name of honour” as premeditated murder, it was a black justice day for Mai.

In June 2002, Mai 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. According to The New York Times it was later disclosed that Mastoi men had molested Mai’s brother and they tried to cover up the incident by accusing him of having

illicit relations. Efforts to settle the dispute had failed and the Mastoi, angry at what they considered a violation of their honour, had demanded revenge, which they took in the form of gang rape. A conventional court sentenced six men to death in August 2002 for ordering and carrying out the gang rape, and Mai used the $8,300 awarded to her by the government to open a village school. At the time, the ruling was hailed as a human rights victory. But last week, the Lahore High Court overturned the verdict against the men. Five of the six were acquitted. The sixth accused had his death sentence commuted to life imprisonment. The court ruled that the evidence produced before the trial court was insufficient and police investigations were faulty.

“This is a black mark for Pakistan,” said Tasneem Ahmar, a woman activist and director of Uks, a media-based research organisation. “But Mai is a very brave woman.” Despite several offers of safe relocation Mai is determined to stay in her village in Meerwala and fight her case to the end. Since the initial trial, Mai said, she had faced harassment and death threats from the Mastoi. The Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has announced the government’s decision to file an appeal in the Supreme Court. Incidents of gang rape are not uncommon in Pakistan, but this case gained international prominence because the assault had been ordered by the panchayat or village council. Kamila Hayat, joint director of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, blames the state legal system for the foul-up last week.

While the judgment cannot be imputed as wrong, Zubeida Mustafa, a senior journalist, feels: “It’s a sad day for those who have struggled for women’s rights and against the indignities meted out to women.” She told IPS of the need to “pull up the police and the system for not being able to produce the witnesses.” Zohra Yusuf, a council member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, said last week’s High Court ruling showed how the judicial system is stacked up against women. “Such a judgment sends a signal to rapists that they could get off scot-free,” she pointed out. In the meantime, Mai unbowed by threats from

the Mastoi, has gone back to teach at the village school she built. — IPS