Mukhtaran Mai on her decision to walk the ramp at FPW

Mai opens up about being the Face of Courage

Mukhataran Mai will be gracing the FPW ramp today (Tuesday) for Rozina Munib -- a decision that has been criticised by some on social media who believe it is nothing more than a gimmick to grab headlines.

We sat down with Mai to ask her why she agreed to walk to the ramp and what she thought about the negative comments coming her way.



"I am walking the ramp to spread awareness about the struggle women go through. This is for the women in my society, it is for those who have no one and no place to go to," said Mai, talking to The Express Tribune. 

When asked about the backlash she is facing, Mukhtaran said, "When I was asked to do this by Frieha, I was skeptical but then I was told that I would be the face of women empowerment and this walk would give strength to women from all walks of life who go through abuse. That's when I agreed."

Mai's decision to walk the ramp was met with mixed reactions on social media:

Wrong at so many levels to objectify someone who has survived gang rape and fought back hard to hold her own https://t.co/RKQW6gKdcx

— Yusra Askari (@YusraSAskari) October 31, 2016

"FPW may just manage to shake things up tonight by having mukhtaran mai walk its runway." wow, seriously? https://t.co/kwcoi0lIVo

— Zoya Rehman (@pind_wave) November 1, 2016

Afghan girl released. Mukhtaran Mai to walk down the ramp. @cyalm off the ECL. & now a stay of execution. #Pakistan gets it right sometimes https://t.co/EgtMmAdhPw

— Afrah Jamal (@Afrahjh) October 31, 2016

For the sake of clarity, this isn't the first time a fashion show is being used to promote a social cause, such as women's rights.

Earlier this year, Reshma Qureshi, 19, walked down the runway at the prestigious New York Fashion Week, modeling Indian couture and representing her journey through surviving an acid attack.

In 2014, Qureshi was attacked by three assailants with sulfuric acid while on her way to school in her hometown of Allahabad, India. The attack disfigured Qureshi's face, but that didn't stop her from relaying her messages on beauty, posting makeup tutorials on the YouTube channel "Make Love Not Scars."

More recently, Israel hosted its fourth Holocaust survivors’ beauty pageant to honour those who saw the horrors of World War Two when they were young. “Tonight we’re letting some women who survived the Holocaust have something that was robbed from them in their youth,” said David Parsons of the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, a sponsor of the Helping Hand group which organised the event.

It is also important to note that Mai now runs her own organisation which provides shelter, legal support and education to the women of Meerwala town. Her participation in the FPW can only help highlight her organisation's work.

Mai also shared how Karachi is unexceptionally close to her heart.

"I get so much love from the people of this city, it is not possible for me not to fall in love with Karachi," she said with a huge smile on her face.

As for whether she was nervous about her walk, Mai said she hadn't practiced the walk at all. Mai is here to break the glass ceiling for women and to be a voice for the oppressed and might we add, she's doing a fantastic job at it.

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