Recognizing Mukhtar Mai for her courage and her humanitarian work.

Whereas Mukhtar Mai is a Pakistani woman from the village of Meerwala, in the rural county of Jatoi of the Muzaffargarh District of Pakistan;

Whereas Mukhtar Mai’s brother, Shakoor, was suspected and accused of being seen in the company of a Mastoi woman and was accused of engaging in sexually inappropriate behavior with her;

Whereas the village council suggested that Shakoor marry the girl he was seen with and Mukhtar Mai, a divorcee, be married to a Mastoi man;

Whereas the Mastois reportedly rejected the deal, insisting the issue be settled with the eye-for-an-eye principle;

Whereas Mukhtar Mai was called to the council to apologize for her brother’s conduct;

Whereas when Mukhtar Mai appeared before the council she was taken by force and gang raped by 4 men;

Whereas Mukhtar Mai, an illiterate woman, courageously took her case to court where the 4 defendants were found guilty;

Whereas Mukhtar Mai took the settlement money provided by the government following her court case and opened 2 schools in her village—one for boys and one for girls, as well as a center for refuge and education known as the Mukhtar Mai Women’s Welfare Organization;

Whereas on August 2, 2005, the Pakistani Government awarded Mukhtar Mai the Fatima Jinnah gold medal for bravery and courage;

Whereas on November 2, 2005, Glamour Magazine named Mukhtar Mai its Glamour Woman of the Year;

Whereas on October 31, 2006, Mukhtar Mai’s memoir was released in the United States, titled In the Name of Honor: A Memoir;

Whereas in March 2007, Mukhtar Mai won the North-South Prize from the European Union Council of Europe; and

Whereas Mukhtar Mai continues to campaign for women’s rights and the promotion of education around the world: Now, therefore, be it