Mukhtaran Bibi

Mukhtaran Bibi ( ur, ; born Kristof, N & Wudunn, S, (2009), "Half The Sky", Virago), now known as Mukhtār Mā'ī, is a Pakistani human rights activist from the village of Meerwala, located in the rural ''tehsil'' of Jatoi in the Muzaffargarh District of Punjab, Pakistan. In June 2002, Mā'ī was the victim of a gang-rape sanctioned by a tribal council of the local ''Mastoi Baloch'' clan, as a form of ' honour revenge'; the council ruling was a result of a dispute between the wealthier Mastoi Baloch and Mā'ī's ''Tatla'' clan.

Although local custom would expect her to commit suicide after being raped, Mā'ī spoke up and pursued a case against her rapists, which was picked up by both domestic and international media. On 1 September 2002, an anti-terrorism court sentenced 6 men (including the 4 rapists) to death for rape. However, in 2005, the Lahore High Court cited "insufficient evidence" and subsequently acquitted 5 of the 6 convicted rapists, while commuting the punishment of the sixth man to a life sentence. Mā'ī and the government appealed this decision, leading the Supreme Court of Pakistan to suspend the acquittal and hold hearings for an appeal; in 2011, the Supreme Court also acquitted the accused.

Though the safety of Mā'ī and her family and friends has been in jeopardy since the incident, she remains an outspoken advocate for women's rights in Pakistan and elsewhere. She started the ''Mukhtar Mai Women's Welfare Organization'' to help support and educate women in rural areas throughout Pakistan. In April 2007, Mā'ī won the North–South Prize from the Council of Europe.Award ceremony of the North-South Prize of the Council of Europe
(speech) In 2005, ''Glamour Magazine'' named her 'Woman of the Year'. According to a 2006 ''The New York Times'' report, "Her autobiography is the No. 3 best seller in France, and movies are being made about her. She has been praised by dignitaries like Laura Bush and the French foreign minister".Kristof, Nicholas D
"A Heroine Walking in the Shadow of Death"
''New York Times''. 4 April 2006. Accessed 29 March 2008. However, on 8 April 2007, ''The New York Times'' reported that Mā'ī lives in fear for her life due to threats from the Pakistani government and local feudal lords. Former President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf has admitted on his personal blog that he placed restrictions on her movement in 2005, as he was fearful that her work and the publicity it received would hurt the international image of Pakistan.

Rape incident

Mai's 12-year-old brother, Abdul Shakoor Tatla (or Shakur Tatla), was abducted by three Baloch Mastoi men. He was taken to a sugar field where he was gang raped and sodomized repeatedly. When the boy refused to stay silent about the incident, he was kept imprisoned in the home of Abdul Khaliq, a Mastoi man. When police came to investigate, Shakoor was instead accused of having an affair with Khaliq's sister, Salma Naseen, who was in her late 20s at the time. Shakoor was then arrested on charges of adultery but later released. In later trials, Shakoor's rapists were convicted of sodomy and sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment.

The Mastoi tribal council (jirga) convened separately regarding Shakoor's alleged affair with Naseen. They concluded that Shakoor should marry Naseen while Mai be married to a Mastoi man. Villagers rejected this conclusion due to the belief that adultery must be punished with adultery. Mai was called to the council to apologize to the Mastoi tribe for her brother's actions. When she arrived, she was dragged to a nearby hut where she was gang raped in retaliation by 4 Mastoi men while an additional 10 people watched. Following the rape, she was paraded nude through the village. Her clothes were presented as evidence in court and following the medical examination of Mukhtaran and chemical analysis of her clothes at least two semen stains were revealed.

Media coverage

In the following days, the story became headline news in Pakistan, and remained so for months. By 3 July, the BBC
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