Pakistan Protesters

In an earlier post I had noted that one of the felicitous consequences of President Bush's freedom initiative was to focus attention once again on the plight of women in Islamic culture. It and the "people power" examples of Ukraine, Georgia and elsewhere may also have encouraged Islamic women to take a more active stance themselves.

AP reports:

By KHALID TANVEER, Associated Press Writer

MULTAN, Pakistan - Thousands of women rallied in eastern Pakistan on Monday to demand justice and protection for a woman who said she was gang-raped at the direction of a village council, after a court ordered the release of her alleged attackers.

The victim, Mukhtar Mai, also attended the rally in Multan, a major city in the eastern province of Punjab.

Waving signs and chanting, the demonstrators, many of them from nearby villages, joined the rally. Organizer Farzana Bari said more than 3,000 women were at the event.

"We will fight for justice for Mukhtar Mai," the women chanted during the rally, while others carried placards reading: "Give protection to Mukhtar Mai."

No word, though, on whether the protesters bared their breasts.