UPDATE: Mukhtar Mai is here. [Thanks Vidster]
Earlier we reported that the US Government has stepped in to ensure Ms. Mai’s passage outside of the country. However, given our inability to make the Pakistani government do anything, I wasn’t holding my breath waiting for her to show up in the US.
The latest news is that she is planning on coming to America in November to receive an award from Glamour magazine. Mukhtar Mai has a US visa, but she’s still not sure if the Pakistani government will approve:
“I shall go if the government does not prevent me from travelling abroad,” she said. [BBC]
In the past, Pervez Musharraf didn’t want Mukhtar Mai to go abroad because he feared that her visit might tarnish Pakistan’s image. This was a delightfully ironic comment, given how much his own comments on women’s rights have contributed to Pakistan’s image as a banana-less banana republic. In response to this concern, Ms. Mai has said:
“I am a Pakistani and I have no intention of tarnishing the country’s image. But I will speak on the plight of women in rural areas,” she told Reuters news agency. [BBC]
Perhaps to sweeten the deal, she has also promised to:
“… use this occasion to highlight the plight of quake victims in Pakistan and also motivate the Americans and the Pakistanis staying there to contribute and raise funds for them,” Ms Mai said. [BBC]
Will she actually make it? Will Dr. Rice have to intervene again? Will Kristof have to write another NYT piece to embarass Pakistan? Will Pakistan listen? Will anybody care? Tune in here for the continuing adventures of “The Perils of Pauline the Pakistani Woman!”
