ISLAMABAD, 21 June 2006 — The gang-rape victim Mukhtaran Mai, who won international recognition as an advocate of women’s rights following her rape on the orders of a traditional village council in Pakistan, has started behaving like a “bandit queen” in the village of Mirwala, in Muzaffargarh.
According to locals, Mukhtaran has become an influential member of the community and even exerts influence over the police and local administration.
Mukhtaran’s case was projected as an example of the downtrodden way women are treated in Pakistan. When her case surfaced into the limelight, Western media portrayed her as a victim of Pakistan’s feudal system and as someone who stood up against a male-dominated society that suppresses women.
The Pakistan government tried its best to ensure Mukhtaran saw justice and even the prime minister intervened in her case to ensure her safety.
But, the newfound fame and money seem to have made Mukhtaran arrogant and domineering.
Her house has been completely renovated and is manned by over a dozen bodyguards and a highly paid consultant fixes her interviews with local and foreign media.
Last week journalists staged a walkout from the Parliament after they learned that Khushnud Ali Khan, editor of two Urdu dailies “Dopahar” and “Sahafat”, had been arrested.
Khushnud told Arab News later that he was preparing a documentary about Mukhtaran and was interviewing a number of people when police arrested him and his cameraman.
He said that during the course of an interview with Manzoor Khan, a local landlord, he was told that Abdul Khaliq, who Mukhtaran named as one of her rapists, was her husband.
Khushnud said that Mukhtaran’s interviews with local and foreign media are arranged by nongovernmental organizations and that he wanted to ask Mukhtaran why she did not tell the world she was married to Abdul Khaliq and why he was named as one of the rapists.
The TV One channel is planning to air the unfinished documentary. Khushnud said the documentary raises the curtain from some mysteries that make Mukhtaran’s case rather dubious.
