Mukhtaran Bibi, Glamour Magazine Woman of the Year 2005

Glamour Magazine Woman of the Year
Mukhtaran Bibi (مختاران بی‌بی, born around 1972) is a Pakistani woman from the small and impoverished village of Meerwala, located in the rural tehsil (county) of Jatoi in the Muzaffargarh District of Pakistan. Also known as Mukhtar Mai, Mukhtiar or just Mukhtaran, she was gang-raped on the demands of tribesmen — or by some accounts, on the orders of a panchayat (tribal council) — of a local clan known as the Mastoi. The Mastoi clan reportedly had bitter disputes with Mukhtaran's clan, the Tatla.

Timeline of her Story

The Lahore high court ruled on 6 June 2005 that the accused men could be released on payment of a 50,000 rupees ($840) bond. However, the men were unable to come up with the money, and remained in jail while the prosecution appealed their acquittal.[7] Just over two weeks later, the Supreme Court intervened and suspended the acquittals of the five men as well as the eight who were acquitted at the original 2002 trial. All 14 would be retried in the Supreme Court.[8]

Also on 10 June 2005, shortly before she was scheduled to fly to London on the invitation of Amnesty International, Mukhtaran was put on Pakistan's Exit-Control List (ECL) [9] , a list of people prohibited from traveling abroad, a move that prompted protest in Pakistan[10] and around the world. President Musharraf was out of the country in Australia and New Zealand, and it was not immediately apparent who had put Mukhtaran's name on the ECL.

On 12 June 2005 Muktharan was abruptly asked by the government to travel to Lahore to meet with provincial assemblywoman Shagufta Anwar, and then go to Islamabad to meet with Presidential advisor Nilofer Bakhtiar.[11]

On 13 June 2005, in Lahore, Mukhtaran was spotted by journalists at the Punjab Chief Minister's official mansion, where she had lunch, but they were unable to interview or contact her because her "cellular phone did not respond for hours." She left that afternoon for Islamabad.[12]

On 14 June 2005, at a press conference in Islamabad, Mukhtaran demanded removal of her name from the Exit Control List, and also complained that she was "virtually under house arrest" because of the large police contingent assigned to protect her.[13]

On the same day, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof claimed that she was "under house arrest" and that police had "cut off her land line" to "silence her".[14] However, local telephone service had been interrupted by a telephone workers union strike that week[15] ,and service was restored after the Army took control of the telephone exchange in Muzaffargarh district.[16] In the same article, Kristof claimed that Mukhtaran had been "led sobbing to detention at a secret location" and "barred from contacting anyone".[14] In her press conference that week in Islamabad, Mukhtaran clarified that she had not actually been placed under house arrest, but felt as she was because of the heavy police protection.

On 15 June 2005, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz ordered Mukhtaran's name removed from the ECL.[17]

On 17 June 2005, President Musharraf revealed during a press conference in Auckland, New Zealand that he had stopped Mukhtaran from travelling to New York because he wanted to protect Pakistan's image abroad.[18]

An Indian news website, Rediff, reported that Musharraf said Mukhtaran Mai was being taken to the United States by foreign non-government organisations ("NGOs") "to bad-mouth Pakistan" over the "terrible state" of the nation's women. He reportedly said that some NGOs were "Westernised fringe elements" which "are as bad as the Islamic extremists".[18]

Musharraf explained on his website that he had stopped Mukhtaran from travelling to the ANAA conference in New York because he believed the organisers' intent was "maligning Pakistan by vested interests, rather than sincerely helping Mai out."[19]

On 17 June 2005 BBC News characterized the international media reaction as a public-relations disaster.[20]

On 19 June 2005, by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof reported that as Mai returned from the US embassy in Islamabad, after getting her passport stamped with a US visa, it was "confiscated" once again, rendering her unable to travel outside the country.[21] A column by Khalid Hasan in Pakistan's Daily Times called the government's actions "folly" and "ham-fisted", and said that it had "failed abjectly" to support the liberal "convictions it claims to have" with actions.[22]

On 27 June 2005 Mukhtaran's passport was returned to her.[23]

On 29 June 2005, on his personal website Musharraf wrote that "Mukhtaran Mai is free to go wherever she pleases, meet whoever she wants and say whatever she pleases."

On 2 August 2005, the Pakistani government awarded Mukhtaran the Fatima Jinnah gold medal for bravery and courage.[24]

During a September 2005 visit to the United States, the Washington Post reported that President Musharraf, in the course of a long interview, said that claiming rape had become a "moneymaking concern" in Pakistan. Musharraf denied that these were his own views, prompting the Post to put part of Musharraf's interview online. On tape, Musharraf can be heard to say, "You must understand the environment in Pakistan also. There are some opposition people who don't keep national interests in view and therefore for their own political agendas er.. they want to undermine me through this.. and also this has become a money-mak.. money-making concern." [25]

On 2 November 2005, The US magazine Glamour named Mukhtaran as their Woman Of The Year.[26]

On 12 January 2006, Mukhtaran Mai published her memoir with the collaboration of Marie-Thérèse Cuny under the title "Déshonorée". The originating publisher of the book is OH ! Editions in France and her book is published simultaneously in German by Droemer Verlag under the title "Die Schuld, eine Frau zu sein".

On January 16, 2006, to coincide with the publication of her memoir, Mukhtaran Mai travelled to Paris (France) and was received by Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy.[27]

In January 2006, Mukhtaran was originally slated to speak at the United Nations on 20 January 2006, but the UN postponed the visit at the last minute after Pakistan complained that her appearance was scheduled for the same day as a visit by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. The UN wanted to move it to sometime after 24 January, but since Mukhtaran was due to leave New York on 21 January, Islamabad's complaint effectively cancelled the visit. Aziz claimed he didn't know that Mukhtaran was due to appear while Mukhtaran told newspapers that "Prime Minister Aziz was always gracious and responsive to her and had encouraged her to speak out." [28]

On 2 May 2006, Mukhtaran spoke at the United Nations headquarters in New York. In an interview with United Nations TV, Mai said that "she wanted to get the message across to the world that one should fight for their rights and for the rights of the next generation."[29] She was welcomed by UN Under-Secretary General Shashi Tharoor, who said, “I think it is fair to say that anyone who has the moral courage and internal strength to turn such a brutal attack into a weapon to defend others in a similar position, is a hero indeed, and is worthy of our deepest respect and admiration”.[30]

On 31 October 2006, Mukhtaran's memoir will be released in the United States for the first time, titled "In the Name of Honor: A Memoir."


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