http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20020702_439.html Girl Ordered Gang-Raped in Pakistan Girl Gang-Raped by Order of Pakistani Tribal Jury; Human Rights Organizations Demand Justice The Associated Press Print This Page Email This Page See Most Sent • Foster System Fails to Protect Children • Neighbors Asked for Fingerprints in Utah Kidnap Case • How Young Is Too Young for Cosmetic Surgery? MULTAN, Pakistan July 2 — A Pakistani tribal council ordered an 18-year-old girl to be gang-raped in order to punish her family after her brother was seen walking with a girl from a higher class tribe, police said Tuesday. The private Human Rights Commission of Pakistan demanded that all those involved in the rape, which took place June 22 in the village of Meerwala in southern Punjab province, be punished. Police said the victim's father had filed criminal charges against the four men involved in the case. Police said they picked up eight relatives of the suspects to pressure the perpetrators into surrendering. "We will spare no efforts to do justice" for the victim, police official Malik Saeed said. According to the victim, the Mastoi tribe demanded punishment after her 11-year-old brother was seen walking unchaperoned with a Mastoi girl in a deserted part of the village. The boy and his sister are from the lower class Gujar tribe. The Mastoi tribe called a meeting of the tribal council, which ordered the girl to be raped to avenge their tribal honor. The teen-ager said she was taken to a hut and assaulted as hundreds of Mastois stood outside laughing and cheering. Pakistan has a tradition of tribal justice in which crimes or affronts to dignity are punished outside the framework of Pakistani law. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has demanded an end to punishments by tribal councils. Kamla Hayyat, of the commission, said the group will send a fact-finding mission to the victim's village to determine what happened and provide help to her. "The increasing incidents of terrible atrocities against women are a terrible reflection on the state of society and the status of women within it," commission chairman Afrasiab Khattak said in a statement. Last month, an Islamic court overturned the conviction of a woman who was to be stoned to death for adultery. Zufran Bibi, 28, said she was raped and appealed her early May conviction in the conservative North West Frontier Province. Her case prompted demonstrations and protests by hundreds of civil and women's-rights groups nationwide. This seems fair.
<A HREF="http://www.dawn.com/2002/07/03/top12.htm">Members of Jirga among 8 held for gang-rape</A> <i>MULTAN, July 2: Police on Tuesday arrested at least eight people, including members of a Jirga who had ordered last month the gang-rape of a teenage girl as a punishment. Police raided the village of Meerwala, 120km from here, and arrested alleged rapists and onlookers, district police officer Farman Ali Chaudhry said. "Culprits involved in the case will not go unpunished," Farman said. The 18-year-old girl was raped last month as "punishment" meted out by the Jirga for her 12-year-old brother's alleged illicit affair with a woman from another tribe. -AFP PUNJAB GOVERNOR: Punjab Governor Khalid Maqbool has directed provincial ministers Rana Ijaz and Shaheen Attiqur Rehman to visit the Jhugiwala (Meerwala) village and ascertain details from the victim family, adds Multan correspondent. According to a handout, the ministers have been asked to submit their report within 72 hours. The governor suspended the SDPO and SHO of the Jatoi tehsil and issued show-cause notices to the DPO of Muzaffargarh and the district Nazim for their belated action and ignorance. Sources said the girl was gang-raped in the Jatoi tehsil of Muzaffargarh district last month on the orders of the Jirga as a punishment for her brother's alleged illicit relations with a girl of powerful Mastoi clan of the area. The Mastoi family claimed on June 22 that they had found Shakoor, 12, of the low caste Tattla clan in an objectionable condition with a Mastoi girl, who is said to be six to eight years older to him. The Mastois called a Jirga to decide the case. The Jirga consisted of six members - Fayyaz, Manzoor, Allah Ditta, Maulvi Abdul Razzaq and Mazoor Jatoi. The name of the sixth member could not be ascertained. Some 300 to 400 people of the village gathered to witness the Jirga proceedings. Mastoi is the sub-clan of Balochi Khosa tribe, while Tattlas are a part of non-Balochi Gujjar clan. The matter was to be decided as per the traditions of the complainant family. Fayyaz, Manzoor and Allah Ditta pleaded that the matter should be decided on the principle of 'an eye for an eye'. But the rest of the Jirga members opposed it and claimed that in accordance with the account of the Mastoi family, Shakoor and the Mastoi girl were found in an objectionable condition, therefore the Jirga should recommend Nikah of the couple, and as a punishment Tattlas should be directed to marry one of their girls to a Mastoi man. However, Fayyaz, Manzoor and Allah Ditta insisted that the insult to the Mastois could only be lessened by subjecting a Tattla girl to gang-rape. At this, the dissenting Jirga members walked out. The remaining Jirga members ordered "G, father of Shakoor, to bring his daughter so that the Jirga decision could be enforced. "G" brought his daughter, and handed her over to the Jirga. Abdul Khaliq, Allah Ditta, Fayyaz an another man then dragged the girl to a nearby farm house and raped her. The fourth culprit could not be identified. According to the Jatoi police, rapists Fayyaz and Allah Ditta are some other men and not the members of the Jirga. On June 30, the victim girl broke her silence and reported the matter to the Jatoi police. The police registered a case under sections 10-7/79 (sub-section III) against the three Jirga members and four rapists. SHO Malik Nazeer of the Jatoi police said the police had arrested Aslam, Allah Ditta, Khaleel, Qasim, Ghulam Husain, Hazoor Bakhsh, Rasool Bakhsh and Allah Diwaya. An assistant clerk at the Jatoi police station said that Jirga members had also been arrested while the main culprits were still at large. Talking to Dawn, Jatoi tehsil Nazim Sardar Nasrullah Khan Jatoi revealed even more tragic part of the Meerwala incident. He said according to his information the Mastois had spotted their girl sitting in a field with Shakoor. This infuriated them who sodomized the boy. Later, they feared that the boy or his family might raise hue and cry, and plotted to give a twist to the story. The Nazim said Mastois were his voters but they should be punished in accordance with the law. </i> Mango
I'm into protecting culture...but I hope that the few people in that tribe that understand the absurdity or know that it's ignorant and wrong the way things are being run...I hope they can find the power to change things. Pakistan did the right thing by stepping in. This should be the last of this crap.
How are they going to feel when they have created a chld by this woman of lower ranking? What will happen to that chld?
The solution here seems obvious. Raise the child until he or she is perhaps 13 or 14 years old, and then gang rape him/her.
I just can't imagine why these ignorant countries can not get out of their 3rd world status....it just baffles me. DaDakota
I just can't imagine why these ignorant countries can not get out of their 3rd world status....it just baffles me. Not as enlightened as we.. . . And these are our partners in the "war on terrorism". Good to see we've indicted an entire country based on the actions of a few backwards people, even though the country's people protested it and the government has arrested the people involved. Perhaps we should judge the entire US society based on the actions of a small town mayors as well.
Good to see someone is wearing their rose colored glasses today. Pakistan is a seriously jacked up country man, it didn't take this incident to prove that.
This is, without a doubt, a hidious injustice. However... How is this different from early 20th century lynchings in the South? How is this different from beating someone to death with 2X4s because of thier sexual preference? How is this different from dragging someone to death behind your pickup 'cause of thier color? Is it more of an injuctice because it happened in a third world country? Or because it happened in a class based society? Or because it happend in a muslim country? Is this injustice indicitive of societal behavior in Pakistan as a whole? If so...are the above injustices indicitive of societal behaivor in the U.S.? Ah screw it...round 'em up.
Not sure I understand what your getting at..a question for a question. To answer...the 21st. If you would, please explain the point you are trying to make.
