Pakistani Women Demonstrate Against Tribal Rape
Charles Johnson
Mon Mar 7, 2005 at 8:08 pm PST • Views: 267
Thousands of women demonstrated in Pakistan today against the barbarism of tribal shari’a: Pakistan Rape Sparks Rally of Thousands. (Hat tip: zulubaby.)
MULTAN, Pakistan - Thousands of women rallied in eastern Pakistan on Monday to demand justice and protection for a woman who said she was gang-raped at the direction of a village council, after a court ordered the release of her alleged attackers.
The victim, Mukhtar Mai, also attended the rally in Multan, a major city in the eastern province of Punjab.
Waving signs and chanting, the demonstrators, many of them from nearby villages, joined the rally. Organizer Farzana Bari said more than 3,000 women were at the event.
“We will fight for justice for Mukhtar Mai,” the women chanted during the rally, while others carried placards reading: “Give protection to Mukhtar Mai.”
Some 200 policemen observed the demonstration, which ended peacefully.
In June 2002, Mai said she was raped by four men on the orders of a village council that wanted to punish her family.
Mai’s brother was accused of having sex with a woman from a more prominent family, though Mai’s family says the allegations were fabricated to cover up a sexual assault against the boy by several men.
Frank says: