STRUCTURAL AND DOMESTIC FORM OF VIOLENCE: A CASE STUDY OF

MUKHTARAN MAI

BY FIZA

This paper focuses on different type of violence against women that are practiced in Pakistan
with reference to a well-known case of Mukhtaran Mai. There are mainly two types of
violence against women that are practiced in Pakistan. First type is direct violence against
women which includes physical, sexual, psychological, and economic violence. Direct
violence is referred as violence in close relationships, sexual violence (including rape, sexual
assault and harassment in all public and private spheres of life), trafficking of human beings,
slavery, and sexual exploitation, harmful practices that are forceful child marriages, genital
mutilation of girls, and all the offences that are committed in the name of ‘honor’, and also
other kinds of violations, such as cyber harassment, various types of sexual abuse that are
facilitated through the use of information technologies and stalking or bullying. Second type
is institutional or structural violence that is defined according to the UN Special Rapporteur
on violence against women as ‘any kind of inequality or institutional or structural
discrimination that keeps a woman in a submissive position in front of other people within
her family and household or community.’

In Pakistan, violence against women practiced more than the typical forms that are mentioned
above. The four basic forms of violence against women in Pakistan are: Physical, Sexual,
Psychological and Economic violence. Physical violence includes violence such as “slapping,
beating, twisting of arm, stabbing, neck strangling, burning with fire, choking, kicking with
feet, threats with an object or weapon, and murder. It also includes practices that are harmful
to women such as genital mutilation of female and wife inheritance.” Sexual violence
includes “coerced sex through threats (rape), forcing unwanted sexual acts with the one
threating or forcing sex with others”. Psychological violence includes “actions that are
intended to intimidate and harm and takes the form of threats of abandonment or abuse,
imprisonment in the home, surveillance, threats to take away custody of the children,
isolation, verbal aggression and constant humiliation”. Economic violence includes acts such
as “the denial of money, refusal to contribute financially, denial of maintenance, denial of
food and basic needs, and controlling access to health care, employment, denying inheritance
right in matters of property etc. all of these amalgamate into Economic violence”.
Considering the case study of Mukhtaran Mai, a 30 years old woman, from Meerawala
village in southern Punjab, was gang raped by four men after being dragged into the hut of a
Mastoi tribesman in the village of Meerwala, Muzaffargarh. An investigation revealed that
the brother of Mukhtaran Mai, named Abdul Shakoor, a 12 years old boy, had been raped by
three men from the Mastoi tribe, an influential in the locality, who then threatened the boy to
keep his abuse quiet. When the boy refused to keep quiet, one of the men accused him of
having sexual relations with his sister, Salma, a girl at least six years older than Shakoor.
Mukhtaran Mai’s family at first tried to arrange a settlement of the dispute by asking that
Shakoor marry Salma and that one of the males of Mastoi tribe marry Mukhtaran Mai. The
Mastoi tribe was initially willing to accept but Salma’s brothers, including one of the men
who raped Shakoor, refused. Meanwhile, Mukhtaran Mai’s brother was arrested by the police
on claims of adultery as alleged by the Mastoi. The Mastoi clan rejected the jirga’s initial
decision of Shakoor marrying the girl he was accused of having adultery with. Instead an
appeal to settle the dispute by Qisas, ‘eye for an eye’ is demanded. The Mastoi clan suggested
that they would be willing to ‘forgive’ Mukhtaran’s family if she came and apologised on
behalf of her brother. Mukharan Mai appeared in front of the jirga and was gang-raped by
four men in front onlookers and was made to walk naked in the street by the decision of jirga.
Later then, after six days, Maulana Abdul Razzaq, an imam of the village mosque, protested
the decision of the jirga and the rape of Mukhtaran Mai. Maulana Razzaq urged the villagers
and locals to report the matter, declaring it a grievous crime. He then informed a local
journalist of Meerwala, who reported the case in a local newspaper and hence the case
became a national story. And later on the case was filed in police station.

This research paper outlined the aspects of patriarchy that are based on the Walby’s models
structure of patriarchy. In the case of Mukhtaran Mai, only four structures can be applied
while two models structures such as Patriarchal Relations within waged labour and
Patriarchal Relation in sexuality are not fit the case. This case of Mukhtaran Mai highlighted
the four model patriarchal structures that are existing in Pakistani society such as patriarchal
production relations in household, male violence, patriarchal state and patriarchal culture.

According to Welby, the role of housewives is similar like other labour that perform
production tasks while the main difference among them, the housewives are not paid by their
husbands in fact they exploited in one way or other. They only receive their maintenance in
return. In Patriarchal Production Relations, mother of Mukhtaran Mai is dependent of her
father and her mother’s duty is to perform household task, for instance, cooking, laundry, etc
while her father duties include to fulfil the economic needs of the family.

The other structure of patriarchy is male violence, that is the use of force by men on women.
In Male Violence, it is about the pushing, grabbing or touring the women physically and
mentally. The purpose to use of force is to make women submissive, and to exhibit the male
supremacy over females for the sake of prevent resistance by females in future. In the case of
Mukhtaran Mai, Mastoi took decision in the jirga council for the rape of Mukhtaran Mai for
the mistake that she really does not know. In Jirga Council, Mastois have authority because
of their majority which means they can take any decision which they want. It was normal for
Mastoi to rape women in village but in the case of Mukhtaran Mai, it was the first time when
the gang raped was allowed by Jirga Council. This decision was taken after the refusal of
Mukhtaran Mai when it was asked to her that she must marry with a Mastoi and Shakur
should have to marry Salma, the Mastoi felt insult after the refusal of Mukhtaran Mai.

Patriarchal states structure is about the law, rules and regulation regarding rapped, while in
the case of Pakistan the women are in disadvantage position in laws regarding domestic
violence. The state is considered as the instrument of patriarchy. It means that at state level,
there is a disproportionality in male and females in a state. The laws and rules that are
existing in a state are more advantageous for male class while for female there always exists
disadvantage. In the case of Mukhtaran Mai, it was allowed by Jirgas Council for gang raped.
The police, and other law-making bodies supported Mastois because of their consolidated
standing in that area.

Culture has long lasting impacts in stamping and individual thought, and to constitute
binaries in societies. In Patriarchal Culture, the role of women become limited to an object
when men can exhibit its force and falseness. According to Welby, Patriarchal Culture is any
sort of idea that constituted in a society that shapes the perception of individuals that females
are different than men and they deserve different treatment. In Pakistan, as it is Islamic
Republic state and on the name of Islam, Pakistan got independence, its constitution is also
based on Islamic laws. While practicality, the societal and cultural patterns that are existing in
Pakistani society are not comply with the law that are described by Islam. It is the cultural
pattern that does not allow women to enjoy its legal status and enjoy its rights that Islam
granted to them. In the case of Mukhtaran Mai, the cultural practices of Meerwala got
triumph over the innocent of Mukhtaran Mai. The direct and structural violence in the form
of Jirga Council not let allow her to speak for herself, when she decided to refuse, severe
consequences were faced by Mukhtaran Mai in the form of gang raped.