Mukhtaran Mai

To be honest, I'm not exactly sure how this article found its way to the "Ethics question of the week" website. Mukhtaran Mai is a young woman who was raped as punishment for a crime she did not commit. She was raped because her brother had offended the neighboring tribe. She was raped, and nobody did anything about it, not even her own family members. Usually the problem with a question of ethics is that is is questionable who is in the wrong and who is in the right, but this is not the case--Mai is in the right, obviously.

Mai did not even commit a crime, as she was punished for some actions that her brother had done. For some crazy reason, the tribe felt that she deserved to be raped and defiled by the other clan members which her brother had offended. Look, I understand more traditional societies where women are expected to stay at home with children. But I don't understand a society where women are outright abused and treated like animals and whores rather than human beings. By what logic can these self-governing clans make themselves in the right by placing the blame on an innocent woman? I know what they think: make our girl look like a whore, we'll make your girl look like a whore. But, wait, the other girl from the clan was seen merely walking with Mai's brother. Shouldn't the punishment then be to, uh, make Mai walk with another boy?! Wouldn't that truly make sense? No, she must be raped in front of the entire village. Yes, that makes perfect sense.

Okay, so this family and this society have been operating under these rules for a while. They don't know any better. They are ignorant fools. That's the only argument I got for them.

If we are really capable of being loving and empathetic human beings rather than brute animals, how is it that Mai's family can sit back and see her so traumatized and not support her because of fear of being "dishonored?" Especially her mother, who no doubt has suffered her own tribulations as a woman in that kind of society. I know fear rules people; this is how Hitler and Stalin and many other dictators have influenced people to act in evil ways. But I just feel like there must be something in their hearts that tells them: "Hey, you! This is wrong!"

I can do nothing but applaud Mai. Not only is she standing up against the world she was brought up in, she is also not fleeing from it because she wants to make it better. This is such a brave choice, because she would easily be supported in a place like the U.S. or in France. Even countries like ours, things are still not perfect and the scoreboard with women and men is still not equal, but it is far advanced than the village Mai is from. She is trying to make Pakistan a better place, which will be so hard and trying for her. But if anyone can do it, she is the woman that can. Hopefully the next generations won't have to fight so hard for what should be a natural right as a human being, and that is to be protected by your government whether you are male or female.