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Mukhtaran Mai sits in her home in the village of Meerwal, near Multan in this March 18, 2005 file photograph. Mai, a Pakistani victim of a village council-sanctioned gang-rape who became a symbol of the country's oppressed women, said on April 21, 2011 her life was in danger after the Supreme Court acquitted 13 men accused of the crime. Reuters
What would Mukhtar Mai be thinking right now? That’s one question my mind is still asking me after around ten hours of the ‘landmark’ verdict made by the Superior Court of Pakistan in Mukhtar’s case.
It was probably January this year when I got a message from Farzana Bari, a veteran human rights activist, to come to the Supreme Court for Mukhtar’s moral support at the case hearing. Such was the environment of hostility that sitting there for more than ten minutes seemed the worst possible punishment. I saluted Mukhtar Mai for her resilience, patience, strength and forbearance. She had been facing it for almost a decade!
After the legal proceedings that span over a period of three years, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan upheld the earlier decision of the Lahore High Court (LHC) whereby five of the accused were acquitted for lack of evidence while convicting one of them.
Gang raped in 2002 by local influentials after a decision by the village Panchayat, Mukhtar did not succumb to conventional conformity expected of a victim, especially a rape victim, in Pakistan. She made a hard choice: fight for justice, come what may. She did it despite all odds for the last nine years during which her case snaked through many crests and troughs.
The Anti Terrorist Court in Dera Ghazi Khan convicted six of the 14 men accused by Mukhtar of the gang rape, while acquitting eight of them in 2002. The conviction was challenged in a review petition before the LHC, which acquitted five of these six convicted men while upholding acquittal of other eight.
This was the time when the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) took it upon itself to assert its parallel authority over the judicial machinery of Pakistan, like it has routinely done whenever it came to the cases of violations of women’s rights.
The most recent example was in December 2010 when it issued the judgment about four sections of the Women Protection Act which were brought under its jurisdiction from that of the Supreme Court. This tussle of jurisdiction between the two parallel systems of justice exacerbated itself in this case too, when in 2002 the FSC took suo moto action and in 2005, it overturned the LHC verdict whereby five men accused in Mukhtar’s case were acquitted. The Supreme Court immediately took suo moto action in its own discretion against the convictions the same year.
This musical chair by the courts belonging to parallel justice systems turned out to be more than just the quest for justice. Those who have been witnessing the proceedings of the case over the years in court rooms of the apex court would bear me out on how derogatory and insulting an attitude Mukhtar Mai had to bear at the hands of not only defence counsel but of the Lordships too.
At every hearing, human rights activists would come out of the courtroom with heavy hearts and battered hopes for justice. All through these years, we have been sure of one fact, Mukhtar is going to be the loser in a justice system where worst of the terrorists get acquitted while elected prime ministers could get death sentence on scanty evidence and unproven charges. But a weak hope, in whatever shaky justice we could have in this case, kept us going.
Those who were present in the courtroom on the day of final verdict, another day of sheer embarrassment to Pakistanis – April 21, were shocked to see people (including a section of media) clapping after this horrible verdict. It is more than the complete breakdown of moral ethos in a society that overlooks heinous crimes against humanity while trumpeting its inflated sense of ‘honour’ when it comes to selective political issues.
Mukhtar Mai, a woman with an unusual character and determination, remains my hero forever. But there is something extremely grave to worry about. It’s a complete erosion of faith in us as society, in our state as sovereign authority to prevent crime against my specie and in our judiciary as an institution that would dispense nothing but justice.
Just to remind you readers, we are a society that creates around 3,000 Mukhtars a year. A recent HRCP report informs, we raped 2,903 Mukhtaras in 2010 alone. We very successfully murdered 791 women in the name of honour. Where is the honour in raping and killing women? And where are those flowing beards and intimidating black robes that came out on streets in thousands for a murderer who assassinated Governor of Punjab Salman Taseer early this year?
Every woman of these 2,903 was not Mukhtar. Neither in terms of strength nor in terms of getting international lime light (which only helped Mukhtar in “speeding up” the process of “justice”). This year’s balance sheet on Supreme Court’s website tells some 1,443 criminal petitions were still pending at the Principal Seat, out of total 3,964 instituted. Of the disposed off petitions (2,521) only eight were human rights cases including rape and gang rape. Not a Pythagoras theorem to make out the number of rape cases that would be still pending before the courts of law. The number of Mukhtars we create but do not report in police-stations, could be even astounding had it been survey- able.
I wonder how anyone associated with this case would be sleeping after this “landmark” verdict. Would there be an internal review of our shaky justice system by the authors of ambitious National Judicial Policy? What would Mukhtar be like right now? What column would come out of that ghairat-infested columnist who reasoned our defeat in the recent World Cup Cricket semi-final as the result of our collective sins? Does this shameless show of insensitivity and moral impoverishment raise some eye-brows?
Well, only if our Ray-ed justice and Davis-ed honour could allow!
The writer is a right’s activist and political commentator based in Islamabad.
we should not forget that we are talking about pakistan where there are no human right and the womens are being treated as animals
Justice delayed is Justice denied … The police & the investigation team are the real culprits … Pakistan is a dishonest society with ZERO Morals, Tolerance … its is the biggest Graveyard for Islam … We portray extremely bad example of Islamic Ideology to the rest of the world… Looking at us the whole world is shocked … Even the Arabs have distanced themself from Pakistan.
I dont think the court has enough evidence against them. Its the police that does the evidence. The supreme court had to acquit them. But then, how did they get convicted in the first place?
Mukhtara mai better leave her village and move elsewhere
Exactly we as men should advise a courageous woman to run and hide. I think while we give her this advise we should also go for some shopping and a get a dress and some bangles to match our courage.
Lets not stop standing up…today you have got one of the 14 for a life sentence…let us hope that the family of this one man deters others from trying to take advantage of unfortunate women…let us hope that going through the prison and court routines and the fear of getting the sentence lets them to talk to the society of what it was like
A good moving writeup with well placed facts and figures
There has been a hype created by the media and politicians that the court is independent, this decision and a lot more which are not known by public can show truly who is independent….
I guess the judges are but not justice!
Why such a deafening silence from Mullahs, Maulvis, politicians including Tahreek-e-Infaf, and the Ghairat Brigade?
What is law and what is a system of justice.
All along every one has been talking of justice and now suddenly they talk of law.
It is a shame that our system has not been able to address this matter with imagination.
If the Indian courts can order reinvestigation into Gujrat massacres why cannot our courts do something about a gang rape case.
Salute to Miss mia. you are truly brave.
Let us not blame the S. Court. Court does not collect the evidence, they only pass judgement on the basis of what prosecutor has presented as an evidence. We all nknow what happened and it is shameful. No one in the Govt has the will. For them it is a case, they just want it to go away. What a shame
why only her? there are others who are dying everyday with our govt's apathy, why don't you bring them on the scene? why just take her issue?
If this had happend to our sister or mother what would we do?So lets do it!
We would kill them for bringing shame to the family. The sad truth.
Off course it is some way embarrassing decision to some people but we should keep it mind that court cant convict any person without solid proof of evidence. i am very disappointing that our NGO,s and people start criticizing apex court decision when they don't know the proper law of land. we should leave it to our judiciary and we have full confidence in our court, yes we need to protect Mukhtara Mai, she is our daughter and we do respect all our daughters, these incident do not represent the whole pakistan!
Yes; please leave it to the judiciary system and justice will be served. People here have more confidence in the judiciary system than the plight of Mai. What a nation – could not master enough strenght to procure evidence to punish these lowly criminals so they could say – not enough evidence; we cannot punish anyone without evidence.
Having left Pakistan more than two decades ago, I feel more and more alienated from her.
I am absolutely stunned by this so called elite of our society – the supreme court. Does this court really deserve this predicate? I feel ashamed.
It is a court decision. I trust the supreme court and I am sure they know more facts than we do. And one of the men did not get acquittal. You are from abroad you should have respect for the due legal process more than us.
Marvi, an excellent piece, like me majority do not buy the lack of evidence as a justified reason for this court which has forced the Govt in Haj scam to change and appoint investigation officer as directed by supreme court or in NICL case where the govt was reluctant to investigate but was forced to change the investigation then why not in Mukhtaran case whee not only Pakistan but the whole world knows and believes Mukhtaran; Why our superior courts did not ask the investigators / prosecutors to remove flaws if any. One thing is sure in this case Justice does not seem to be done.
What one can say…you ask the right question that how they people can sleep in the night? how can they face their own daughters? if once they can imagine that their own daughter could be in the place of Mukhtar? then what they do?There is the real, and ultimate judge who knows everything…we are the women of Pakistan with Mukhtar…..
just a thought of putting myself in place of mukhtaran shakes me completely.
No one know the real fact. I think we let the court decide as if we jump in every decision and want it to change us the way we think knowing the fact it cant necessarily be right.
Please every one knows the facts. Please dont minimize her suffering. You all should be ashamed. If this had happened in US there would have been people out in the street.
A women of Mukthar's courage in pakistan is very rare. I hope your country can take care of her properly.
I am from India, & picture is not different here. Here also we treat our daughters like Mukhtaran Mai. We have become so shameless that all such incident here usually not get even noticed. Sometimes newspapers publish somethings but that also is ignored.
Is this the true face of our Pakistan? Is this what we have become? If yes, then I want to be the first to break our country and allow others to rule us as we are not good enough.
Mr. Shah, unfortunately the answer to your question is, " Yes, it is the true face of Pakistan". I have great respect for the dwindling numbers of sensible Pakistanis who read Dawn and write their responses here. However, you all are in denial that you have been incresingly reduced to a smaller minority with every passing day. A minority that matter less and less with every passing day because it is in deep denial of the fundamental source of the problem that it refuses to acknowledge. Hope some of you understand what I am pointing at.
Bob, 100% right. In 10 years living in Pakistan I am starting to lose faith about the future in this beautiful country. We are touching bottom. Leaving in denial only gives more space to the fundamentalists: they are everywhere and they are more everyday… nobody seems able to stop this tidal wave of intolerance. They will have the country they wish… and the rest of us will move for good. What a pity… with so many wonderful people… Why not a Revolution here?