AN OPEN LETTER REGARDING THE ZARINA
MARRI CASE
Posted 20090118
After the horrifying story of the forced sex slavery of Zarina Marri,
a young Baloch schoolteacher, at the hands of Pakistani military
agencies was brought to light, many people – including members of
'civil society' and otherwise vocal defenders of human rights – have
requested 'verification' of the story, which they assert needs to
come from 'multiple sources' since it is a 'very serious charge'
that is being leveled. (As a side, I wonder if they deem this charge
'very serious' because of the identity of the accused or because of
the heinousness of the crime?) For anyone who does not know Zarina
Marri's story, take a look at the documents attached to this
message.
The charges being leveled in this case are indeed serious, as were
the charges in the Naseerabad 'burying alive' incident, the
Mukhataran Mai case, the Shazia Marri case, and scores of others.
Like the other cases, in the Zarina Marri case too, the story has
been broken by a witness (who is also a victim) of the crime (Mr.
Munir Mengal) - which is usually the way such incidents come to
light in the first place. In politically sensitive cases, especially
those which involve state-perpetrated atrocities, verification is a
particularly thorny matter and anyone with the slightest experience
in trying to investigate such cases would know that access to
information is enormously difficult. Thus, one can hardly expect the
accused in this case to tolerate - let alone co-operate- with the
investigations in this regard. Regarding the need for 'multiple
sources' then, I certainly hope nobody is expecting the military to
'verify' this story, or expecting that the victim herself (whose
whereabouts are unknown) will magically appear before them to
'verify' that she has indeed been abused. Zarina's family has
apparently fled their hometown (understandably perhaps) so local
human rights agencies have not been able to confirm details about
the woman.
However, in this (not unusual) situation of scarce
sources and incomplete information, it becomes significant that the
Zarina Marri case is based not on informal 'rumour' , but rather on
a report released by the AHRC (Asian Human Rights Commission) which
is considered both nationally and internationally to be a credible
organization. (Human Rights Commission of Pakistan is a member of
AHRC as well.) Additionally, the story was reported by Reporters
Sans Frontiers, and there is an ICRC (International Committee for
the Red Cross) report verifying sections of Munir Mengal's
testimony, which he has also given before a court in London. Anyone
who wants further information about the source of these
organizations' information, their verification mechanisms etc. may
contact them directly.
However, what struck me upon reading various people's messages
regarding the issue was not any inherent 'unreasonable-ness' in
their demand for further verification. Rather, what struck me was
the realization that we are partial in our choice of questioning the
authenticity of certain charges. Take the 'burying alive' case, for
example. Was our first response to request 'further verification' of
the incident? If the story was in fact 'verified', by whose seal was
it deemed authentic/true, were those sources considered trustworthy,
and if so on what basis did we trust them? (To prevent my words from
being misconstrued, let me make it clear that by raising these
questions I am not trying to justify the act of burying women
alive). A question thus arises: are we questioning the authenticity
of the Zarina story because we are not convinced of the witness's or
RSF's/ICRC's/AHRC's intentions? Did we wait until charges against
Afia Siddiqui were proven/disproven before protesting for her
rights? Examples abound. The fact is, there is no such thing as
'perfect information'. It's just about what we choose to accept, and
what we choose to question.
Furthermore, it appears that we accept those charges
(without asking for 'further verification') which fit with our
mental image of the supposed perpetrator; we accept that which
appears 'believable', and suspect that which does not corroborate
with our world-view. For example, (in accordance with a certain
world-view) those who are 'backward' are likely to bury their women
alive or abuse them, sell them, etc. America "hates Muslims" hence
Afia Siddiqui must be an innocent woman whose release we must fight
for. (I am quoting examples from common perception, i'm sure some of
you must hold contrary views but it is a general Pakistani
middle-class mind-set I am talking about). Thus, because certain
charges appears 'probable' to us, we generally don't make the same
request for 'verification' in those cases, and certainly
'verification' is not our first response upon hearing of such
incidents. And that's okay I suppose. We all do it, we're human, we
make assumptions, we believe what we want to believe, we see what we
want to see...
As far as people's image of the Pakistan military goes, I'm not sure
what you all have in mind, but I've witnessed this Army shooting a
man on sight for putting up a flag they don't like, I've met scores
of people have been picked up and tortured by them and their
intelligence agencies for no fault of theirs... Just read for
yourself about what they did in Bangladesh during the 1971 war,
about the 1973-77 operation in Balochistan, about Zia-ul-Haq's era
... and then perhaps the fact that they have picked up a young
baloch woman and are using her as a sex-slave wont appear to you as
extraordinary and your first reaction upon hearing about this case
wont be one of disbelief nor will your first demand be that of
'verification'.
I firmly believe that this case needs to be highlighted, not only
because it is a humanitarian issue regarding the unspeakable abuse
of an individual, but because it is a case of systematic state
oppression. She is not the only woman whose whereabouts are unknown
and is reportedly being abused by military agencies in Balochistan.
Its not ten or twenty, or even fifty or hundred we're talking about,
thousands are missing in Balochistan. Its not just me saying this.
Read HRCP's, HRW's, ICG's, AHRC's reports, and you'll get a sense.
In conclusion, I'd like to assure you that I am strongly in favour
of 'verification' of the facts in Zarina's case – but not so that a
rubber-stamp of 'authenticity' can be placed on it but so that the
perpetrators of this savagery can be brought to justice. To refrain
from protests on this issue- which is essentially a means of
highlighting it- until 'further verification' amounts to
invisibilizing it and appears to me to be an excuse for inaction. On
the contrary, we should certainly organize protests on this issue
and launch a sustained campaign to bring this matter into the public
eye, pressure the government to take action, and demand justice for
this young woman and the thousands like her.
regards,
Alia Amirali.
AHRC:
PAKISTAN: Young women held in military torture cells and forced into
sexual slavery
