Pakistan: I will burn myself alive if gang rapists go free, says victim

I have noted many times that there is evidence that most -- up to 75% -- of the women imprisoned in Pakistan are there because of rape. Islamic evidence laws disallow a woman's testimony in such cases, and require testimony from four male witnesses of the act to establish the rape. If such witnesses are not found, as is usually the case, and the accused perpetrator denies the act, as is usually the case, then the woman's very rape charge becomes evidence that she has committed zina -- unlawful sexual activity. "I will burn myself alive if gang rapists go free, says victim," from the Times Online, with thanks to Jeff Norris:

A YOUNG victim of gang rape has threatened to set herself on fire in front of Pakistan’s parliament if her attackers are not brought to justice. Nazish Bhatti, 17, told journalists in Islamabad that she escaped from her abductors and fled to a police station but was raped again — by two officers.

“I prefer death over the life I’m enduring after being dishonoured,” she said.

Thousands of women are raped each year in Pakistan and many commit suicide out of shame. But some are now daring to speak out, inspired by the example of Mukhtaran Mai, a teacher who was gang-raped on the orders of a tribal council but took her case to the courts and won.

Miss Bhatti, a student and the daughter of a factory worker in the city of Sialkot in central Punjab, said she was abducted by three men as she walked to college. She said she was kept in a house for more than a month where she was repeatedly gang-raped.

The rapists also tried to kill her by forcing her to drink insecticide. She survived. But when she went to the police she was raped by two policemen. She was threatened with dire consequences if she reported the incident, but eventually went to hospital and was treated for ten days. Instead of charging the rapists, the police threatened to register a case of adultery against her.