Mukhtar Mai, a Pakistani woman, was sentenced by a tribal council to be gang raped by the men of her village for the actions of her brother. Afterwards she was expected to commit suicide but, helped by a local Islamic leader, she testified against her attackers, 6 of whom were convicted.
Mukhtar Mai was invited to speak in the West which was a great embarrassment to the Pakistani Government. She was put under house arrest and her attackers were released by the court, perhaps putting her life in danger. She then disappeared - believed taken by the government. Tom Watson asked all bloggers to "keep watch" over her believing that if the attention on her dropped, she would be killed. More than 100 Bloggers responded to his call. The story is not over, but things are looking a lot more positive.
This is the story of a heroic woman and also a story of the power of people who care - individuals, bloggers and local newspapers that responded and kept the attention on her so she could not permanently "disappear".
Mukhtaran Bibi, the Pakistani civil rights leader and worldwide hero, may be coming the United States after all. Intrepid Times columnist Nicholas Kristof reports in his forum that Mukhtar Mai has been informed that she will be allowed to travel to the U.S. and elsewhere as part of a speaking tour on women's rights. The gang-rape victim, who opened schools for illiterate villagers with settlement money, has become a major symbol of freedom and courage, spurring governments to protest her treatment, mainstream media to pick up her cause, and bloggers to lead the way in getting the word of her plight to the world.
Earlier this week, Kristof reported "the Pakistani authorities have now told Mukhtaran that she will be allowed to travel to the U.S. on her own, without an escort – but they still haven’t returned her passport." That would be terrific news, but there are apparently no travel plans yet. Also good news was the personal involvement in the case of U.S. Secretary of State Condi Rice who "called the Pakistani foreign minister to tell him to stop beating up on Mukhtaran," according to Kristof.
Read more on Tom Watson's Blog
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