The reaction against the acquittal of five out of six people allegedly involved in the gang rape case of Mukhtaran Mai was swift with much of the anger directed towards prosecution. The anger against prosecution was ostensible because it failed to establish the case, may be because of weak evidence by the police that was reportedly reluctant even to register the case initially several days after her rape.
Decision in Mukhtaran Mai case draws ire against prosecution The public outcry forced them to do so. Now the acquittal of alleged involved in gang rape was seen as a set back to the women rights and former Minister for Information and outspoken member of Pakistan People's Party wanted the government to file a review petition in the apex court. She also had fear about the life of Mukhtaran Mai and wanted the government to provide protection to her against possible intimidation.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik was quick to respond and took the responsibility for the protection of her life but few had taken Malik's statement seriously and quipped while coming out of the Parliament after the adjournment of the session that the Minister had been making similar statements after every incident in the country but things have gone from bad to worse. Presiding Officer, Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi declined in House discussion on the matter on legal grounds, although the court verdict triggered a heated debate in media and public and thus it was not clear whether review petition would be filed or not.
The case which had drawn the global attention is seen as set back to the women rights in the country with some people questioning whether any women would now dare to go public against such crimes. This was sad that proportion of conviction in rape cases has been extremely low in the country because of rampant corruption in the system dominated by the powerful and feudals who believed to have great role in manipulation of evidence. Mukhtaran Mai case was yet another example of poor collection of evidence by the police that does not allow the prosecution to frame a strong case against the criminals. The police that was reportedly reluctant initially to register her case was not expected to frame a strong case. Unfortunately, the weak evidence put forth by the police in most of the cases is seen as major reason behind the acquittal of criminal as well as terrorists while on the other hand police was a symbol of terror to an ordinary citizen who avoids even reporting of genuine cases to it because of fear of possible harassment and trouble. The rape cases are rarely reported due to social stigma attached to them and what is needed is a total overhaul of law how rape cases are handled by the police. The government role becomes very important in this regard and to ensure that people involved are taken to task to discourage such incidents in the country. Some people fear that acquittal of alleged people in Mai case might encourage increase in crimes against women. This unfortunate incident had taken place in the remote area of southern Punjab and six people were sentenced by the anti-terrorism court in 2002 but appeal against the verdict was filed in the Lahore High Court which reversed the decision for insufficient evidence. Now the Supreme Court has upheld the LHC decision on the review petition filed by Mukhtaran Mai. One could hope that the government would provide protection to the Mukhtaran Mai on the call of Sherry Rehman and take every possible step against such incidents.
Sherry said that the government may not be able to hold back the wave of violence against women all over the country, unless it acts effectively so that highhandedness does not remain an everyday option. One could hope that all the political forces would take seriously the advice of Sherry and have zero tolerance against such incidents distorting the image of the country.