[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 28 (Thursday, March 10, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H1330]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                PAKISTANI RAPE VICTIM AND SMART SECURITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, tonight I want to tell the story of Mukhtar 
Mai, a Pakistani woman who was gang-raped by four men at the direction 
of the local village council. She committed no crime whatsoever, not a 
single violation of any kind; yet she was punished by allowing 
neighboring men to rape her.
  Why did the village council encourage the gang rape of Mukhtar Mai? 
They say it is because her brother was accused of having sex with an 
older woman from a more prominent family. So the family's punishment 
was through Miss Mai. But even worse is that the accusation that 
Mukhtar's brother had sex with an older woman was not true. The 
accusation was floated to cover up the fact that her brother was 
actually sexually assaulted by a group of men.
  Everyone in the world should be offended by these horrific acts. 
Mukhtar is a 33-year-old schoolteacher dedicated to educating her 
nation's children, and she was viciously attacked as punishment for a 
crime that her brother was accused of, but never committed. Sadly, 
Mukhtar is not alone. Extreme violence against women happens every day 
in countries around the world. Most Pakistani women, I am told, in a 
situation like this, would choose to quietly accept their unfair fate 
because of fear from the powerful influence of their tribal leaders.
  Mukhtar was not silenced. She bravely spoke out after the rape. Her 
brave voice attracted the attention of media outlets all around the 
world. In embarrassment, the Pakistani Government reacted to public 
pressure by promising to swiftly punish her attackers, and a court soon 
tried and jailed the six men who were involved in the rape.
  Unfortunately, the story gets even worse after that. These men, this 
week, who are all close neighbors of Mukhtar, were actually released 
from prison. Citing a lack of evidence, a higher court overturned the 
original convictions of five of the six men. With the five released, 
Mukhtar fears her life is in danger. Mr. Speaker, who would not be 
afraid, especially when the men live so close, especially when one 
woman went against her village traditions and spoke out and challenged 
her rapists and her accusers, acting bravely, not cowering and not 
accepting the shame of such an injustice?
  This is an important story for several reasons. First, anyone who 
cares about the fair treatment of human beings around the world should 
be concerned that women are being treated this way anywhere. Also, we 
know there is an important link between the fair treatment of women and 
global security and development. In fact, the more equitably a country 
treats its female population, the more stable that country tends to be.
  Studies in developing countries have demonstrated that the higher 
level of girls' enrollment in school, the less crime and violence occur 
in that country. The question is: Why does the United States provide 
millions of dollars every year to a country like Pakistan that allows 
this type of brutality to occur?
  Last year alone, the United States provided $300 million in foreign 
military financing for Pakistan, a country, according to the Council on 
Foreign Relations, that has provided covert support for terrorist 
organizations that are active in Pakistan's mountainous regions, making 
it almost impossible to track the activities of groups like al Qaeda.
  We need to pursue a smarter national security policy if we want to 
get serious about ending terrorism and encouraging democracy. We need 
what I call SMART Security, which is a Sensible Multilateral American 
Response to Terrorism for the 21st century.
  Instead of providing millions of dollars in military support for 
countries that endorse and encourage terrorism, SMART security would 
spend the same dollars on educational opportunities in countries like 
Pakistan, especially for women and girls, in order to help encourage 
gender equality and economic stability. The return on our dollar will 
be far greater when spent on books and schools instead of guns and 
bombs.
  Let us adopt the SMART security policy when it comes to dealing with 
countries like Pakistan, because SMART security will make America safer 
in the long run, and it will help millions of brave women like Mukhtar 
Mai.

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