By Aftab Alexander Mughal

It was not only a disappointing moment for Mukhtaran Mai but also a worrying time for human rights workers in Pakistan when Mai lost her hope for justice after nine years’s fight against a shameful crime against her. It was a stressful struggle for a poor, illiterate and deserted woman to fight legal and social battle in and outside Pakistani courts against powerful people of her area. On the order of the court, total 13 persons involved in Mai case released from jail on April 26.

Rights organisations in Pakistan are shocked and worried on Pakistan’s highest court’s verdict on Mai Case on April 21, 2011. “This is a setback for Mai, the broader struggle to end violence against women and the cause of an independent rights-respecting judiciary in Pakistan,” the Human Rights Watch immediately reacted on the judgment.

In its judgment on Mai’s case, the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan upholds the Lahore High Court (LHC) earlier verdict and acquitted five out of six men of Mai’s gang rape case. Interestingly, not even a single woman judge is in the SC.

The Supreme Court’s verdict is not only related to Mai’s case but also raised many other question about the influence of powerful people in the society, status of women, crime against women, the question of law verses justice, judicial mechanism, discriminatory laws against women and minorities, police’s investigation process, judicial system, government and parliament’s inability to provide safety and security to the common people especially vulnerable women in the country, and the question of access to justice to the poor people in the Pakistan.

Mai, 40, a poor woman from Meerawala village in district Muzaffargarh, southern Punjab, was ganged-raped on the orders of the village panchyat (council) on June 22, 2002. All alleged criminals were belonged to the powerful tribes of the region. The case was not registered against the council members and the rapists until the civil society’s hue and cry.

Mai paid the price of her younger brother’s alleged illicit relations with a woman from a rival tribe, the Mastoi, the powerful tribe of the area. The independent investigations revelled that the boy had been molested by three Mastoi men while the accusation against him had been a cover-up of Mastoi men’s crime. Unfortunately, the whole panchyat stood beside Mastois and not even a single person tried to stop that inhuman criminal action against a helpless poor woman who did nothing against any person of the area.

According to the Washington Post, the case exposed to the world a side of Pakistan’s tribal culture in which women are often punished harshly for affairs or sold as brides to settle disputes or compensate for the perceived sins of their relatives.

Human rights activists say that the verdict is shook for them and have shaken their confidence. It will also discourage women to stand for their rights. Furthermore, the ruling will strengthen the parallel unjust “justice” mechanism of panchayats, jirgas and local councils where poor people generally do not get justice but humiliated.

Many Christians also showed their disappointment on the SC decision. Bruce Bhatti, a Christian rights activist, said, “If a Muslim woman cannot get justice from even the highest court of the country how can a poor Christian woman get justice from the existed judicial system. The Supreme Court’s judgment clearly shows the vulnerability of Pakistani Christian women who have been kidnapped, raped and forced to convert to Islam but there is nobody to listen their cry.”

The verdict, which was earlier reserved on Jan. 27, 2011, was announced by a three-member bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, Justice Nasirul Mulk and Justice Mian Saqib Nisar. In its order, the court instructed the immediate release of the five accused persons if no other cases were registered against them. Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, a well-known leader of lawyers’ movement, appeared for Mai, whereas Malik Muhammad Saleem represented the accused.

Sam Zarifi, Asia-Pacific Director at Amnesty International, reacted on the judgment and said, “A woman has been brutally gang-raped but the Pakistani authorities have failed to bring anyone to account for this horrific crime, sending a green light for abuses against women to be committed without fear of punishment.”

Fortunately, the courage of one person brought the crime into light. On June 28, 2002, against the criminal act only Maulana Abdul Razzaq, a local religious leader of the village, raised the voice against the decision. When he did not get support from the villagers, he informed a local journalist, Murad Abbass, who dared to report the incident to his newspaper. As the news appeared in the local newspaper, the women rights organisations held country-wide protests which gave courage to Mai to fight back against the most powerful people of the area.

Only under pressure the police registered a case against the culprits. However, the police registered a weak First Information Report (FIR), as police usually do. Mai herself pointed to the fragile FIR and investigation report presented in the court by the police, who were influenced by the powerful local people. Unfortunately, the court did not punish the responsible police officer but did otherwise.

This case has seen many twists and turns since the FIR was registered in June 2002. In 2002, the Anti-Terrorist Court in Dera Ghazi Khan convicted 6 out of 14 men, while acquitting eight of them. In an appeal, the Lahore High Court (LHC) Multan Bench acquitted 5 more.

“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,” a media report says. The FSC took suo moto action and overturned the LHC verdict. While at the same time, the Supreme Court of Pakistan also took suo moto notice on the LHC’s decision but the outcome of its decision was extremely disappointing for many. “It is utterly disappointing that insufficient police investigation and delay in registering a case with police have been made basis for acquittal of the accused,” the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said in its statment.

“Under the law, the onus to prove rape lies on the complainant, instead of the defendant who should have to prove his innocence as is the universal norm. And let’s not forget that other lopsided piece of legislation, namely, the law of evidence, which considers one woman’s testimony as being equal to half that of a man’s in case of rape. No judging authority has ever sought review by parliament of such bad laws which further victimise women and (religious) minority victims of crime by denying them justice. While other bad laws, including constitutional amendments and clemency ordinances seeking to indemnify corruption charges against politicians, and one pertaining to parliamentary oversight of judges’ appointment, have been sent back to the government for review (in public interest and rightly so), laws that systematically target and deny justice to over 50 per cent of the population have seen no such judicial activism,” Murtaza Razvi writes for daily Dawn, a respected English daily, on April 24, 2011.

Mai is a role model and a hero for the women of Pakistan and also she has international recognition for her courage and resistance crimes against women. After hearing the judgment, she feels shattered and unsafe. She said if something happens to her or her family the court will be responsible. She further said that she has been struggling for justice for nine years without any success. “I have no trust in the courts anymore,” she told the media while she was crying. However, she announced filing of a review petition against the verdict because she has no other way.

According to daily The News, the women rights activists condemned the insensitive and a pathetic attitude of some sections of the media, who were grinning at the verdict and clapped after they recorded the responses to the judgment. They urged the owners and editors of these media houses to inculcate responsible and sensitive attitude in such “chauvinistic” reporters.

A women rights activist based in Islamabad Farzana Bari rightly says, “Mai’s case was so well known and if she cannot get justice then there is no hope for any other victim.”

Regrettably, only one women member of the parliament raised the question during the National Assembly’s session on April 22. But she was not heard by the lower house of the parliament. Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi said that under the constitution of Pakistan the conduct of the judges of the supreme and high courts could not be discussed in parliament. Then Sherry Rehman, former minister for information, reminded the parliament its responsibility and said “We respect every court, but it is our right that we realise our collective responsibility and go into an appeal so she (Mai) is not left alone to do it.”

“She remained in Meerwala, a primitive sugar-growing village in the poorest part of Punjab province, even after she became internationally known as a symbol of women’s rights. Showered with awards and prizes, she used the money to build a private school. For the past nine years, Mukhtar Mai has lived in the same village where she was allegedly dragged into a house, raped and pushed out naked, while 200 higher-caste tribesmen sat in approval nearby and her father was too frightened to save her,” the Washington Post says on April 25.

Karachi based English daily Dawn’s editorial says, “If a rape with multiple witnesses and such extensive media coverage goes unpunished, what Pakistani rape victim will try to obtain justice?”

Human rights activists held protest rallies and demonstration across the country to show their disagreement against SC verdict and urged for justice for Mai. Many say it might be the victory of law but the justice has been defeated.

Crimes against women, especially rape, are a common phenomenon in Pakistan because most of the accused people go unpunished because of their powerful position or pathetic police investigation and ineffective judicial system or mind-set of male dominated police and judiciary.

Pakistan’s constitution bans violent abuse of women, but social pressure, political influence and community “honor” are often stronger than the law. In 2009, rights groups found 8,548 reported cases of murder and assaults on women, many committed by relatives or ordered by tribal councils. They said far more cases are never reported to any state authority, amedia report said.

According to a report, published in 2008, an average 100 women were raped every 24 hours in Karachi, the biggest city of Pakistan, alone. As of lengthy medical process and delayed justice system in the country only 0.5% of rape cases are reported to the police other kept silent because of their poor status, intimidation or social pressures.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s 2010 report says that 2,903 women raped in 2010 alone. Sexual violence against women is still on the rise in Pakistan and in the first three months of 2011, at least 239 women and children have been raped or molested, says a report issued by Madadgaar in Karachi on April 13.

Aftab Alexander Mughal

Editor
Minorities Concern of Pakistan

April 28, 2011

Aftab Alexander Mughal is a Pakistani journalist and a human rights activist. He is the editor of Minorities Concern of Pakistan. He has been awarded the “International Award for Excellence in Journalism 2010” by the UCIP. The award was made at the World Congress held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in September 2010.