Book Review: In the Name of Honour: A Memoir by Mukhtar Mai

Mukhtar Mai’s book is a true, bitter and inspiring account of her struggles in life. Her name came to surface in June 2002 when journalists wrote about her. She was gang raped and punished for an honor crime allegedly committed by her brother. The accusation against her brother was never proved. After Mukhtar Mai was gang raped she intends to commit suicide. Instead, she went against the local custom. She took her rapists to court. The true story in this book revolves around Mukhtar Mai who faces stiff resistance. Despite all odds she fights the powerful, establishes a school in her village and helps other women under oppression.

Amna Buttar who supports Mukhtar Mai very strongly is threatened by one of Pervez Musharraf’s closest friend Brigadier Ijaz Shah. Referring to a planned visit by Mukhtar and Amna to New York, Ijaz says: ‘We can do anything. We can just pay a little money to some black guys in New York and get people killed there.’

Mukhtar belongs to the peasant Gujar caste. Her rapists are from the powerful Mastoi clan. They initially accuse Mukhtar’s brother Shakur of having relation with Salma, a woman from their clan. They rape the 12-year-old Shakur. Later a local panchayat (tribal court) declares that a woman from Shakur’s family be made a symbol of punishment. Mukhtar Mai is chosen, and raped by a group of men. At first Mukhtar was depressed, but she stood up and took the rapists to court. Mukhtar says that: “In our villages, most peasants cannot afford to hire a lawyer, so people prefer to appeal to a jirga because the government’s justice costs too much”.

The author regrets that if she knew how to read and write then everything would have been much easier. Moreover, she says that in Pakistan it is difficult for a woman to prove that’s she has been raped, since she is legally required to provide four male eyewitnesses to the crime. On August 31, 2002, the court delivers its verdict stating six men condemned to death and fifty thousand rupees in damages and costs.

Mukhtar already in the news opens her first school with the help of the government by the end of 2002. The little girls start calling her Mukhtar Mai ‘respected big sister’. Later Mai befriends Naseem in whom she finds comfort. Further in the book the author explains the marriage customs, her own marriage and her divorce. In addition to that she talks about the different women who approach her and address her with their own grievances. Mukhtar mentions the case of Dr Shazia Khalid, who was raped in Balochistan and who had no choice but to leave the country with her husband, leaving her son back home. Mukhtar believes that she will not give up her identity and will work to provide relief to her country which faces many issues. Despite all odds Mukhtar Mai fights the powerful, establishes a school in her village and helps other women under oppression.