Five out of six men convicted of gang-raping a Pakistani woman were acquitted by Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday, in a highly watched decision that critics say will set back the struggle for women’s rights.
The Supreme Court's verdict upholds a previous High Court judgment to acquit the alleged rapists of Mukhtaran Mai. It also commutes the death penalty of a sixth man convicted of raping her to life imprisonment. Ms. Mai became a national and international symbol of a then almost nonexistent women’s rights movement in Pakistan when she spoke out against her attackers following her ordeal in 2002. Today's verdict highlights the bumpy road ahead for that movement.
Mai was allegedly raped by several men on the orders of a self-styled community justice council, in the Punjab village of Meerwala. Local elders ordered Mai to be raped because her teenage brother stood accused of committing adultery with a rival clan's daughter. Villagers say the boy was merely seen walking with the girl.
Upon hearing the verdict, Mai, who has received numerous international awards for her work for the rights of women in Pakistan, told reporters she now fears reprisal.
“I’m disappointed. Why was I made to wait for five years if this decision was to be given?” Mai told Reuters, adding: “The accused can kill me and my family when they return home.”
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