In his weekly Postcard USA of 7 August 2005 the retired senior bureaucrat turned journalist says how Pakistan’s image has been tarnished after American journalist Kristof recently wrote two columns in New York Times based Cristph’s meeting with Dr. Shazia. He tells how after these columns world over there is an outpouring of sympathy and support for Dr. Shazia. I have never been able to understand that our senior technocrats and bureaucrats after retirement when settled in their safe heavens of USA, Canada, how all of a sudden everything in Pakistan becomes dirty, gloomy, uncivilized for them.
Rape is the worst form of crime against the women and the society in general. What happened with Shazia and Mukhtar Mai has no words to cover condemnation by those who respect their mothers, sisters, daughters. However, Shazia’s mysterious behaviour at that time had itself been a point to ponder. The whole nation cried on Shazia’s pain. So-called NGOs both at home and abroad put all their weight behind Shaiza because it was a chance for them to tarnish the image of Army as an institution. But Shazia despite all this support in the weak argument of harassment allegedly by agencies and others kept mum and preferred silently to go the heavens of Europe getting a visa sitting home. Same sort of threats the illiterate villager Mukhtar Mai received from Police and area tribal elders but she stood firm and straight? And now seeing the money, fame and social status coming to Mukhtari inline with a few other gang rapped sprang up in press recently, Shazia too has broken her silence and started again. What is all this?
Khalid Hasan in his USA Postcard has mentioned briefly the messages Dr. Shazia has received world wide after publication of above Kristof columns. One such message is from a women writing from Tel Aviv saying “I had tears in my eyes reading the column about Pakistani rape victim. I too am a rape victim”.
So it means rape also happens in Israel. A 10 years girl was gang raped in UK last month in a garden. A police officer rapes a women last month in India. At least one rape happened to that women in Israel. Can any reader particularly the columnist Khalid Hasan enlighten us through this column if in Israel on rape of said Israeli woman similar up-roar happened? Did local Israeli NGOs demonstrated on roads and supported that ill fated Israeli women? Did NGOs from USA where Khalid Hasan enjoys living invited that Israeli raped women to visit USA in the interest of women rights as these NGOs had been calling Mukhtar Mai? Did CNN showed that victim? This will increase readers knowledge. By the way since now Shazia’s case has been taken I am sure now Mukhtar Mai case will get low priority in eyes of these columnists and NGOs. As this start of ignoring the Mai should open the eyes of both Mukhtar and Zhazia. Mukhtar has renewed his request to authorities to allow her to proceed to USA to work for women rights? Has she completed and her women rights awareness and welfare work she started in her area? Mai concentrate on your own area rather than spreading your legs all over Pakistan and abroad wishing to become a champion of women rights. You are a used “cartoos” now and very soon NGOs, women rights activists, Kashmilas would forget you as they would find new doors to keep their “livelihood”. Do not play in hands of these foreign funded people. Rest on respect and sympathies gave you by ordinary people of this country.
Re: Will People Like Khalid Hassan, Shafiq Khan Enlighten Us
Weere the circumstances of those rapes and the approach of the investigations that were handled the same? whether is that moron bugti jumpign up and down because he is using a rape as an excuse for this head butting with authorities and fgor him to get more money for this and that and for his own power, or in Mukhtar Mai’s case the whole power play by the perps and the various parts of the govt itself.
while the rapes in Israel and UK may ahve been the acts of a sick individual .. in Mukhtar Mai’s case it was an evil act sanctioned by the council of village idiots or village elders, a system that needs to be completely dismantled.
You may question the motives of NGOs, but as long as this adds even a little more chance that acts like these will be less likely in futrure and the perps will be unable to get away, why not.
Re: Will People Like Khalid Hassan, Shafiq Khan Enlighten Us
The whole reason for the big deal over rape cases in Pak is that they are often sanctioned by those in control
For example in the Dr.Shazia case was it was a cover up by Pak govt/Army to protect the Army men involved. If this happend in other countries where people are not ruled by Army goondas, the villains would have been thrown in jail, not defended by Musharraf, and the victim would have been ordered by Pak govt to leave the country
Re: Will People Like Khalid Hassan, Shafiq Khan Enlighten Us
Mohtarma Shahnaz Sahiba,
Please refer my note in the same sequence in reply to your another letter regarding rape case in Manipur, India. see, while we are talking Dr. Shazia, another rape case of Sonia Naz has come to light by Pakistani police (two top officials SHO & S.P are involved in it). Can you imagine if the protectors of the society become Satan. This is like,
“Assigning pirates to guard the ship full of merchandise”.
This is not one man’s job and every single Pakistani out of 160 million population will have to stand against the criminals and serpents of the society.