Pakistani gang rape victim Mukhtar Mai, who gained prominence

Far from destroying her, as her attackers would have expected, the incident made Mai determined to fight for women's rights and she set up the Mukhtar Mai Women's Organization .
Convinced that lack of education contributed to the poor treatment of women, Mai established a girls' school, initially in a single room of her family home with a just one teacher and three students, including herself.

"The first school I attended was my own school," said Mai.
For the first three years, she ran the school without any outside funding.
"Whatever I earned I used to pay the salary of the teacher. Sometimes I had to sell my own things," she said.

Mai's school gained worldwide attention following a spate of articles in the international press in 2005 and donations began to pour in -- as well as some government money.
Today the Mukhtar Mai Girl's Model School offers free education, books and uniforms to 550 girls from nursery to the beginning of high school.
However Mai said the school has received no government funding for the last three years and is struggling for income.
In addition, she has set up a women's shelter and resource center for victims of violence, while her memoir, " In the Name of Honor ", was published in 2006 and has been translated into 23 languages.

In 2009, Mai married a police officer who acted as her bodyguard and they now have a one-year-old son.
Late last year, the shooting of the young Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai brought women's rights back to worldwide attention.
Malala, now 15, was shot by the Taliban for campaigning for girls' education in Swat Valley in October and is now recovering in hospital in the United Kingdom.
"I am praying for Malala's health and recovery," said Mai. "She is a very little girl and the work she was doing and intends to do is great.
"More girls are now getting an education in her region due to Malala."
In the decade since her attack, Mai believes she has made a difference to women's rights in Pakistan, but still has a long way to go.
"Things have improved, but not as much as they should have done. There are laws, but the laws are not always implemented.
"It's an evolutionary process and it will take time. I hope I have given the courage to girls and women to speak about women's rights and to open new horizons."
Mai is the headline speaker at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 19.