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| January 16, 2007 | Tuesday | Zilhaj 25, 1427 |
Mukhtar Mai baffled by red tape
MUZAFFARGARH, Jan 15: Rape victim and women’s rights activist Mukhtar Mai said on Monday that the Muzaffargarh administration had not released Rs11.4 million issued by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz for her Meerwala Women’s Crisis Centre six months ago.
Speaking at the Meet-the-Press programme at the local press club, Mai said that Mr Aziz had pledged to release the amount at a meeting in Islamabad six months ago for the crisis centre. She said that after two or three weeks of the meeting she had received a letter from the Prime Minister’s Secretariat that stated the money had been released to the district administration that would deliver it to her. The letter also stated that if the money remained unclaimed or unspent, it would be withdrawn. She said the district administration had shown no willingness to release the money. She said that she had met District Coordination Officer (DCO) Tariq Najmi and Community Development Executive District Officer (EDO) Khair Muhammad on a number of occasions but they put her off, saying that the money would be released soon which they never did.
She said that she also had met the DCO on Saturday again and reminded him that if the money was not released within a day, it would be withdrawn by the Prime Minister’s Secretariat. In turn she got the same pledge yet for another time that it would be released soon. She said that she had received a letter from the Prime Minister’s Secretariat last month that said if the money was not drawn until Jan 14, the secretariat would withdraw the money. She said that on her request the secretariat had extended the date until Jan 20.
Mai feared that the administration wanted to use the amount its own way. She said that initially the administration wanted to build the crisis centre in the Muzaffargarh city but she refused, saying it would be built only in Meerwala. Then the officials tried to convince her that the centre should be built in the Jatoi city, which she refused again. On the interference of high-ups, Mai said, the district administration built the centre in Meerwala. Now, they were creating hurdles by stopping funds, she said, adding that it was the only grant that the government had announced for the centre. She alleged that officials had formed some bogus centres and wanted to `spend’ the money there.
Presently, the Meerwala women’s crisis centre is working in five rooms wherein rape and domestic torture women are sheltered. She said at the moment two domestic torture victims were living in the centre.
Besides the centre, Mai runs a primary school. She said the school would soon be upgraded to a high school as an expatriate, Muhammad Hussain, had donated Rs6 million and the Canadian International Development Agency Rs2.2 million for the school.
Tears started rolling down her cheeks when she was asked to comment on President Pervez Musharraf’s remarks that Mai had promoted the rape-for-profit trend. She said that the government could check her assets.
When the DCO office was approached for comments, his personal assistant said that Mr Najmi was busy in his official engagements and would reply soon. EDO (Community Development) Khair Muhammad said that he had nothing to do with the funds and that the DCO had blocked the money. He admitted that he had asked Mai to open the centre in the Muzaffargarh city as it would benefit more people.
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