Pakistani gang rape victim gives birth to baby boy

A PAKISTANI gang rape victim who gained prominence for her outspoken stance on the oppression of women has given birth to a baby boy, her husband and hospital officials said.

Mukhtar Mai delivered the baby by Caesarian section two weeks prematurely in the central city of Multan, they added.

Mai, now 40, was gang raped in June 2002 on the orders of a village council as punishment after her younger brother was accused of having illicit relations with a woman from a rival clan. The boy was just 12 years old at the time of the incident in Meerwala town in central Multan district, some 360km southwest of Islamabad.