A PAKISTANI woman who turned her tribal gang-rape ordeal into a crusade for women's rights was honoured by the Council of Europe yesterday.
Mukhtar Mai was gang-raped on the order of elders in her remote village in southern Punjab - an act supposed to restore her family's honour after her younger brother's involvement with a girl from a rival tribe.
Instead of accepting her "punishment" and saying nothing, Ms Mai, a farmer's daughter, started legal action and successfully fought her case in Pakistan's highest court, where her attackers were convicted.
The case shocked Pakistan, and Ms Mai used her government compensation money to set up a village school and found an organisation to counter violence against women.
Yesterday, she followed in the footsteps of Bob Geldof and Mary Robinson, the former Irish president, in being awarded the North-South Prize. She was presented with the human rights accolade in recognition of her strong resolve to fight against conservative Pakistani society.
Terry Davis, the secretary-general of the Council of Europe, said: "Mukhtar Mai is a heroine, and I do not use this world lightly.
"The tragic personal story of Mukhtar Mai is well known, but the point she has always made is that her suffering was not an isolated case.
"What is remarkable is her determination to fight back, to persist in her struggle, not only against her tormentors but also against the circumstances which led to her ordeal.
"She understands that the only way to protect women from oppression, discrimination and violence is to empower them through education."
Ms Mai, 34, who still lives in her village with her family, has been compared to the American civil rights campaigners Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks.
She said: "First there was just my home - now I have to deal with the whole world."
Two recipients of the prize are announced each year, one from the developed world and one from the developing world.
Recipients are nominated for their work protecting human rights and strengthening North-South relations.
This year's second winner is Father Francisco van der Hoff, from the Netherlands, who has worked for more than 25 years with coffee producers in Mexico to promote fair trade.
Mr Davis said: "People like Mukhtar Mai and Father Francisco van der Hoff are precious, because they show how much can be done through personal engagement and faith in humanity.
"They come from two very different backgrounds, and at first sight their life stories have very little in common. But what they share is remarkable courage, energy and resolve to act against injustice and to protect the dignity of their fellow human beings."