Mukhtar Mai

I was getting my daily fix of news on the BBC when I came across a name and a story that brought tears to my eyes, and at the end, made me proud of a sister thousands of miles away.

Her name is Mukhtar Mai and this is her story.

Mai was a 30-year old divorcee when it happened. Dragged into a hut and gang-raped by four men was her “punishment”. The savages took their turns with her and afterwards paraded her around naked in front of powerless onlookers, all this because her 12-year old brother Shakoor was seen in the company of a Mastoi woman. The influential Mastoi tribe claimed that Shakoor’s actions brought disgrace and shame to the Mastoi clan and Mai’s rape would avenge their “honor”.

Cases of sexual assault and violence on women are common in Pakistan. Every year hundreds are raped and murdered with no repercussions for justice. Mai’s case, however, is different. In this story, the woman fought back.

Although she feared for her life, Mai was courageous enough to speak out. She did not keep silent and eventually her case was heard and tried. In August 2002, six men were sentenced to death. Four of them were convicted of rape and two were convicted of aiding rape.

Mai’s case has many twists and turns however. After the conviction, an appeals court reversed the trial court’s verdict. But tenacity and strength has led Mai to take her case all the way up to the highest judicial forum, Pakistan’s Supreme Court. An ultimate verdict is still pending.

Mai is a hero because she faced the exacerbating odds against her. She did not give up. She took her strength and forced the world to hear her story. She makes me proud to call myself a woman.

Side note: Mai is now an international women's rights activist. In 2005, Mai was named Glamour’s “Woman of the Year”. She has also built a school in her village with the government money awarded to her as compensation, and currently has a blog on the BBC (excerpts of her blog in English).