{"id":3748,"date":"2012-12-29T07:00:47","date_gmt":"2012-12-29T07:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.eltweekly.com\/elt-newsletter\/?p=3748"},"modified":"2012-12-29T07:00:47","modified_gmt":"2012-12-29T07:00:47","slug":"vol-4-issue-53-research-paper-in-the-name-of-honour-a-feminist-perspective-by-sunita-jakhar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/?p=3748","title":{"rendered":"Vol. 4 Issue 53 \u2013 Research Paper: 'In The Name Of Honour: A Feminist Perspective' by Sunita Jakhar"},"content":{"rendered":"

ELTWeekly Vol. 4 Issue#53 | December 31, 2012 |\u00a0ISSN 0975-3036<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

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This paper is submitted by\u00a0Dr. Sunita Jakhar<\/strong>, Associate Professor (English), Govt. College , Sikar, Rajasthan, India. Sunita is a UGC post doctoral research awardee.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cIt is because of the support of the world that I feel brave\u201d\u00a0– Mukhtar Mai<\/p>\n

Beyond doubt, as on today Mukhtar Mai has attained a feminist status but her journey till the support has been an arduous one. Her struggle began right from the day of being victimised for an honour crime , which was never proved and I would add that never committed . Her first struggle was narrating the harrowing experience in Saraiki to Marie-Therese Cuny , a French lady who planned to bring out a book on her. Till date there have been debates as to how much of the translation must be a faithful or genuine attempt!<\/p>\n

Through my paper I propose to make a feminist study of the book In the Name of Honour<\/em> . Feminist study , also known as women\u2019s study , \u201cis an interdisciplinary academic field which explores politics, society and history from an intersectional , multicultural women\u2019s perspective. It critiques and explores societal norms of gender , race, class, sexuality and other social inequalities \u201d(1).<\/p>\n

Honour Crime: an Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n

Honour crimes were prevalent since ancient times , there is ample evidence where a woman would be, \u201csubject to abuses such as marital rape, female genital mutilation , nose cutting , bride price , forced marriages, polygamy, and forced virginity testing\u201d (2). In the recent context, \u201cHonour crimes are domestic abuse , plain and simple\u201d(3), a regular phenomenon visible almost everywhere. It also , \u201cinvolves violence, including murder , committed by people who want to defend the reputation of their family or community\u201d(4). The daily newspapers are indicators of the fact that honour killings are on the rise. It, \u201cis the homicide of a member of a family or social group by other members , due to the belief of the perpetrators that the victim has brought dishonour upon the family or community . Honour killings are directed mostly against women and girls , but have been extended to men\u201d (5).The much talked about Aarushi murder case could be an honour crime as the, \u201c circumstantial evidence strongly bring an honour killing angle to the double murder case\u201d(6).<\/p>\n

MukhtarMai : A Real Hero<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mukhtar Mai is a courageous woman in whom one can , \u201csense that she is leading a revolution \u2013 against rape, illiteracy , and the repression of women \u2013 that is reverberating through all of Pakistan and indeed the entire world\u201d(7).Justice system in her village is unjust to the extent of accusing her younger brother for having an affair, \u201cand so a tribal council decided to punish her family by ordering that she be gang-raped\u201d(8).<\/p>\n

Mai struggled by daring to unravel the truth, \u201cInstead of killing herself , she prosecuted her attackers and told her story\u201d(9). The injustice done to her sowed the seeds of reforming her own society , \u201cultimately she believed that the only way to fight feudal attitudes was to educate people\u201d(10). Mai spoke passionately about her school and personally looks after it, \u201cshe was selling family jewellery to pay the teachers \u201d(11). She did not get carried away by international limelight showered on her and chose her hometown as her work place, \u201cIn the US she appears at banquets , is hailed at the White House and is feted at luxury hotels \u2013 and yet she is always counting the days to return to Pakistan\u2019\u2019(12).<\/p>\n

What made Mai a real hero was her courage to stand against the threats from Musharraf government. Brigadier Ijaz Shah warned Mai and Amna , a Pakistani-American physician in Wisconsin who runs a human rights organization , \u201cwe can do anything, we can just pay a little money to some black guys in New York and get people killed there\u00a0 \u201d(13). At one point of time it seemed the Pakistan government had launched a crusade against her by tapping telephones and confiscating her mail.<\/p>\n

Mai developed a support system for the women around and everyday her room would be full of them huddled up on mattresses spread on floor. Out of these women , \u201cthe worst cases have had their noses cut-off \u2013 a common Pakistani punishment administered to women in order to shame them for ever\u201d (14).<\/p>\n

Mai has set example for women like Shazia Khalid who has become an anti-rape activist . Khalid, \u201cin the early morning hours of Jan 3, 2005\u2026 was strangled with a cord , threatened , blindfolded, pistol whipped , beaten and repeatedly raped by a masked intruder , allegedly an army officer , at Sui, DeraBugli , in the heavily guarded government \u2013 owned natural gas plant\u201d(15).<\/p>\n

The Long Road Ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the village Meerwala the Mastoi caste was influential and dominant whereas Mai belonged to Gujjar caste which had to bow down to their demands. If one tries to understand the power relations , the lower castes have often been ill-treated by the upper castes.The fate Mai met had been planned by the Mastois and they set a trap for it. The role of a male as the protector of the household is questioned here. In order to get back Shakur , the males barter Mai hoping to be forgiven in the end but none foresees the consequences that took place. Mai mentions , \u201cI now know that the decision to rape me was made in the presence of the whole community . My father and uncle heard that verdict along with all the other villagers\u2026\u201d(16).<\/p>\n

Unravelling must have been difficult for Mai but she had to speak out everything to the magistrate, \u201cI tell him everything I can things I haven\u2019t yet told my own mother\u201d(17). It is also tiresome , \u201c I\u2019m so exhausted that I rest my head on the table . I don\u2019t want anymorequestions. I want to sleep. I want to go home\u201d(18). A lot of people were inquisitive about Mai , \u201cit\u2019s because I stand for all the other women in my part of the country who have been violated . For the first time, a woman has become a symbol\u201d(19).<\/p>\n

There has been a long tradition of reports where women have suffered in silence, to this Mai adds , \u201call this strengthens my determination to keep going , to keep asking justice and truth , in spite of police pressure and a tradition that wants women to suffer\u201d(20).<\/p>\n

The press gave too much publicity to Mai\u2019s case as she became, \u201cthe public face of a story that actually concerns thousands of Pakistani women\u201d(21). Ironically Mai had never travelled beyond her village and had only heard of Karachi from her uncle\u2019s anecdote\u2019s, technology , especially the TV puzzled her and overnight she was exposed to the unknown world of cameras , photographs and newspapers.<\/p>\n

At the time of the incident Mai was leading a peaceful life with her parents, constructively passing her time teaching the holy verses from Quran<\/em> to the village children. But after this particular incident she felt ostracized. She says , \u201cI was once respected as a teacher , but now the village shuns me, wary of too many rumours , too many big-city reporters , too many photographers and newsreel camera\u201d(22). Under this kind of circumstances it is not easy for a woman to hit back and she feels , \u201cin order to fight , it seems that I must lose everything : my reputation , my honour, everything that was once my life\u201d(23).<\/p>\n

The society from where Mai came had some unspoken laws as to how a woman should behave . Girls were expected to be modest , keep eyes downcast but Salma had her way anyway perhaps because she belonged to the powerful Mastoi clan. Mai says since she was ten , \u201cit was forbidden to speak to boys . I have never broken that taboo , I never got a good look at my husband\u2019s face until the day we were married . I would not have chosen him myself , but I respect my family and obeyed their wishes in the matter\u201d(24).<\/p>\n

Under this kind of surroundings it was challenging for Mai to punish the offenders .Unfortunately , \u201cin Pakistan it is difficult for a woman to prove that she has been raped , since she is legally required to provide four male eye witnesses to the crime. This is to ensure that the law and chiefly the punishment for rape are not misused \u201d(25). In Mai\u2019s case the eyewitnesses were the accused themselves!<\/p>\n

The media had been instrumental in carrying the story of Mai far and wide . The governor arrived with his entourage to comfort Mai perhaps for press coverage . His words seemed perfunctory and Mai knew she had to carry her own cross . The long lost relatives started approaching Mai\u2019s family . One of her maternal uncle who had been dormant, even brought a marriage proposal for his son.<\/p>\n

Money started pouring in ; for arranging fees to hire a lawyer but Mai instead of taking the money for her personal use wanted to use it for her school.<\/p>\n

Since trial is an expensive affair , most of the people approach the tribal council or a Jirga<\/em>. Initially Jirga <\/em>had a positive role as it would, \u201cdeliver a verdict intended to make sure that people in the community do not become lifelong enemies\u201d(26), but with time the Jirga <\/em>became corrupted due to vested interests and in Mukhtaran\u2019s case the Jirga<\/em> created a hostile atmosphere in the village instead of reconciling the parties . Parallel to the jirga<\/em> there are Khap<\/em>panchayats in India . Lately in Haryana the Khaps<\/em> had passed judgements which crossed all bounds of humanity.<\/p>\n

The subjudice matter in the court had made the Mastois more vindictive . Mai says , \u201cThey\u2019re neighbours , their house is just on the other side of a field . I don\u2019t dare walk along the path anymore. I feel they\u2019re watching me\u2026\u201d(27).<\/p>\n

Breaking the Silence<\/strong><\/p>\n

The visits to the court must have been discouraging and humiliating to Mai. The two parties to the case were fourteen men against one woman . The imbalance does not stop here the Mastois engaged nine skilled lawyers and Mai had only three \u2013 one was inexperienced and one was a woman. The defence made all kinds of unthinkable accusations on her and monopolized the hearings , kept calling her a liar, \u201csaying that I invented everything.\u00a0 After all , I am a divorced woman, which places me in the lowest rank of respectable females , according to the defence. I even wonder if that isn\u2019t why the Mastois chose Mukhtarbibi \u201d(28).Justice seemed to be far away and Mai\u2019s only strength was her prayers besides the court records had never shown any accused being convicted for a crime of honour . So the accused were always confident of acquittal.Though the court proceedings were held in the private chamber of the judge , away from the public gaze and ears.<\/p>\n

While breaking her silence Mai says , \u201cthere were four assailants , who raped me one after the other and threw me out of the stable in a shameful state before the eyes of my father. When I finish speaking , I appear calm , but my heart and stomach are aching with shame\u201d(29).<\/p>\n

Even while attending court proceedings , Mai does not deviate from her mission of building a school . At this stage Robert Frost\u2019s famous lines from \u2018Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening\u2019 reverberate in my ears, when the tired horseman on a lonely ride through the jungle says :<\/p>\n

\u201cThe woods are lovely, dark and deep<\/p>\n

But I have promises to keep<\/p>\n

And miles to go before I sleep \u201d<\/p>\n

Even the late Prime Minister Pandit Nehru kept these lines written on his study table.<\/p>\n

Mai gets \u2018sad and listless\u2019 and a prisoner of her own story . She had lost the joy and gaiety which she would often express through joking with her sisters . She thought about other suffering women and said, \u201cHow many will be supported by their families as I was supported by mine? How many will be lucky enough to have human rights organizations take up their causes so strongly that the government itself must intervene? There are so very many illiterate women in the villages of the Indus river valley, so many women whose husbands and families will reject them, leaving them defenceless , stripped of honour and all means of support . It\u2019s just that simple\u201d(31).<\/p>\n

Her dream of opening a school for girls in the village was dear to her . But the families do not prioritise sending the girls to school as the girls have to ply with household work . Mai summarises the role of a woman which remained the same for generations , \u201cour mothers have done all these things before us, and their mothers did the same before them. And then it\u2019s time to be married, to have children \u2026.That\u2019s how life goes on from woman to woman\u201d(32).<\/p>\n

Mai had observed that education empowered women. Through education the girls performed constructive roles for society in the form of lawyers , teachers, doctors etc. The social behaviour of these girls was contrary to her pre-conceived notion and she found that the educated girls were not scandalous . They respected their parents and husbands . It was knowledge that gave a sense of fearlessness to these girls and this power she wanted to give to her village girls. Mai realises that she toowas fearless and she spoke not because she was educated but because she was humiliated? Because her tongue was suddenly free to speak? For all these reasons Mai sums up the role of a woman as she observes around her, \u201c a woman here has nothing solid to stand on. When she lives with her parents, she does what they want. Once she has joined her husband\u2019s household, she follows his orders. When her children are grown her sons take over, and she belongs to them in the same way. My distinction is to have broken free of that submission. Freed from my husband, children, I can now seek the honour of taking care of other people\u2019s children\u201d (33)<\/p>\n

Mukhtar gets the sobriquet \u2018Mai\u2019 which in the local dialect means \u2018respected elder sister\u2019 it was her passion to change the life of girls around her that filled her with pride every time she saw the girls arriving for studies with pen and paper in hand. She mentions, \u201cwho would ever have said that MukhtaranBibi, the illiterate daughter of peasant farmers, would one day be the principal of a school\u201d (34). It doesn\u2019t end here,Mai reaches unimagined heights and gets invitation from feminist organizations to participate in the international women\u2019s conferences and seminars. No doubt Mai gets nervous to see people around her speaking unknown languages. She attends a conference on violence against women and says, \u201cI am stunned by the magnitude of the problem. For every woman who resists violence and survives, how many are buried beneath the sand without dignity, without even a grave?\u201d (35). On her trip to Europe, a place she had remotely known to exist somewhere in the west of her village, she was proud to represent herself as a female resisting evil. She was astonished, at the same time timid and proud to be present there.<\/p>\n

Mai never went to schools, had no formal education on gender equality but devises a way towards achieving it. As her \u2018project school\u2019 looms large she feels, \u201cthat my life has real meaning\u2026. My girls, my little sisters, will be learning the same things that boys study\u201d (36).It must have been difficult for Mai to be a harbinger of change as she had to bear the brunt, \u201cthe local press regularly speaks ill of me. I am a money-grubbing woman. I have a bank account.I am a divorcee who would do better to return to her husband .My ex-husband himself is spreading lies about me, claiming that I smoke hashish.\u201d(37)<\/p>\n

Facing this kind of criticism needs a psychological vent and Naseem senses that Mai needs to rid herself from mental pressures and tells Mai, \u201cyou must talk, Mukhtar, and it\u2019s by talking that you bring the good and evil out into the open. You free yourself. It\u2019s like washing dirty clothing: when it\u2019s all clean again, you can wear it with confidence once more\u201d (38). Mai observes that since childhood observing silence had been drilled into her whereas Naseem spoke her mind clearly and confidently without mincing words.<\/p>\n

\u2018Silence\u2019 also a poem by AnasuyaSengupta an LSR student had been written for Hillary Clinton\u2019s Delhi visit, \u201cthe poem talks about the condition of women everywhere in the world. It is now the title of a chapter (Silence is Not Spoken Here) in Hillary\u2019s memoirs\u201d (39).The theme of the poem is, \u201ctoo many women in too many countries speak the same language of silence. This is the truth about the lives of so many women\u201d(40).It further connotes that suffering in silence by women is a global phenomenon.<\/p>\n

Mai realizes that breaking silence and speaking one\u2019s mind has a cathartic effect, \u201cEver since Naseem has become my sister in the struggle, I have regained my self-confidence. Now that I am eating again, my cheeks are plumper, and there is a peaceful light in my eyes because I can sleep. I\u2019d had no\u00a0 idea that speaking about once pain , about a secret that feels shameful , can set both mind a body free\u201d (41).<\/p>\n

Destiny<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

It has been observed that women accept a lot of things as destiny. Mai narrates that like other girls of her locality she too grew up without asserting individuality,\u201d I grew up without knowing who I was.Invisible\u201d (42). Little girls learn how to behave through the mother figures loud instructions for daughters-in-law such as,\u201dyou don\u2019t listen to your husband! You\u2019re not serving him fast enough\u201d (43). This is how the girls are educated to behave in their future homes. Gender roles are even compartmentalized; the females work at home where as the males do the outside works. Mai tells for her father,\u201d sometimes I went to help\u00a0 him cut grass in the fields. My father had a little shop where he sawed wood, and whenever he did outside work, my brother HazoorBaksh was in charge of the harvest\u201d(44).<\/p>\n

Mai observes that Naseem was 27, still studying to pursue a career, though her marriage had been fixed by her parents, without being disrespectful to her parents she was trying to get out of this agreement, \u201cFor the moment, she hasn\u2019t met the man of her dreams, and that is one of the major taboos in our culture. A young woman does not have the right to choose for herself. Some women who have taken that risk have been threatened, humiliated, beaten and sometimes even killed, although there are new laws that support this right to choose, in theory. Islamic law does not support this right, however, and each caste has its own traditions. Couples who decide for themselves have huge difficulties proving the legality of their marriage. The women, for example, may be accused of\u00a0 Zina,<\/em> a sin that includes adultery and sex without sanction of marriage. She may then be condemned to be stoned to death. We are constantly being caught between the different legal systems of our religion and our government, not to mention \u2013 for extra complications – the tribal system, since each tribe has its own rules that completely ignore the official law, and sometimes even religious law. As for divorce, that\u2019s complicated as well. Only the husband may grant a divorce, when a woman begins proceedings to obtain a divorce in a state court of law, the husband\u2019s family may then consider itself \u2018dishonoured\u2019 and demand \u2018punishment\u2019\u201d (45).<\/p>\n

It was a tradition that suddenly an elderly family member would announce the wedding of a girl. In Mai\u2019s case it wasn\u2019t even the father but an unclewho chose her husband,a person who limped heavily like someone who\u2019d had polio. And she wondered why they were marrying her off to this person but Mai could not exercise her choice and though she did not like him much but could not refuse marriage with him and after the date was fixed advice started coming from everyone and ironically too much importance given to honour such as, \u201cyou\u2019ll be going to your husband\u2019s house. Try to bring honour to your parents, to your family\u2019s name. Do whatever he asks of you. Respect his family. You are his honour, and that of his family. Remember that\u201d(46). If in a society so much weightage is given to honour than why does Mai\u2019s husband leave her and why her honour was lost at the hands of Mastoi men?<\/p>\n

Like the purdah<\/em>, the Muslim, women wear burka<\/em> but Mai found it uncomfortable. She would wear it in front of the family members and remove it when nobody was watching. She feels that is wasn\u2019t a convenient and comfortable thing to wear.\u00a0 In Muslim weddings as a custom the Mullah<\/em> asks a bride if she accepts the groom as her husband. But Mai got so emotional that she could not speak. It is not clear in the book whether Mai said yes or not but the women around her insisted that she had said yes and she is feeling shy.<\/p>\n

After the wedding Mai became a victim of domestic violence and was troubled at her in laws place and her husband did not act as per the marriage contract. She barely stayed there for one month. Mai feels, \u201cI wonder if he even wanted me at all because\u00a0 I didn\u2019t have much trouble\u00a0\u00a0 getting the talaq<\/em>\u00a0 from him, the divorce through which he \u2018released me\u2019. I gave him back his jewellery.\u00a0 Although a divorced woman, in our culture, is not well looked upon, at least I was free\u201d(47). Since living alone tantamounts to earning a bad reputation, Mai lived with her parents to recover her lost respectability taught Koran<\/em>. She harmonises with her fate and was leading a peaceful life.<\/p>\n

Gender bias was prevalent in Mai\u2019s village and women\u2019s mental ability was always doubtful to the men, \u201cAnd women have always been excluded from meetings even though they are the ones \u2013 as mother, grandmother, thecustodians of daily life \u2013 who understand family problems the best. Mai\u2019s contempt for their intelligence is what pushes women aside. I don\u2019t dare hope that one day, even in the distant future, a village council will accept the participation of women\u201d (48).<\/p>\n

The wide exposure had been instrumental in bringing a change in Mai, she no longer accepts destiny passively but has become sensitive to realise, \u201cI\u00a0wasn’t\u00a0really an ardent feminist, although the media considered me one. I became one through experience, because I am a survivor, a simple woman in a world ruled by men. But despising men is not the way to win respect. The solution is to try to fight them as equals \u201c(49). Mai has become more assertive and aware of her individuality, she says, \u201cI have learned to exist and to respect myself as a woman. Until now, my rebellion was instinctive: I was trying to save myself and my family from danger. Something inside me refused defeat. Otherwise, I would have given in to the temptation of suicide\u201d(50).<\/p>\n

She has some questions to ask, \u201cHow does one survive dishonour?\u00a0 How does one overcome despair? With anger, at first, with an instinct for revenge that resists the tempting solution of death , an instinct that allows one to recover , go forward , act\u201d(51). She gives a beautiful analogy to present her state , \u201cA stalk of wheat beaten down by a storm can spring up again, or rot where it lies. At first I stood back up alone , and gradually I\u00a0realized\u00a0that I am a human being with legitimate rights. I believe in God, I love my village , the Punjab , and my country, and all the victims of rape , and future generation of girls (52)\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Way Things were in Meerwala<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just opening the school by Mai did not bring a change in Meerwala but she had to go from door to door with Naseem to persuade families to send their daughters to school but the parents felt the girls were more suitable for the house and the boys had possibilities of studying and attending school. Beginning with just one teacher Mrs. Margaret Huber, Canada\u2019s High Commissioner to Pakistan in Islamabad was generous enough to give her a cheque of 22,000,00 rupees for the school , she also congratulated Mai for courageously fighting to promote equality and women\u2019s rights, and for the spirit to devote her life to justice and education.Mai knew that this money would get over and she had to think of another source of income to run her school , she bought \u00a0goats and cows for steady flow of money . Gradually number of pupils increased and they came from high as well as low\u00a0caste sand\u00a0tribes. Keeping in mind the kind of customs and background of the society she keeps the boys\u2019 and girls\u2019 classrooms segregated.<\/p>\n

Hearing the girls chattering , giggling and learning the lessons aloud not only comforts her but also soothes her hopes. Along with the school Mai\u00a0 also does community service with Naseem by giving assistance and legal advice to innumerable women who approach them being, \u201cassaulted , beaten, burned with acid , or killed in the accidental explosion of a cooking-gas canister\u201d (53).<\/p>\n

Dishonour<\/strong><\/p>\n

On March 1, 2005, the court declared its verdict \u2013 six appellants were declared guilty and eight acquitted. The lawyer from the opposite party accused Mai\u2019s statements to be full of contradictions, another argument against Mai was her delay in filing the FIR, but the law does not delve into the mental state of the victim. Mai feels, \u201cit takes a woman to understand how physically and psychologically damaged a woman is after being raped by four men. So, all these men would find it more logical if I\u2019d committed suicide right away\u201d(54).<\/p>\n

Mai\u2019s testimony given to the court and the police contradicted for obvious reason as the police colluded with the Mastois and tampered with the testimony . Again there were allegations on Mai that she had received money from abroad and the alleged crime had never taken place. After the appeal the Lahore High Court finally punished only one and acquitted four. Inspite of so much hype at an international level Mai does not get justice . An infirmity strikes Mai and she undergoes all kinds of apprehensions and turns vindictive , \u201cMy family is threatened , and I\u2019m in mortal danger from this day on . I wanted justice, I wanted them hanged- I\u00a0wasn’t\u00a0afraid to say so- or at least kept in prison for the rest of their natural lives. I was fighting not only for myself , but also for every woman scorned or abandoned by a law that requires four male eyewitnesses to prove a rape\u201d(55). Mai\u2019s wounds become green once again and she admits that after the judgement she feels , \u201cI\u2019m being raped all over again\u201d(56).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mukhtar has a never say die attitude and she plans to struggle once again to go for an appeal instead of going into\u00a0exile. Kamila\u00a0Hayat, of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan while speaking to the press admits that\u00a0anti-feminist\u00a0laws are prevalent in Pakistan. Referring to\u00a0Dr. Shazia\u00a0Khalid and Mai\u2019s case , she says, \u201cthese two embattled heroines have shown us that any woman , whether she\u2019s educated or illiterate , will have to fight hard to obtain justice\u201d(57). Mrs. Huber once again comes forward to\u00a0recognize\u00a0Mai as, \u201can activist in the struggle for equality between the sexes and for women\u2019s rights in Pakistan and throughout the world\u201d(58).<\/p>\n

At last when the culprits were to leave prison on March 14, there were around 1500 demonstrators and NGOs in order to protest . For preventing riots, the police were posted everywhere around Mai to keep a check . Mai is more determined than ever and says , \u201cno one is going to make me keep silent \u201d(59) and confesses that she had lost the match.<\/p>\n

The lawyer advises her to appeal to President Musharraf to intervene for her safety but Mai wants , \u201cthem all to go back to prison , I want the Supreme Court to re-examine the file\u2026 I want justice ! Even if it costs me my life\u201d(60). She feels that the culprits were the ones to bring dishonour to her country.<\/p>\n

She visits Islamabad to meet the minister of interior in order to prevent the Mastois from absconding . She is aware of the geographical terrain and topography of the\u00a0region and\u00a0can imagine what the Mastois can do . For example they were capable, \u201cof assembling their clan \u2026 slip into a tribal zone where no one would be able to identify them anymore. And of paying a cousin, an accomplice, to kill me.I imagine all their possible means of revenge : fire, acid, kidnapping. Burning down the house and the school\u201d(61).She learns that the minister can exercise his power within 72 hours of arrest and only a few hours were left for action. Naseem and Mai approach the Prime Minister and even after his assurance Mai is adamant on getting a definite answerand nothing less would satisfy her then the Mastois being sent back to prison.<\/p>\n

The circumstances have made Mai a changed person, \u201cwho would ever have told me that I would speak in that way to the Prime Minister of my own country ? I, Mukhtaran Bibi, of Meerwala , a quiet , docile peasant woman \u2026\u201d(62). She feels that she had become powerful and , \u201conly the Army could get me out of here before I\u2019ve received confirmation that those savages have been sent back to prison \u201d(63).Her experiences have made her so suspicious that she no longer trusted anyone and insisted on knowing about the exact time the culprit had been sent to jail.<\/p>\n

Teaming with Naseem, Mukhtar got courageous and the Mastois knew it and were furious. \u201cThe Mastois cousins are saying everywhere that they\u2019re going to do something against us , because it\u2019s our fault that the men were re-arrested . Now they are angry with Naseem, claiming that I wouldn\u2019t have been able to do anything without her \u201d(64). Mukhtar discovers that she is on \u2018exit control list\u2019 of the government. Such travel restrictions once again get attention from the international press and the defenders of human rights.<\/p>\n

Mukhtar\u2019s fight for justice must have earned jealousy at the local level so derogatory\u00a0rumors\u00a0start floating about her as Naseem had put it for her that people in high places , \u201cclaimed that all a woman has to do become a millionaire and get a visa is \u2026 get herself raped . As if Pakistani women were going to rush through that \u2018formality\u2019 to escape abroad!\u201d (65). But come what may Mukhtar faces everything boldly and frontly . For future Mukhtar wants that, \u201cNo Pakistani man worthy of the name can encourage a village council to resolve a matter of honour by punishing a woman\u201d(66).<\/p>\n

For Mukhtar , \u201cthe true honour of my homeland : to allow a woman , educated or illiterate , to speak out in protest against an injustice done to her\u201d(67).Mai poignantly says, \u201cthe real question my country must ask itself is, if the honour of men lies in women , why do men want to rape or kill that honour?\u201d(68). This question needs much thought and perhaps it can if not stop at least minimise honour crimes.<\/p>\n

In her area, Mukhtar has become an emblem of authority . Women warn their husbands in her name, \u201cwatch out \u2013 I \u2018ll go complain to Mukhtar Mai!\u201d(69). Kausar\u2019s case was similar to Mukhtar and she approached her for help .Mukhtar was empathetic , she did all that she could- comforted her, gave legal advice through Naseem. She could feel the deep suffering in the eyes of Kausar and undergo the pain from Kausar\u2019s silent endless cry but all Mai could forecast was that, \u201cthe road ahead will be long for her as well \u201d(70). Another woman was mutilated by an acid attack from her husband for not serving him food fast enough to suit him . There are hordes of such women who come to Mukhtar in confidence and with the hope to be able to be helped in future.<\/p>\n

Battling with adverse circumstances, Mukhtar Mai has ultimately created a space of comfort and peace for herself. She is at times overwhelmed by the magnitude of problems brought to her by women in distress and, \u201csometimes I\u2019m so angry I can hardly breathe . But I never despair. My life has a meaning . My misfortune has become useful to the community\u201d (71).Women are creators . Like a true feminist Mukhtar Mai created positivity even with her negative encounters , and that makes one\u2019s existence fruitful.<\/p>\n

REFERENCES<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. www.en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/women\u2019s_studies<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. www.carnegiecouncil.org\/resources\/publications\/dialogue\/2_10\/articles\/1058.html<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. www.guardian.co.uk\/commentisfree\/2012\/mar\/21\/honour-crime-domestic-abuse<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. www.bbc.co.uk\/ethics\/honourcrimes<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. www.en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Honour_killing<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. www.en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Noida_double_murder_case<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. In The Name Of Honour \u2013 A Memoir-<\/em>Mukhtar Mai, U.K: Virago,2007,p.vii<\/li>\n
  8. Ibid,<\/em>p.viii<\/li>\n
  9. Ibid,<\/em>p.viii<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    10. Ibid,<\/em>p.viii<\/p>\n

    11. Ibid,<\/em>p.ix<\/p>\n

    12. Ibid, <\/em>p.x<\/p>\n

    13. Ibid,<\/em>p.xi<\/p>\n

    14. Ibid,<\/em>p.xiv<\/p>\n

    15. www.en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/shazia_khalid<\/a><\/p>\n

    16. In The Name Of Honour \u2013 A Memoir-<\/em>Mukhtar Mai, U.K: Virago,2007,p.33<\/p>\n

    17. Ibid,<\/em>p.43<\/p>\n

    18. Ibid<\/em>,p.43<\/p>\n

    19. Ibid,<\/em>p.45<\/p>\n

    20. Ibid,<\/em>p.45<\/p>\n

    21. Ibid,<\/em>p.46<\/p>\n

    22. Ibid,<\/em>p.49<\/p>\n

    23. Ibid,<\/em>p.40<\/p>\n

    24. Ibid,<\/em>p.54<\/p>\n

    25. Ibid,<\/em>p.55<\/p>\n

    26. Ibid,<\/em>p.57<\/p>\n

    27. Ibid,<\/em>p.58<\/p>\n

    28. Ibid,<\/em>p.70<\/p>\n

    29. Ibid,<\/em>p.72<\/p>\n

    30. www.ketzle.com\/frost\/snowe.htm<\/a><\/p>\n

    31. In The Name Of Honour \u2013 A Memoir-<\/em>Mukhtar Mai, U.K: Virago,2007,p.75<\/p>\n

    32. Ibid,<\/em>p.76<\/p>\n

    33. Ibid,<\/em>p.78<\/p>\n

    34. Ibid,<\/em>p.79<\/p>\n

    35. Ibid,<\/em>p.80<\/p>\n

    36. Ibid,<\/em>p.81<\/p>\n

    37. Ibid,<\/em>p.84<\/p>\n

    38. Ibid,<\/em>p.85<\/p>\n

    39. www.hindu.com\/the<\/a>hindu\/mp\/2003\/08\/07\/st<\/p>\n

    40. www.articles.timesofindia.com\/2009-97<\/a><\/p>\n

    41. In The Name Of Honour \u2013 A Memoir-<\/em>Mukhtar Mai, U.K: Virago,2007,p.89<\/p>\n

    42. Ibid,<\/em>p.93<\/p>\n

    43. Ibid,<\/em>p.93<\/p>\n

    44. Ibid,<\/em>p.95<\/p>\n

    45. Ibid,<\/em>p.99<\/p>\n

    46. Ibid,<\/em>p.102<\/p>\n

    47. Ibid,<\/em>p.109<\/p>\n

    48. Ibid,<\/em>p.110<\/p>\n

    49. Ibid,<\/em>p.113<\/p>\n

    50. Ibid,<\/em>p.112<\/p>\n

    51. Ibid,<\/em>p.112<\/p>\n

    52. Ibid,<\/em>pp.112-13<\/p>\n

    53. Ibid,<\/em>p.122<\/p>\n

    54. Ibid,<\/em>p.139<\/p>\n

    55. Ibid,<\/em>pp.141-42<\/p>\n

    56. Ibid,<\/em>p.142<\/p>\n

    57. Ibid,<\/em>p.146<\/p>\n

    58. Ibid,<\/em>p.147<\/p>\n

    59. Ibid,<\/em>p.148<\/p>\n

    60. Ibid,<\/em>p.151<\/p>\n

    61. Ibid,<\/em>p.152<\/p>\n

    62. Ibid,<\/em>p.154<\/p>\n

    63. Ibid,<\/em>p.154<\/p>\n

    64. Ibid,<\/em>p.156<\/p>\n

    65. Ibid,<\/em>p.160<\/p>\n

    66. Ibid,<\/em>p.161<\/p>\n

    67. Ibid,<\/em>p.161<\/p>\n

    68. Ibid,<\/em>p.161<\/p>\n

    69. Ibid,<\/em>p.165<\/p>\n

    70. Ibid,<\/em>p.169<\/p>\n

    71. Ibid,<\/em>p.171<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Through my paper I propose to make a feminist study of the book In the Name of Honour . Feminist study , also known as women\u2019s study , \u201cis an interdisciplinary academic field which explores politics, society and history from an intersectional , multicultural women\u2019s perspective. It critiques and explores societal norms of gender , race, class, sexuality and other social inequalities \u201d(1).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","omw_enable_modal_window":"enable","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,39,45,213,331],"tags":[873,1680],"class_list":["post-3748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-elt-articles-and-research-papers","category-elt-newsletter","category-elt-research-articles","category-eltweekly-vol-4-issue-53","category-english-language-teaching-competitions","tag-elt-research-papers","tag-sunita-jakhar","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3748\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}