ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- A Pakistani woman gang raped in 2002 by order of a village council is traveling to the United States despite a warning from Pakistan's president.
Mukhtar Mai will be honored by Glamour magazine in November in a ceremony commemorating the modern women's rights movement, the BBC reported Saturday.
Thirteen men are in a Pakistani prison for raping Mai. She is appealing to the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court's order to release several of the men.
Her rape was a form of punishment against her brother who was accused of committing a petty crime. She has been granted a U.S. visa.
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf drew mass criticism earlier this year when he publicly banned Mai from leaving the country. He said he feared she would give the country a bad name by talking about her rape.
Mai said that she is proud of being Pakistani and has "no intention of tarnishing the country's image." She said she would bring attention to the victims of the Oct. 8 earthquake that has claimed more than 79,000 lives and the need for aid.
She plans to visit the U.S. unless Musharraf stops her.
