Hope Mukhtaran Bibi becomes successful in her mission. What a brave woman!
As it is women from 'not so rich and famous' families face all kinds of difficulties in countries like Pakistan, on top of that being tortured like this in her own village is just unbelievable.
And I am glad at least this does not happen in India.
>From: Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: "Alpana B. Sarangapani" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, [email protected]
>Subject: Re: [Assam] State kidnapping?
>Date: Tue, 14 Jun 2005 22:07:08 -0500
>
>It will be interesting to see how GWB's admin. is going to live this
>one down.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>At 10:05 PM -0500 6/14/05, Alpana B. Sarangapani wrote:
>><http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/14/opinion/14kristof.html>http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/14/opinion/14kristof.html
>>Raped, Kidnapped and Silenced
>>
>><http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/nicholasdkristof/index.html?inline=nyt-per>NICHOLAS
>>D. KRISTOF
>>
>>Published: June 14, 2005
>>
>>No wonder the
Pakistan government can't catch Osama bin Laden. It
>>is too busy harassing, detaining - and now kidnapping - a gang-rape
>>victim for daring to protest and for planning a visit to the United
>>States.
>>
>><http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/14/opinion/14kristof.html#secondParagraph>Skip
>>to next paragraph
>>
>>Nicholas D. Kristof/The New York Times
>>
>>Mukhtaran Bibi in September 2004.
>>
>>
>><http://forums.nytimes.com/top/opinion/readersopinions/forums/editorialsoped/opedcolumnists/nicholasdkristof/index.html?page=recent>Forum:
>>Nicholas D. Kristof's Columns
>>
>>Last fall I wrote about Mukhtaran Bibi, a woman who was sentenced
>>by a tribal council in Pakistan to be gang-raped because of an
>>infraction
supposedly committed by her brother. Four men raped Ms.
>>Mukhtaran, then village leaders forced her to walk home nearly
>>naked in front of a jeering crowd of 300.
>>
>>Ms. Mukhtaran was supposed to have committed suicide. Instead, with
>>the backing of a local Islamic leader, she fought back and
>>testified against her persecutors. Six were convicted.
>>
>>Then Ms. Mukhtaran, who believed that the best way to overcome such
>>abuses was through better education, used her compensation money to
>>start two schools in her village, one for boys and the other for
>>girls. She went out of her way to enroll the children of her
>>attackers in the schools, showing that she bore no grudges.
>>
>>Readers of my column sent in more than $133,000 for her. Mercy
>>Corps, a U.S. aid organization, has helped her administer the
>>money, and she has expanded the schools, started a shelter for
>>abused women and bought a van that is used as an ambulance for the
>>area. She has also emerged as a ferocious spokeswoman against honor
>>killings, rapes and acid attacks on women. (If you want to help
>>her, please don't send checks to me but to Mercy Corps, with
>>"Mukhtaran Bibi" in the memo line: 3015 S.W. First, Portland, Ore.
>>97201.)
>>
>>A group of Pakistani-Americans invited Ms. Mukhtaran to visit the
>>U.S. starting this Saturday (see
>><http://www.4anaa.org/>www.4anaa.org). Then a few days ago, the
>>Pakistani government went berserk.
>>
>>On Thursday, the authorities put Ms. Mukhtaran under house
arrest -
>>to stop her from speaking out. In phone conversations in the last
>>few days, she said that when she tried to step outside, police
>>pointed their guns at her. To silence her, the police cut off her
>>land line.
>>
>>After she had been detained, a court ordered her attackers
>>released, putting her life in jeopardy. That happened on a Friday
>>afternoon, when the courts do not normally operate, and apparently
>>was a warning to Ms. Mukhtaran to shut up. Instead, Ms. Mukhtaran
>>continued her protests by cellphone. But at dawn yesterday the
>>police bustled her off, and there's been no word from her since.
>>Her cellphone doesn't answer.
>>
>>Asma Jahangir, a Pakistani lawyer who is head of the Human Rights
>>Commission of Pakistan,
said she had learned that Ms. Mukhtaran was
>>taken to Islamabad, furiously berated and told that President
>>Pervez Musharraf was very angry with her. She was led sobbing to
>>detention at a secret location. She is barred from contacting
>>anyone, including her lawyer.
>>
>>"She's in their custody, in illegal custody," Ms. Jahangir said.
>>"They have gone completely crazy."
>>
>>Even if Ms. Mukhtaran were released, airports have been alerted to
>>bar her from leaving the country. According to Dawn, a Karachi
>>newspaper, the government took this step, "fearing that she might
>>malign Pakistan's image."
>>
>>Excuse me, but Ms. Mukhtaran, a symbol of courage and altruism, is
>>the best hope for Pakistan's image. The threat to Pakistan's image
>>comes from President Musharraf for all this thuggish behavior.
>>
>>I've been sympathetic to Mr. Musharraf till now, despite his
>>nuclear negligence, partly because he's cooperated in the war on
>>terrorism and partly because he has done a good job nurturing
>>Pakistan's economic growth, which in the long run is probably the
>>best way to fight fundamentalism. So even when Mr. Musharraf denied
>>me visas all this year, to block me from visiting Ms. Mukhtaran
>>again and writing a follow-up column, I bit my tongue.
>>
>>But now President Musharraf has gone nuts.
>>
>>"This is all because they think they have the support of the U.S.
>>and can get away with murder," Ms. Jahangir said. Indeed, on
>>Friday, just as all this was happening, President
Bush received
>>Pakistan's foreign minister in the White House and praised
>>President Musharraf's "bold leadership."
>>
>>So, Mr. Bush, how about asking Mr. Musharraf to focus on finding
>>Osama, instead of kidnapping rape victims who speak out? And invite
>>Ms. Mukhtaran to the Oval Office - to show that Americans stand not
>>only with generals who seize power, but also with ordinary people
>>of extraordinary courage.
>>
>>E-mail: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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