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Mukhtaran Mai wins Glamour Woman Award

     Lahore: Pakistan gang rape victim Mukhtaran Mai, who attracted extensive international media attention by launching a tirade against her attackers, has been chosen for this year's "Glamour Women of the Year Award" instituted by the New York-based magazine "Glamour". The rape victim would be given 20,000 dollars as a donation to set up a women's centre in her town Meerwala. By her strong resolve to fight for justice and bring the accused to book, Mai has set an example in the traditional Pakistani society where women generally decide against going to the police to save their"family honour". According to the Dawn, the magazine has invited Mai to receive the award in a ceremony on Nov 2, but she has been asked to stay in the US from Oct 22 to Nov 5. It would be interesting to watch whether the Pakistan government would let her go, because a couple of months ago she was denied permission to visit Washington for a conference convened on women issues. In a letter to Mai, Glamour editor-in-chief Cindi Leive explained that the magazine honoured the women who had struggled for the cause of women. "For 15 years, Glamour magazine has saluted inspiring, high-achieving women with our annual Glamour Women of the Year Awards, and past winners include Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Diane Sawyer, Madeleine Albright and many more. We are honoured and thrilled to add your name to this distinguished list. I'm also very pleased to let you know that Glamour will make a donation of 20,000 dollars to help you start a women's centre for your town, and we are also asking our readers to contribute to a fund in your name," she added.