Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
10LAHORE24
2010-02-12 02:03:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Lahore
Cable title:  

WINDS OF CHANGE FOR MUKHTAR MAI

Tags:  PGOV PHUM KWMN PK 
pdf how-to read a cable
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ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 120203Z FEB 10
FM AMCONSUL LAHORE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4317
INFO RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD IMMEDIATE 5015
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL IMMEDIATE 0547
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0245
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 0927
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI PRIORITY 2210
RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR PRIORITY 1888
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE 5485
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LAHORE 000024 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KWMN PK
SUBJECT: WINDS OF CHANGE FOR MUKHTAR MAI

REF: LAHORE 014

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LAHORE 000024

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KWMN PK
SUBJECT: WINDS OF CHANGE FOR MUKHTAR MAI

REF: LAHORE 014


1. (SBU) Summary. Samson Salamat, manager for Mukhtar Mai
Women's Welfare Organization (MMWWO),has disclosed a rift
between Mukhtar Mai, her husband, and organization management.
Salamat, worried about the power Mai may give to her husband,
has chosen to leave MMWWO in March. The loss of this
professional manager may cause the organization to degenerate to
its previous state: an organization with no cohesive leadership
and limited financial accountability being run as an extension
of Mukhtar Mai's personal vision. End Summary.

- - -
Interference from Mai's Husband
- - -


2. (SBU) Samson Salamat sought a private meeting with PolOff
on January 26 to discuss his future with MMWWO. He told PolOff
that Mukhtar's husband had demanded a "key role" in the
organization. He viewed this as a way to assume control of
MMWWO. Mai's husband, according to Salamat, has been pressuring
Mai for a position in the organization since their marriage.
Mai has recently increased pressure on MMWWO leadership to
include her husband in MMWWO's operations. Salamat fears Mai's
husband is only seeking inclusion for his personal gain. Note:
Mai married Nasir Abbas Gabol, a police constable from
Muzzafargarh district, Punjab Province in March 2009. Mai, his
second (concurrent) wife, agreed to the marriage after Gabol
threatened to divorce his first wife. End note.

- - -
Mai's Vision for the Organization
- - -


3. (SBU) According to Salamat, Mai cannot differentiate
between MMWWO's organizational interests and her personal
interests. Mai does not understand how the organization should
work, the proper role of the Board of Directors and other
stakeholders, and she oversteps her bounds at times. She does
not see a conflict in creating a position for her husband,
despite his lack of relevant experience. Wilson Lee, Program
Officer, National Endowment of Democracy (NED),echoed these
same sentiments in a separate meeting with PolOff on January 13.
He told PolOff that NED suspended its grant for six months in
the initial stages of MMWWO development due to concerns about
Mai treating MMWWO as her personal property.

- - -
Manager to Leave the Organization
- - -


4. (SBU) Salamat, MMWWO manager for 18 months, said he would
leave MMWWO in March due to Mai's husband's interference in

MMWWO operations. When Salamat joined the organization, he
committed to staying for a year. Now he fears that Mai and her
husband may discard the fiscal accounting system and
institutional infrastructure established with a grant from
International Rescue Committee (IRC),reftel. He was also
concerned that Mai would move funds designated for the resource
center to pay for school operations. Lee from NED confirmed
that this has been a problem in the past and, they worked with
MMWWO to explain accounting procedures. Despite his
apprehension, Salamat had submitted a 60,000 USD proposal to
PolOff to continue operations at Mukhtar Mai Girls Schools for
one more year.

- - -
IRC Visit to Meerwala
- - -


5. (SBU) Following a six-day visit to MMWWO in Meerwala,
Kristin Kim Bart, GBV Program Officer for IRC, confirmed
Salamat's story in a February 9 meeting with PolOff. Bart
disclosed that Mai was pressuring resource center workers to do
personal favors for her and her husband's family. Board members
had tried to dissolve the management committee, and to fire
Salamat, in an effort to consolidate power for Mai. Bart
conducted a series of meetings with resource center workers,
members of the Board of Directors, and the management committee
to resolve the conflict among them. At the end of her meetings,
everyone agreed to remain with the organization until June. In
that time, IRC would work with MMWWO to clarify the role of each

LAHORE 00000024 002 OF 002


member of the organization. Bart told PolOff that IRC would
consider withholding funds from MMWWO if its board members did
not uphold the constitution, which outlines power sharing and
management of the organization. Suspending funds may provide
Mai the tools that she needs to stand up to her family and fight
for the organization. Mai is ready to fight for her school, but
Bart is unsure if she has the strength or desire to stand up to
her family to keep MMWWO operational.

- - -
Comment: MMWWO Must Stand on Its Own
- - -


6. (SBU) Since its inception, MMWWO has struggled to sustain
its mission of women's empowerment, which depends on but cannot
be subservient to Mukhtar Mai's personal celebrity. Mai's
attempt to promote her husband within MMWWO illustrates her
inability to differentiate between her personal interests and
those of the organization. Salamat was central in turning
around MMWWO and making it function like an institution, not
just one woman's vision-turned-hobby. His pending departure
from the organization will create a void and will again make
internal control issues significant challenges to the success
and sustainability of MMWWO. Additional USG funding for MMWWO
should not be considered unless and until its leaders
demonstrate that they can survive without constant oversight,
and retaining Salamat or finding another professional manager
will be key to that.
CONROY