A poor and illiterate woman living in a country where women have no rights ar all.

Taken as exchange currency or compensation for eventual losses, they are traded by their own parents.

Still in childhood, they can be given to arranged marriages due to tribal disagreements in a way to calm down those moody ones.

They are not allowed to choose the man they wish to marry to and going against such rule will cause them to pay for their family disgrace with their own lives.

Mukhtar used to live in her village and was respected because despite her illiteracy she had learned the Koran by heart and taught it to other kids for free.

She also helped her family income by teach embroidery to other women.

She soon learned that women have no rights for choosing or dreaming at the Punjab.

On a certain day, her father and an uncle took her to the neighboring village, which was considered to hold a superior level, in order to ask for forgiveness on behalf of the family.

Such was the case because her twelve year old brother was under the accusation of having spoken to a young girl of the tribe, thus dishonoring her.

The Council of the tribe then decided that Mukhtar should be given to the men of the offended clan as a sign of repair.

She was sexually abused by several of them. At first she wished she would die, but further more she decided to fight for her rights.

The brave attitude of that hurt and humiliated young girl was the sparkle for a revolution regarding women situation in her country.

Her case reached the international press and she became to get invited to conferences throughout the World.

Risking her own life and her family's as well, Mukhtar fought for justice.

But not only for herself. For all women whose rights are overruled every day.

And as she realized many difficulties had happened throughout the legal dispute because of her illiteracy, she took a serious decision.

With resource from the Government and other countries, she opened a school for girls only.

Nevertheless, if getting international support for building the school was hard, getting to convince the parents to let their children study was a much harder task.

She went knocking on every door and gradually managed to have over two hundred girls attending school.

In order to assure the attendance level she created a prize.

A relevant prize for the family: a goat for the girls and a bicycle for the boys.

Assuring a different future for those girls, allowing them to get to know the laws and their rights, is the reason she works for.

She then became known in her country as the great sister who must be respected, Mukhtar Mai.

Her soul still bleeds while remembering the fighting years she had to face, the libels raised against her.

But then she looks towards the future, aware that it will all have been worthwhile if she can avoid it to happen to other girls, teenage or adult women.

Mukhtar Mai, a brave woman fighting for the human rights.

A flag of stoicism and courage which transformed her own pain into a fight for the women rights.

Spiritist Moment Team based upon the book Desonrada,
 by Mukhtar Mai, printed by BestSeller.
October 27  2008.