People on Dr.Shazia's Rape

August 4, 2005

The Difficult Path of a Pakistani Doctor (4 Letters)

To the Editor:

Re "A Pakistani Rape, and a Pakistani Love Story," by Nicholas D. Kristof (column, Aug. 2):

As a rape survivor for the past 25 years, I honor Dr. Shazia Khalid and her courage. I remember the sense of shame and the feeling of being damaged. In fact, at the time, the police told me not to tell anyone. Even today in the United States, a woman is considered "brave" to publicly discuss her own rape.

Yet here is what I've learned in all these years: Rape will hurt anyone it touches and will corrupt any society that condones it, ignores it or victimizes the survivor.

Rape is not about sex; it is about power and is perpetrated only by "little boys" who have no concept of true power. As Gandhi and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. have taught us, true power comes from inside ourselves. It cannot be taken from us externally.

I stand in support of Dr. Shazia and her family, and of their quest for healing and their own inner power. When a family has been rent as theirs has, it makes the path all that more difficult, and yet I can attest that it is worth every step.

Janet Rudolph Rockville Centre, N.Y., Aug. 2, 2005

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To the Editor:

The dreadful ordeal that Dr. Shazia Khalid went through in Pakistan as a victim of rape and that she now goes through in exile is disheartening.

I don't see how Nicholas D. Kristof finds any glimpse of hope in the story. Dr. Shazia was forced to quit Pakistan with dire warnings. She did not seem to get any support from the intellectuals, human rights groups and news media in Pakistan for her refusal to cower in the face of blatant injustice.

Moni Nag Scarsdale, N.Y., Aug. 2, 2005 The writer is an adjunct professor of anthropology, Columbia University.

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To the Editor:

Bravo to Nicholas D. Kristof for his article about Dr. Shazia Khalid, a Pakistani who has escaped political persecution, threats to her life and the lives of her family, and separation from her son because she spoke out against Pakistan's abhorrent treatment of rape victims.

Canada is particularly well positioned to help this courageous woman and her husband rebuild their lives. It should grant them this chance.

The world must support truth tellers. To fail to support Dr. Shazia is to side with her persecutors.

Elaine Smith Sacramento, Aug. 2, 2005

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To the Editor:

I had tears in my eyes when I read Nicholas D. Kristof's column about the Pakistani rape victim. I, too, am a rape victim.

I recommend that people contact Canada's justice minister, Irwin Cotler, about granting asylum to Dr. Shazia Khalid. I have met Mr. Cotler, and he is a decent man. Maybe he would intercede.

Laura Goldman Tel Aviv, Aug. 2, 2005