Brava and good luck with this new hearing

The Daily Telegraph | Bravest woman in the world

Mukhtaran Mai was gang-raped three years ago by order of a village council in response to an alleged affair her brother had with a woman from a rival clan.

So-called 'honour punishments' such as rape and murder are crimes against usually innocent women and unscores how little value is given to the lives of these human beings. It is a barbaric process aimed at shaming or protecting the honour of a family, but with disastrous consequences for those pawns caught in the wake of such a brutal practice. The woman becomes a scapegoat for the sins of others. It is unthinkable that a woman who is the victim of a rape might be killed by a brother or father to supposedly protect the family honour, yet this does happen. Even when, as with adultery, the woman is herself a participant in an activity defined by her society as criminal or sinful, the punishment often far exceeds the supposed crime. It is one thing to live with shame for something you did; it is another to be brutally killed for it or be violated and left with a public humiliation for the crime of another.

All women should work to change these deadly crimes against their fellow sisters. For if we do not stand for each other, we admit that we are less than men, chattel to be disposed of as men see fit, something that is in itself a terrible lie that has unfortunately been incorporated into some belief systems and supposed systems of justice.

Hopefully the Supreme will re-examine the Lahore High Court decision to acquit five of the men in this case. I have no problem with commuting the original sentence of death to life imprisonment, for I do not believe that the death penalty is just in most cases in which it is used. Of course as with any court trial the prosecution must be able to prove its case...but if the evidence says the men are guilty and yet they walk free, it sends a clear message that anything might be done with impunity and without fear of punishment so long as it is supported by such barbaric customs. I cannot imagine this ever being the case if men were to be the victims rather than women...and that is wrong.