From the official blog of the President of Pakistan

   
The President Responds

Category: Social Sector

- - - | 29 Jun, 2005

The President has received many emails on the subject of Mukhtaran Mai. Here is the response:

The Response
In response to a number of emails addressed to me on the subject of Mukhtaran Mai I would like to give my views on this critical issue.

I am deeply pained on this unfortunate incident. Whilst I sincerely regret what Mai had to endure, the government is taking action to remedy it.

Unfortunately, violence against women is not peculiar to Pakistani society alone. It is a worldwide phenomena and a curse on mankind.

Your emails have blamed Pakistan for stopping her from participating in a conference in the US organized by ANAA and for keeping her under detention. I would like to categorically state that she is not under detention. In fact the government has given her full protection and her case is in the court.

I have already publicly stated that I took the decision to stop her from going to the US myself. I took this decision in the best national interest of Pakistan because I truly believed that the invitation would have tarnished Pakistans international image rather than help improve the lot of women folk in Pakistan or elsewhere in the world. I believe there was a strong ulterior intent of maligning Pakistan by vested interests, rather than sincerely helping Mai out.

Unfortunately my decision has been misinterpreted. It has been unfairly assumed that the government is not supportive of Mukhtaran Mai in her quest for justice. These assumptions are absolutely incorrect.

I am an ardent advocate of women rights as can be seen by the many policies made for them during my tenure, as such I would be the last one to have opposed an effort which I believed would have assisted their struggle.

It would have been appropriate had the organizers of this conference focused on a holistic approach to discussing violence against cases occurring all over the world; with case studies of not just Mukhtaran Mai alone but others also to keep the subject in perspective. However, in this case I felt that Pakistan was being singled out without taking into consideration the governments efforts to assist in her ordeal.

Let me make it absolutely clear that Mukhtaran Mai is free to go wherever she pleases, meet whoever she wants and say whatever she pleases. I have full faith in her and in her patriotism.

I am surprised that where the government has made tremendous headway in emancipating women folk through enlightened policies, none of those achievements were kept in mind whilst terming Pakistan society as retrogressive for women.

In order to truly make a contribution towards highlighting the injustices against woman, I would like to take the lead in organizing a conference inviting women victims from all over the world to present their ordeals and recommend remedial measures. The government would ensure that such a conference will be representative of the different types of women victimizations occurring all over the world rather than single out any one country.

Let me conclude by saying that I have always condemned in the strongest possible terms the actions of powerful groups to seek revenge on those who are weak by humiliating their women. This is unfortunately a malaise in our society as is the case in other traditional societies. The government is committed to remedying it. It is indeed the duty of the state to do everything within its power to protect the weak and the disadvantaged. That is what the state is all about. The government therefore, remains committed to all the victims of such offences, including Mukhtaran Mai, in their quest for justice according to law.

In this we shall not falter.

Sincerely,

General Pervez Musharraf