'The laws stay in the book': Mukhtar Mai's 17-year fight exposes Pakistan's failure to deliver justice for rape survivors

Almost 24 years ago, Mukhtar Mai took her rapists to court after being violently gang raped in the name of revenge.

Despite spending over a decade fighting her case up to the highest court in Pakistan, and gaining some convictions, all but one ended up being acquitted.

"I fought my case for 17 years so this wouldn't happen to anyone else; there wouldn't be another Mukhtar Mai," she tells The New Arab.

Fifteen years later, the fight for justice continues as survivors still struggle to get justice for rape, despite there being many legal reforms in Pakistan's justice system.

Pakistan rape laws

While Pakistan tries to make peace in the Middle East and continues the war with its neighbouring state, there is a crisis that has plagued Pakistan for decades: rape.

For years, the country has been dealing with a crisis in sexual violence and the difficulties for survivors in getting justice, ranking last among 148 countries in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index (2025).

While changes have been made, suggesting a glimmer of hope that one day justice will prevail, a report shows Pakistan still has a long way to go.

Research by Equality Now, a human rights organisation dedicated to securing the legal and systemic change needed to end discrimination against all women and girls, found that while legal reforms have been made, whether they have been implemented is a different question.

In its latest report, looking into the gaps in Pakistan's rape laws and policies, the organisation found that poor implementation of the laws, long delays in investigations, medical examinations and trials, and illegal out-of-court "compromises" are some of the main reasons why the nation has a shocking 0.5 percent conviction rate.

"When it comes to implementation, there are various implementation gaps in the investigation and prosecution of rape," Sahar Bandial, lawyer and leader of the report, tells The New Arab.

"The laws that have been passed, which are continually being disregarded, must be implemented."

Bandial notes that while Pakistan's law has moved forward in the last ten years through legislative enactment and public interest litigation, including the banning of the two-finger virginity testing in 2021, in which she was the lead counsel, they have seen contradictory verdicts coming out.

One example is a 2006 law that was amended to pave the way for marital rape being prosecuted, but a judgment made on 25 December by the High Court denied the possibility that rape was possible during marriage,

"These amended definitions of sexual violence, these amended understandings of what consent is, haven't really been understood and adopted by criminal justice actors, from the police, medical legal officers to the judiciary," Bandial explains.

The lawyer also notes significant hurdles, including the failure to implement provisions for victim support, witness protection, psychological support, and shelter.

Bandial also notes "a whole host of infrastructural changes" in how the crime is investigated, from overemphasising the collection of medical evidence to excluding other forensic and non-forensic evidence, and notes that it takes two to three months for reports from the forensic agency to come through.

"The law provides for anti-rape crisis cells, which are not being implemented; special courts have been set up, but there are various challenges in how they proceed with the case," the lawyer explains.

"All these laws are on paper, but we don't have the political will of the government to implement them."

From the police station to the Supreme Court, Mukhtar faced every legal step all the way to the Supreme Court to try to hold her rapists accountable.

While six men involved in the attack were initially sentenced, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ended up acquitting five men due to a lack of corroborating evidence, procedural flaws in the prosecution's case, and doubts about the survivor's ability to identify her attackers.

The court upheld a life sentence for the other.

"[Rape] happens everywhere. But we should stand with the victim," Mukhtar says.

For many women in Pakistan, victims would either die by suicide or be murdered in the name of honour.

While Mukhtar thought of dying by suicide, especially when it was expected of her, she chose to fight after receiving support from the people around her, including her parents.

After several women's rights activists, including several men, stood by her side and witnessed injustice against women and girls in Pakistan, Mukhtar decided to join the cause and became a women's rights activist, and opened a women's shelter and schools for girls in her village.

Upon hearing the findings of the Equality Now report, Mukhtar was unsurprised.

"That's the truth. It's difficult. It's not what we want. We thought we would quickly get justice, or we would get justice, but that's not the case," Mukhtar shares with The New Arab. 

"It hurts. I worked continuously for many years. I feel sorrow and pain. The laws stay in the book; they are never used. The victims suffer as if they committed a sin when they return from court."

Rape justice delays

When asked what findings she found most concerning in the report, Bandial highlighted two things: delay and out-of-court settlements.

The lawyer explains that while it should only take three to four months for a rape trial to end, it currently takes almost two to three years.

"The criminal procedure code mandates investigation within a period of 14 days; it takes several months before the investigation is complete, maybe even longer in many cases, and the trial only starts once the investigation is complete," Bandial notes.

It's also expensive to go to trial. With no legal aid available, many cannot afford to take their abusers to court and with delay comes prosecution fatigue and litigation fatigue, which forces people to settle their case.

"There's so much room for pressure, for threats, exhaustion, just emotional, physical exhaustion," she notes as the case drags on.

The current issues echo what happened to Mukhtar, who was also threatened by influential figures in her community, who warned her of the consequences if she refused to withdraw her case.

"Government officials threatened me a lot. I was house arrested for 12 days. They kept me in different places," Mukhtar recalls. "They threatened me a lot, they told me the police would come and kill me, [my family] won't find my body."

Mukhtar also notes that while the rich receive one type of justice, those who lack funds never do, regardless of gender.

"The laws that have been made should be applied; why don't they implement the laws that have been made?" Mukhtar questions.

"If they don't apply the laws, punish people and don't give justice to the poor, how will the situation change?"

Bandial notes that, while Pakistan has had 25 years of progressive legislation for women, there is still one issue that needs to be resolved.

"Currently, the mindset of the criminal justice actors, together with the criminal justice infrastructure, just cannot support and implement the changes that have been brought in the law," the lawyer says.

"The social mindset has to shift. The issue is changing the thinking of actors of the criminal justice system who are just as much a part of society as you and I are," she adds. 

"There's a whole culture of disbelief. There's a general idea that most women who come up and complain about sexual violence are all false cases."

Bandial says that while Pakistan must raise awareness of sexual violence amongst the public, it should do targeted training of criminal justice actors, the police, medical and legal officers, and the courts more specifically, noting it will not happen overnight.

"There has to be implementation through training effectively, and it is going to be a slow process. We cannot see immediate results."

What the state can immediately do, which is in its control, is implement the changes it has passed, including making specialised units, making anti-rape crisis centres functional, and providing legal aid and witness protection.

Mukhtar Mai's fight

While Pakistan has a long road ahead before meaningful reforms are delivered, that has not stopped Mukhtar from continuing to advocate for the people of Pakistan.

The activist continues with her advocacy work through her foundation, Mukhtar Mai Women's Organisation, continuing to fight for justice for all rape survivors and leading humanitarian efforts.

"I did not fight this case for myself. I fought for every person who faced this; I'm fighting for them," Mukhtar tells The New Arab. 

"My aim is now to fight for everyone, women and men who faced violence."

Anam Alam is a staff writer at The New Arab. She frequently writes about human rights and social issues, including women's rights and sex education

Follow her on X: @itsanamalam