How women’s bodies became grounds for violence in conflict-ridden Afghanistan


Rutba Iqbal / Awaz e Khwateen 

As I entered the small room in the area popularly known as Afghan Colony near Lajpat Nagar, I saw Khatera Hashemi, it took me a moment to register her face. I flashed a warm smile in her direction in a bid to comfort her, forgetting the fact that she probably cannot see me. She sat on a sofa, with a handkerchief bundled in her hands she kept wiping her dry eyes. As the team settled down the gravity of the situation hit us, Khatera Hashemi sat on the sofa with incipient nervousness in her voice. After taking a moment to brace herself, she started talking about the horror that would unnerve any human.

Khatera Hashemi served as a police officer in Ghazni, a city in Central Afghanistan. She was attacked on June 7, 2020 allegedly by the Taliban. Her narration of the attack sent the whole room silent. “I was stabbed 8 times and suffered trauma to my head, which left me unconscious for 4 days. I was stabbed in the eyes with a knife by my attackers ”. Khatera was days away from leaving Ghazni right before the attack, she was collecting her documents to flee, in a rush to save her life. After the attack, Khateera was then taken to Kabul, on waking up she found out both her eyes had been severely damaged during the attack, which left her with no vision.

Two month pregnant Khatera came to India in hopes of getting some of her sight back. It’s been 10 months and the doctors still have not given any good news. In this bleak situation Khatera gave birth to her daughter. She holds the baby girl in her arm, cradling her close to her chest with very little idea of what her daughter looks like.

Her husband sits beside her, taking turns to sway the baby girl in his arms. Khatera proceeds to talk about how her husband is unable to go to work despite being so tight with money. He helps Khatera navigate through the house and take care of their daughter. The couple sit close on the sofa tired of narrating their ordeal again and again. The baby’s colourful walker stands in the corner of the room serving as a strong contrast to the dark and inhuman travesty that the family went through.

Khateera then proceeds to talk about Taliban’s brutality. The grave hopelessness is conveyed by her fear that the children of Afghanistan are heading towards an orphaned and destitute future. She blames neighbouring Pakistan for their plight. Khatera believes Pakistan’s agenda helped the authoritarian regime in gaining such a strong foothold in Afghanistan. She reiterates that the perpetrators of oppression are a puppet of Pakistan, and it is Pakistan who holds the real reins.

She urges for a negotiation, for a country that is led by its people without giving into someone’s ulterior motives. She makes an appeal to the leaders to lead the country free of foreign vested interests. She narrates a story of horror and predicts danger to anyone who voices dissent, especially women. She warns the world to not fall for the facade and act while there’s time.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

National Education Day: Commemorating the legacy of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

Image
Rutba Iqbal / Awaz e Khwateen Maulana Abul Kalam Azad declared education a fundamental right of every human being irrespective of their gender, color, caste and creed. Speaking at All India Education on January 16, 1948, Maulana Abul Kalam had said, "We must not for a moment forget, it is a birthright of every individual to receive at least the basic education without which he cannot fully discharge his duties as a citizen." Father of Indian Institute Technology (IITs) When Azad assumed the charge of the Ministry of Education in 1947, he observed the lack of infrastructure and facilities in the technical field. Kalam recognized that for India to compete with the world post-independence, scientific and technical advancement was imperative. With this vision he led India to a revolution in the field of higher studies. Kalam expressed his wish to have an educational system in India at par with the world, so the students do not have to travel across continents to study further
Read more

Taliban Announces Ban on Women’s Sports

Image
Awaz e Khwateen A Taliban spokesperson has announced a ban on women's sports, especially women’s cricket in Afghanistan. Ahmadullah Wasiq, the deputy head of the Taliban's Cultural Commission while talking to SBS said, "In cricket, they (women) might face a situation where their face and body will not be covered. Islam does not allow women to be seen like this.” In August 2021, when Taliban rose to power in the conflict-ridden Afghanistan the world was apprehensive, questioning their extremist ideals. The Taliban had promised an inclusive government. They assured the people of Afghanistan and the world of a moderate approach.   It’s a man's world The Afghan men's cricket team has been given the approval to play the sport and represent Afghanistan on International level. Taliban even posted a congratulatory tweet yesterday for the Afghan cricket team after their win against Scotland. “Congratulation to all Afghan cricket team and the entire Afghan nation for
Read more

Azizun Nisa Begum, mother of Sir Syed, was killed by the British forces in 1857

Image
Guest Column, Mahino Fatima    / Awaz e Khwateen    Sir Syed Ahmad Khan is often credited, and rightly so, for bringing renaissance of modern education among Indian Muslims. Among Muslims in general, and Aligarhians in particular, his male comrades are also talked about in high esteem. Sadly, like any other historiography, much of history remains silent about the women who played their role in the Aligarh Movement, which is an organized attempt at developing modern outlook among Indian Muslims. I will be writing about a woman, who had an important role in shaping up the personality of Sir Syed. Azizun Nisa Begum, a woman who has lost it to the male dominant historiography. Rarely people talk about her, about whom Sir Syed wrote that as a mother, she was better than thousands of teachers. Azizun Nisa Begum never went to a modern educational institution but she could read Arabic and Persian well. Gulistan of Sadi was taught to Sir Syed by her. He wrote that she would keep a stick wit
Read more