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NEW YORK, Nov 7: She may be shy and unread but Mukhtaran Mai has a sharp mind
that equips her to match wits with any one. And she demonstrated that in full
measure at a public meeting here on Saturday.
Challenged by a critic as to how she could justify her recent visit to the White
House in search of support for the rights of women around the world when its
occupant had waged wars in which thousands of women have been killed. Mai raised
her eyes, looked hard at her detractor and quipped, "I live in a small Pakistani
village, but I ask you (those who live here) what have you done for the women
who are being killed?
Have you been able to stop the wars?"
 She thus turned the argument around with the skill of an accomplished diplomat.
The repartee was delivered with a devastating effect; the woman who posed the
question was left speechless and looking embarrassed as the packed Cooper Union
hall exploded into a thunderous applause.
Overall Mukhtaran Mai conducted herself with quiet dignity during her maiden
trip to the United States in sharp contrast to some government-sponsored
individuals who descend here every now and then, with usually fun and shopping
uppermost in their mind. Mai remained focused on her objectives: to seek help
for the promotion of women's education in Pakistan and to raise funds for the
survivors of earthquake victims in NWFP and Azad Kashmir. The results are
expected to be positive since she has aroused so much interest in her mission.
The news media too gave her good marks; she received extensive coverage and her
face has become one of the most recognizable one. But the organizers of her
visit deplored some distorted reports filed by correspondents of a section of
Pakistani press who were not seen at any of her functions. "These gentlemen had
preconceived notions about Mai and what they wrote was simply a figment of their
imagination," one of them said.
An instant celebrity, Mai, who was dubbed "The Bravest Woman in the World" by
Glamour Magazine, remained humble and endeared herself to the people she came in
contact with. Dressed modestly in Shalwar/Kamiz covering her head with a long
dopatta, she kept her eyes down in respect.
She received high tributes from US First Lady Laura Bush, who introduced her in
a video at the Glamour magazine award ceremony to the former Irish President ,
Mary Robinson; actresses Goldie Hawn and Catherine Zeta-Jones and wife of the
former vice president, Tipper Gore who sat on
her dinner table. She also met US assistant secretary of state, Christina Rocca
and Congresswoman (D-Tx) Sheila Jackson.
Mai clearly stole the show at Glamour magazine award ceremony as she was
accorded two standing ovations -- one when she mounted the stage and another
after she vowed to "fight oppression through education."
Notable is also the fact that she never attacked the government on the foreign
soil, despite attempts to draw her in. But she did blame the "feudal system" in
Pakistan for the poor situation of the women, something that those even in
government cannot deny.
With her stunning act of defiance and her ongoing activism, says Amna Buttar,
M.D., of the Asian-American Network Against Abuse of Women, Mukhtar has "single
handedly changed the attitudes toward rape and women's rights in Pakistan, and
given hope to survivors." Mukhtar says, "It's because of the support of the
world that I feel brave."
This is what Glamour magazine wrote of her :
Mukhtar Mai: The bravest woman in the world
Mukhtar Mai is barely literate, yet Nicholas D. Kristof, the New York Times
columnist, says of her, "There is no one person who has been more courageous—or
more effective—in the struggle for women's rights in the developing world."
Three years ago, four men from her village in Pakistan gang-raped Mukhtar, then
33, to punish her brother for an offense they believed he'd committed. Her honor
destroyed, she was expected by her community and even her own family to kill
herself in shame. Instead, she marshaled deep reserves of dignity and strength
to show her village what honor really is. Over her own father's initial
objections, she went to the police, ultimately facing her attackers in a trial
that put the four men in jail (an appeal that could free them is still pending).
When the government rewarded her with $8,300 in compensation, she chose not to
flee with her cash, but to remain in her hometown and use the money to start the
village's first-ever schools, even as her rapists' tribesmen continued to
threaten her. "If women aren't educated, it's hard for them to speak up for
themselves," she has said.
And only education, she believes, will stop future generations of men from
abusing women (she has even enrolled her rapists' children).
Since her story became public, Mukhtar has received tens of thousands of dollars
from the international community for her schools; thousands of Pakistani women
have traveled to her remote village to tell their own rape stories and receive
help—or simply to thank her for her bravery. |
Articles/Opinions
