Pakistani gang rape victim Mukhtar Mai has been honoured as Woman of the Year in a ceremony in Washington. The award was presented by Glamour magazine which praised Ms Mai for “her incredible courage and optimism in the face of terrible violence”, BBC Online reports Wednesday.
She has donated her prize money – 20.000 dollar – to charity.
Mukhtar Mai won widespread international support when she spoke out after being raped in 2002 allegedly on the order of a village council.
Ms Mai, 36, has said she will give 5.000 of her award money to victims of the 8 October earthquake in Pakistan. The rest will fund schools and a women’s crisis centre.
Ms Mai has an appeal pending in the Pakistans Supreme Court against a high court order to free 13 men accused of involvement in her rape.
Since her highly publicised rape three years ago, she has become an icon in the campaign for womens justice in conservative Pakistan.
Critics of Pakistans judicial system and social systems say the Mukhtar Mai case is an example of appalling treatment often handed out to women, particularly in feudal, rural areas.
Her rape was allegedly ordered by a village council as a punishment for a misdemeanour blamed on her brother.
