Pakistani rape victim receives European rights award

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2007

LISBON (AFP) — A Pakistani woman was on Monday awarded a European human rights prize, five years after she was stripped naked, gang-raped and left for dead on the orders of a tribal council.

"All women want equal rights," Mukhtaran Mai, who since her ordeal has become a leading campaigner for women's rights, said through an interpreter after receiving the North-South Prize in Lisbon.

The prize is awarded each year by the Council of Europe through its Lisbon-based North-South Centre to two people from the northern and southern hemispheres for their achievements in promoting human rights.

This year it was presented by the Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco at a ceremony held in Portugal's parliament.

Mai was raped on the orders of a tribal council in...