President Pervez Musharraf
President Musharraf: Violence against women is a global issue
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has said his country should not be singled out for its treatment of women.

His comments came while addressing a conference on violence against women in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

But two of Pakistan's leading women's rights groups have declined to participate in the meeting.

The conference comes in the same week as two separate cases of women alleging that they were raped by police officers in Pakistan.

Representatives of the AGHS and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan say they see no point in being part of what they describe as "a farcical event".


Pakistan must not be demonised and singled out as being the only country having this problem
President Musharraf

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The BBC's Aamer Ahmed Khan in Karachi says both groups have incurred the displeasure of the government for their role in helping bring attention to a series of recent rape cases.

President Musharraf lashed out at rights groups for their role in highlighting the cases outside the country.

"Do it in Pakistan and I am with you. But don't do it abroad; I am not with you," the Associated Press quoted him as saying.

Criticism

Dozens of delegates from around the world are attending the two-day event aimed at addressing the treatment of women in Pakistan and also to bring together those who work with victims of violence.

"Pakistan must not be demonised and singled out as being the only country having this problem... that is not the reality," AFP quoted the president as saying.

Mukhtar Mai after her Supreme Court ruling
The Mukhtar Mai case made international headlines

Pakistan recently came under intense international criticism for preventing a high-profile rape victim from attending a conference in the United States.

Mukhtar Mai, 33, was raped in 2002, allegedly on the order of a village council, in a case that received worldwide publicity.

The men who were convicted of raping her were released this March, but then ordered back to jail while the Supreme Court hears her appeal against their release.

Another case which attracted widespread attention in Pakistan is that of a woman who alleged that a senior police officer ordered her rape.

The Pakistani government has announced an inquiry into her allegations, but she has said that until the media highlighted her case the authorities did nothing to help her.

In another case this week, a woman accused four policemen of gang-raping her in Rawalpindi. One officer has been arrested and the other three are missing.

Human rights groups say cases like these are just the tip of the iceberg.

They say most women never come forward to say they have been victims of rape or violence and those that do often do not even see their cases going to court.


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My Question to You guys is:

Should NGOs (i.e. women's rights groups) be allowed to take the issue of women's poor conditions in Pakistan at a global level?

Meaning, do you think that cases that are presented at an international level will helpful or be detrimental for Pakistan and Pakistani women’s rights?

Is Pakistan being unfairly targeted here by the international community regarding women’s rights issues? OR Is the problem also rampant in other countries (developing countries eg. India)?

Is Musharraf right in his stance on this issue?

Taking each of the women's rights issues to international level points toward the hidden selfishness of the NGOs. If solution of the preoblem is to be sought, why not work for it inside the country? But, as in Dr. Shazia fiasco, when justice couldnt be sought inside the country, they have all the rights to go on the international platform.

The NGOs r doing good job there, but if they start making it their business, then naturally, it would be another setback to our nation.

i think pakistan is not the only country which is victimized by such incident. & this is really not fair that NGO's working within Pakistan take this issue to international forums. this give others a chance to blame on any thing happening in the world. the example is 7/7 incident when pakistan told UK that suiciders visti Pakistan & might got training here.
it is said that "Ghaar ki baat ghar se nikal jai to ghar ki nahin rehti" so NGO's should first try to solve such problem in-house. Infact when such issues come to international forums that some time becomes black spot on country reputation.
There are many cases in all around the world but they solve these problems internally. but in pakistan some NGO's which are supported by other countries make these issue too much serious & take them to international forum. they should find solution with in country that's all what i think


take care
Allah Hafiz

Did anybody notice Musharraf's comments on the rape cases in his interview to the Washington post during his visit to the US?

read a detailed article on this at :
http://www.satribune.com/archives/200509/P1_wajid2.htm
It clears out the fact that Musharraf doesn't give a damn about the rape cases.

regarding condemning such heinous crimes, I wonder why Musharraf can't punish the culprits if he actually condemns them?

the NGOs have nothing to do except for exploiting such matters. All together, it brings a bad name to the whole nation. Whats the point of taking the matter to the international level instead of getting justice to the victims? The NGOs have truly made this a business, I don't know what the women activists of such organizations are trying to show the world... Instead of depicting how helpless the women in Pakistan are to the world, they should make the people WITHIN Pakistan realize that justice must be done before its too late. A great number of people know about the cases that were video-recorded in a cafe located in Pindi, and it was also said that one of the girls in the videos who later on committed suicide was the daughter of a senior army personnel. Why didn't the NGOs take that matter to the international level? cuz' girls were deliberately involved in such acts? whether deliberate or by force, such acts are strictly prohibited in our religion. NGOs try to implicate that the women in Pakistan do not get equal rights due to Islam and to fight that, 'enlightened moderation' and the provision of equal rights of women is required... They need to realize the fact that if there is any system in the world that provides the maximum rights and protection to women, it is the one & only Islam. I pray that the culprits be punished openly to teach a lesson to all wrong doers and discourage such abuse of power in future.... May ALLAH bless our nation...

da statement might be a slip of the tongue
plz dont get angry
urs truly nayab

__________________
[COLOR=Pink][SIZE=3][FONT=Comic Sans MS]Ur Highness
Nayab[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

Salaam,

Though Mr. Busharraf prohibited me from posting my views since they are controversial to the ones held by general majority here, but I will persist.

(Let me make it clear: I hate Musharraf and I am sympathetic towards those women ill-treated and I condemn such acts)

I am of the opinion that the statement of Mr. President was just a slip of tongue induced by strong emotions of anger. The driving force behind such vulgar statement might be extensive frustrations. However there are some things to be pondered upon. I place them as under.

1- It might be a trick of the opposition to defame or slander the Government of Musharraf.

2 - The NGOs and Human Rights, which are paid by the west, have advertised the rape internationally not for the sake of getting justice to those ladies but for striking the image of Pakistan (Musharraf is right here and this will serve the west).

3 - The western media could have censored the statement however they didn't. The newspaper staff even placed the audio of the interview online.

I think, Musharraf was right to put that innocent lady on ECL (Exit Control List). See, whatever happened, the ladies didn't get any justice yet (and they might not), however they have been libelled only. I have a question that is revolving in my mind now.

Let me know if somebody has the answer to it!

Didn't those ladies know that there is no law and justice in Pakistan before they stepped out for justice? I'm sure they did... then what were they trying to prove?

I will wait!

Regards,
Adil Memon

(I am sure i'll be inviting a lots of sarcastic criticism from all around. Well, I am ready to face it)

Once again... I feel sorry for the wrong that has been done to those ladies.

__________________
"The race is not over because I haven't won yet."

Adil Memon
Police Service of Pakistan (P.S.P)
37th Common Training Program

Didn't those ladies know that there is no law and justice in Pakistan before they stepped out for justice? I'm sure they did... then what were they trying to prove?

Look, the fact that there is no law and justice in Pakistan is right, but that doesn't mean that every person will remain quiet and will not respond somehow to fight the unjust society. If Mukhtaran Mai stood up, in one way or the other, the jirga that ordered her rape, must now be facing a hard time. Similarly, by exploiting the realities, it doesn't mean you mean any harm to anyone, seeking justice is everyone's right. But yes, the NGOs, as i have mentioned in my previous post, do this for the sake of money. They don't give a damn about the image of Pakistan being at stake. The west enjoys such things. In the interview to WashingtonPost, what Musharraf said was true, why is Pakistan singled out in such cases?

But what Musharraf said after that in that interview, that it has become a saying in Islamabad that if you want to get immigration and become a millionaire, get yourself raped..... was simply ridiculous and should be condemned. Slip of tongue you say? Why, a person who poses as the leader of a nation should not be making such silly, stupid & childish mistakes! Hes representing 16 billion ppl for God's sake! There is no excusing to such 'slips of tongue'.
Anyways, there are more significant things than discussing Musharraf's mistakes right now....

Pray to ALLAH not to punish us for the wrong doings of our people.

Regards,

BUSHaRRaF

Salaam,
Thanks for replying!
Here I go...

Look, the fact that there is no law and justice in Pakistan is right, but that doesn't mean that every person will remain quiet and will not respond somehow to fight the unjust society. If Mukhtaran Mai stood up, in one way or the other, the jirga that ordered her rape, must now be facing a hard time.

>> At one place you say there is no justice. At the other hand you have problems if people stay quiet. If you want to fight an unjust society, collect he masses and bring a revolution. You people just support her stance, but I ask you if you've done anything to get her justice. By the way, Mukhtaran Mai did not step out to bring a hard time for that Jirga at all. She wanted the culprits to be punished. Did that happen? No. Do you see some other positive development? I can state a lots of negative ones!

Similarly, by exploiting the realities, it doesn't mean you mean any harm to anyone, seeking justice is everyone's right. But yes, the NGOs, as i have mentioned in my previous post, do this for the sake of money. They don't give a damn about the image of Pakistan being at stake.

>> When there is no justice. You can't seek it... you have to snatch it.. its only possible if you're influential enough. Poor people can not be given justice in a society like that of Pakistan. So there is no use for creating an uproar. However influential people would also have better settled the scores personally rather than knocking the doors of justice. Agreed to your point of NGOs.

In the interview to WashingtonPost, what Musharraf said was true, why is Pakistan singled out in such cases?

But what Musharraf said after that in that interview, that it has become a saying in Islamabad that if you want to get immigration and become a millionaire, get yourself raped..... was simply ridiculous and should be condemned. Slip of tongue you say? Why, a person who poses as the leader of a nation should not be making such silly, stupid & childish mistakes! Hes representing 16 billion ppl for God's sake! There is no excusing to such 'slips of tongue'.

>> As you said.. rapes take place everywhere. They take place at larger extent in other countries than in Pakistan. But only Pakistan has been libelled, do you get some hint, why?
It is deplorable indeed. He did humiliate the whole pakistani nation. But you see... there are women like Musharraf was talking about. Do you disagree with this? His statement was meant for those kinda ladies. He surely was frustrated when being asked such questions in a foreign country in interviews . But it is an offence that is agreed!

May Allah bless us all!

I don't feel like discussing on this topic anymore... so just lets drop it here!

Regards,
Adil Memon

(Brother - Thankyou so much for replying. I appreciate. Why don't you just get online so that I could defeat you once again in POOL )

__________________
"The race is not over because I haven't won yet."

Adil Memon
Police Service of Pakistan (P.S.P)
37th Common Training Program