For starters, the case was of a gang rape, so how can one person be convicted of it?
KARACHI: I cannot understand how both the Lahore High Court and the Supreme Court could have acquitted five of the six accused of raping Mukhtaran Mai. For starters, the case was of a gang rape, so how can one person be convicted of it? Are there others then, as in other than these six, and if so, why aren’t they being investigated? And if there are any others, then basically what our judicial and legal system is telling the victim is that she is a liar and that she made up the whole drama.
Incidentally, this is precisely what happened when, as a result of her case and plight being publicised overseas, Mukhtaran Mai managed to get considerable donations from overseas, out of which she built schools in her area. When this happened, many in our society said that she should be happy at the outcome since she got lots of ‘dollars’ for it. Unfortunately, April 21’s verdict will only serve to reinforce such perceptions and mindsets.
Clearly, women in Pakistan should feel vulnerable and threatened. The irony is that most of them, especially the educated and the affluent, will think nothing of this and carry on with their sheltered lives. Little do they know that this could affect any one of them.
Ali Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, April 22nd, 2011.
