Pakistan＇s highest court has dismissed the appeal by a rape victim challenging the acquittal of five men she accused of attacking her nearly a decade ago.
The country＇s Supreme Court ruled Thursday that five of 14 men accused in the case should be free. However, it upheld a life in prison sentence for another defendant in the case.
The victim, Mukhtar Mai, says the group of men raped her in June 2002. She accused them of acting on the orders of a village council in Punjab province to punish her after her younger brother allegedly had illicit relations with a woman from another clan.
A court acquitted eight of the accused in 2002.
After Thursday＇s ruling, Mai said she is afraid that the 13 men acquitted in the case will return to her village and harm her and her family. However, she said she has no plans to challenge the latest judgement.
Human Rights Watch also condemned the court＇s decision, saying it was “a setback for Mukhtar Mai, the broader struggle to end violence against women and the cause of an independent, rights-respecting judiciary in Pakistan.” In a statement Thursday, it urged the government to ensure Mai＇s safety.
Mai＇s decision to go public with her accusations made international headlines after human rights groups highlighted her case as an example of oppression suffered by Pakistan＇s women.
She now runs a school in her village of Meerwala and works to protect the rights of women.
During the original trial in September 2002, the 30-year-old rape victim testified that a Mastoi tribal council ordered her rape and forced her to walk home half-naked in front of hundreds of people after tribal elders rejected her attempts to resolve a dispute with her family.
Mai also alleged that Mastoi men had abducted and sexually assaulted her 12-year-old brother after accusing him of having an affair with a higher-status Mastoi woman.
In many areas of rural Pakistan, citizens turn to tribal elders for justice as opposed to the authorities. This situation, based on the perceived bias and ineffectiveness of Pakistan＇s justice system, is part of the reason why Pakistan perennially receives criticism for its human rights record.
However several years ago, Pakistan garnered international praise for a new law that transferred the offense of rape from religious to civil courts and eliminated the requirement for alleged rape victims to present four male witnesses to press charges.
|
|
