I am frankly getting quite tired of the debate surrounding "jihad", "women in Islam", "hate in Islam", "peace in Islam". In reality the debate is not about Islam- it is about generations upon generations of confused people being taught by the heavily funded wahabi (Saudi) preachers about how to hate, how to kill, how to pretend to be doing this for the good while in reality going against each and every princple of any religion in this world. It is not about religion- it is about money, economics, day to to day living in corrupt countries that fail to protect their poor and weak, and how the Wahabi preachers have managed to infiltrate most Muslim societies and have brainwashed them in to believing that being from the Prophet Mohammad's country they have a higher understanding and authority on Islam than anyone else.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali seems to fall for this, despite her seemingly 'liberal' (for the Muslim world, and conservative for the rest of the world) mindset. She tries to show a so-called journey through Islam in her book "Infidel", failing miserably in the process of explaining "why"- WHY does she think Islam promotes hate? WHY does she think women are seen as lesser beings in the religion?
I am a Muslim woman, and I had an upbringing very different from Ali's. I grew up in Pakistan, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, yet I did not undergo any one of the so-called Islamic rites nor did I have to face the attitudes Ali faced. We do not have the practice of female genital mutilation in Pakistan- and let me tell you, Pakistan has had its fair share of corrupt politicians implementing a convoluted brand of Islam for power and money, so we are not exactly a 'liberal' country by any means. We also did not have Mullah's preaching hate, or telling us that the West, and the Jews, are our enemies (the wars on Afghanistan and Iraq have effectively changed that though). Yet we were taught the Quran, we had Islamic studies in our school, and we fasted and prayed during Ramadan. Ali's disenchantment with Islam seems to have nothing to do with the religion, but her childhood and the misery she aptly describes growing up in a broken family, and the way she was taught the religion. Insofar as I can remember, Ali does not explore other avenues or means for understanding Islam, leaving it to the Brotherhood, preachers, her parents to define it for her. That in itself is sad, and something that seems to be the message in her book, the tragedy for Islam. What can be a bigger disservice to oneself and others than blind faith? Yes, she questions herself, she questions Islam- but who does she ask these questions of? the same preachers, the same Brotherhood members who are spouting the Wahabi agenda. Never does she mention trying to do her own research- reading what other important historical figures have interpreted to be the essence of the Quran. She does not mention reading the 'sunnah' and 'hadith' (sayings and actions of the the Prophet Mohammad pbuh) explaining the Quran, nor does she mention turning towards the Sahi's that explain the Sunnah and ahadith further. Her interpretation is the same as the Muslim Brotherhood's interpretation, and therefore far from the truth. In a twisted way she gives credence to the words of the uneducated ignorant Mullah's preaching hate.
Sufism is a branch of Islam that is far from Ali's interpretation and understanding. It is a shame that in the many years she spent questioning herself and those around her, she never researched or found anything on Sufism, or never came across the writings of Rumi and Nizami. Her research is therefore incomplete for me, and her analysis flawed based on the lack of evidence she presents for her conclusion. I started off the book feeling sympathy and a certain sense of camaraderie with her and ended with confusion, and yes sympathy. Sympathy for her, the way her life played out, the many people who were effected by what seem to be publicity stunts or perhaps just a reaction to her childhood traumas, and the repercussions her acts will have in the future. No event is ever solitary in nature- there are always causes and problems- which Ali does not think worthy to even consider.
Ali's superficial look at the problems surrounding Muslim societies is not memorable. I agree with her sentiment to write the book, it is her expression and right to free speech, which I respect. I disagree with the effect this book and her actions could potentially have for Muslims in general. And I fear that people without a deeper understanding of Islam will buy into her largely one-sided and ill-researched conclusion.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Pedophilia in Pakistan...veiled debauchery
While we have the bearded crazies blowing up your local supermarket during the day time, nightime in pakistan reveals the jinns the avid Quran reader might recall (I forget the passage, sorry- my quranic readings are a bit rusty). Pedophilia knows no bounds; country, culture, religion, socio-economics. And it is pervasive everywhere. The problem is that in Pakistan, it is not only pervasive, but also condoned by the lack of laws punishing pedophiles or protecting the abused. There are so many levels to this endemic that your humble blog-writer knows not where to start from. So lets start with the 'rich and famous' (or the gaudy and uneducated)- like SAH (initialized because I don't want to be sued), a so-called fashion designer and socialite residing in Karachi- who is openly a pedophile. [Openly: acting publicly or without concealment, as a person (dictionary.com)]. Yet he has friends, clients, a support group- all knowingly, who or un-knowingly, act as co-conspirators in this perverse mental illness. While he can behave like a depraved animal and get away with crimes such as child rape and molestation because of his social status, others without his nouveau riche origins also get away with similar behavior.
Why do we let pedophiles go scot-free in our society? Pedophilia is not that uncommon by trusted relatives on children who do not even know what is going on. Are we blind to let this happen over and over again? And the punch line is, even when adults become aware of that a family member is abusing a child in the family, they are unwilling to speak out against it. What are we teaching our children? Do not speak out if you have been wronged- respect authority even if it is abusing you- family is more important than your bodily rights- pedophilia is normal, get used to it. It is certainly easier to pray five times a day than confront a child abuser in your family, but why is it so difficult to recognize a crime in our country? Why does no one print a picture of SAH picking up kids for his personal enjoyment? Why can no one look at a child abuser and say, enough- don't you dare step in this house and I do not care if you are my brother-in-law, my cousin, or my brother. What is more important than a child's right to a carefree innocent childhood?
We need to change our society from within. Pakistan is in trouble in more ways than one, and for more reasons than can be considered in this blog. But we need to have laws, laws that are enforced by a police force free of corruption, that protect children from such animals, whether they are relatives of the children or sick people like SAH who feel they can use and abuse children at will just because they can afford to. We need to get rid of this hypocrisy in our society before we can move forward as a nation-until then we can only wait to hear the "thud" when we soon hit the bottom of the barrel.
Why do we let pedophiles go scot-free in our society? Pedophilia is not that uncommon by trusted relatives on children who do not even know what is going on. Are we blind to let this happen over and over again? And the punch line is, even when adults become aware of that a family member is abusing a child in the family, they are unwilling to speak out against it. What are we teaching our children? Do not speak out if you have been wronged- respect authority even if it is abusing you- family is more important than your bodily rights- pedophilia is normal, get used to it. It is certainly easier to pray five times a day than confront a child abuser in your family, but why is it so difficult to recognize a crime in our country? Why does no one print a picture of SAH picking up kids for his personal enjoyment? Why can no one look at a child abuser and say, enough- don't you dare step in this house and I do not care if you are my brother-in-law, my cousin, or my brother. What is more important than a child's right to a carefree innocent childhood?
We need to change our society from within. Pakistan is in trouble in more ways than one, and for more reasons than can be considered in this blog. But we need to have laws, laws that are enforced by a police force free of corruption, that protect children from such animals, whether they are relatives of the children or sick people like SAH who feel they can use and abuse children at will just because they can afford to. We need to get rid of this hypocrisy in our society before we can move forward as a nation-until then we can only wait to hear the "thud" when we soon hit the bottom of the barrel.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Fall Break in Pakistan...wooohoo!
"How to take a holiday in Pakistan" by Hugh Sykes- gives us hope:
How to take a holiday in Pakistan
By Hugh Sykes
BBC News, Pakistan
Suicide bombs, battles in tribal areas, and states of emergency tend to put off casual tourists. But the impression such events convey can often be misleading and unrepresentative of a country as a whole.
A few days ago I was sitting in a cafe sipping best Italian espresso and reading a news magazine.
The front page was full of furious faces and clenched fists under the headline, The Most Dangerous Nation in the World isn't Iraq, it's Pakistan.
The cafe was in a smart bookshop in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.
I sighed and turned to the article inside.
It was a revealing analysis of some penetration of a few places in Pakistan by the Taleban and al-Qaeda.
I pondered the magnifying-glass effect of dramatic news coverage.
The suicide bomb attack on Benazir Bhutto's homecoming parade in Karachi in October, which killed an estimated 140 people, and the assault on a Taleban pocket in the Swat valley, a tourist destination, took place while I was in Pakistan.
But neither event had a noticeable effect on the general sense of security and stability where I was in Islamabad or on the road.
The notion that Pakistan is more dangerous than Iraq is absurd.
Until recently suicide bombs, murder, and kidnapping were routine in Iraq.
And there is no way I would do there what I have just done in Pakistan: take a holiday.
Never alone
I hired a car in Islamabad and headed out onto the partially completed M2 motorway that will eventually connect Lahore (near the Indian border) with Peshawar (the last city on the road to the Khyber Pass and Afghanistan).
But motorways are boring, so I left the M2 and re-joined the ancient Grand Trunk Road, which links most of the main towns of northern Pakistan.
For much of the route it is lined with eucalyptus trees, their almost-autumn leaves and silvery bark shining in the clear October sun as I drove along.
Driving in Pakistan is fast and sometimes chaotic, but not competitive.
They even hoot politely. And one great danger at home you hardly ever have to contend with in Pakistan is drunk drivers and people with concentration blurred by hangovers.
My destinations were Chitral, an isolated valley in the far-north-west on the Afghan border and Gilgit, close to China and Tajikistan.
The round-trip was more than 1,200 miles (nearly 2,000km) and included mountain passes almost half as high as Everest.
And although I was driving alone, I was hardly ever on my own.
There is public transport but not a lot. So, people walk long distances along these high stony roads and if a car passes, they hold out a hand hoping for a lift.
One morning, 12-year-old Kashif sat with me for a while.
He had been expecting to walk for more than an hour to the nearest town, to buy a new pair of shoes.
He showed me the pair he was wearing. The right shoe's upper was half split away from the sole.
Kashif spoke almost perfect English, good enough to warn me as we turned a tight bend, "Be careful, uncle, road badly damaged round next corner from earthquake."
Earthquake damage from 2005, still unrepaired.
I spent the night at a hotel next to the old fort at Mastuj, near the snowy Hindu Kush peak Tirich Mir which is 7,690m high (25,200 feet).
The hotel consists of small timber and stone cabins set in a wood of walnut trees and poplars and a plane tree reputed to be 200 years old.
I woke to autumn colours every bit as wondrous as anything I have seen in Kew Gardens or New England.
My next hitch-hiking companion was Mohammed, an English Literature student at Peshawar University.
"So you study Shakespeare?" I asked.
"Yes, and Wordsworth."
And John Donne, I wondered?
"Ah, John Donne," he raptured.
"John Donne... the poetry of love."
I do not know any Donne by heart but when I attempted Shakespeare's Seven Ages of Man from As You Like It, Mohammed completed every line as we bumped along the dusty road.
Parts of Pakistan are deeply conservative, devoutly Muslim places, and I was not signalled for lifts by many women.
But there were some.
A mother and grandmother, sitting in the back, their heads covered but not their faces and one-year-old Anis and his father Samir in the front with me.
He protested when I took a photograph of the two women but they did not object and posed happily as they waited for the flash.
When I delivered them to the Gilgit hospital where the little boy had an appointment with a heart specialist, his father was so pleased and grateful he gave me a bear hug, and a massive smile that erased his earlier stern objections to taking a picture.
I gave lifts to more than 20 people, learned how to say "no problem" in Urdu (Koi Batnahi), and had to hold back tears when two children said thank you for their lift and offered me money to help pay for the petrol.
From Our Own Correspondent was broadcast on Saturday 10 November, 2007 at 1130 GMT on BBC Radio 4. Please check the programme schedules for World Service transmission times.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/7090632.stm
Published: 2007/11/12 16:26:32 GMT
© BBC MMVII
How to take a holiday in Pakistan
By Hugh Sykes
BBC News, Pakistan
Suicide bombs, battles in tribal areas, and states of emergency tend to put off casual tourists. But the impression such events convey can often be misleading and unrepresentative of a country as a whole.
A few days ago I was sitting in a cafe sipping best Italian espresso and reading a news magazine.
The front page was full of furious faces and clenched fists under the headline, The Most Dangerous Nation in the World isn't Iraq, it's Pakistan.
The cafe was in a smart bookshop in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.
I sighed and turned to the article inside.
It was a revealing analysis of some penetration of a few places in Pakistan by the Taleban and al-Qaeda.
I pondered the magnifying-glass effect of dramatic news coverage.
The suicide bomb attack on Benazir Bhutto's homecoming parade in Karachi in October, which killed an estimated 140 people, and the assault on a Taleban pocket in the Swat valley, a tourist destination, took place while I was in Pakistan.
But neither event had a noticeable effect on the general sense of security and stability where I was in Islamabad or on the road.
The notion that Pakistan is more dangerous than Iraq is absurd.
Until recently suicide bombs, murder, and kidnapping were routine in Iraq.
And there is no way I would do there what I have just done in Pakistan: take a holiday.
Never alone
I hired a car in Islamabad and headed out onto the partially completed M2 motorway that will eventually connect Lahore (near the Indian border) with Peshawar (the last city on the road to the Khyber Pass and Afghanistan).
But motorways are boring, so I left the M2 and re-joined the ancient Grand Trunk Road, which links most of the main towns of northern Pakistan.
For much of the route it is lined with eucalyptus trees, their almost-autumn leaves and silvery bark shining in the clear October sun as I drove along.
Driving in Pakistan is fast and sometimes chaotic, but not competitive.
They even hoot politely. And one great danger at home you hardly ever have to contend with in Pakistan is drunk drivers and people with concentration blurred by hangovers.
My destinations were Chitral, an isolated valley in the far-north-west on the Afghan border and Gilgit, close to China and Tajikistan.
The round-trip was more than 1,200 miles (nearly 2,000km) and included mountain passes almost half as high as Everest.
And although I was driving alone, I was hardly ever on my own.
There is public transport but not a lot. So, people walk long distances along these high stony roads and if a car passes, they hold out a hand hoping for a lift.
One morning, 12-year-old Kashif sat with me for a while.
He had been expecting to walk for more than an hour to the nearest town, to buy a new pair of shoes.
He showed me the pair he was wearing. The right shoe's upper was half split away from the sole.
Kashif spoke almost perfect English, good enough to warn me as we turned a tight bend, "Be careful, uncle, road badly damaged round next corner from earthquake."
Earthquake damage from 2005, still unrepaired.
I spent the night at a hotel next to the old fort at Mastuj, near the snowy Hindu Kush peak Tirich Mir which is 7,690m high (25,200 feet).
The hotel consists of small timber and stone cabins set in a wood of walnut trees and poplars and a plane tree reputed to be 200 years old.
I woke to autumn colours every bit as wondrous as anything I have seen in Kew Gardens or New England.
My next hitch-hiking companion was Mohammed, an English Literature student at Peshawar University.
"So you study Shakespeare?" I asked.
"Yes, and Wordsworth."
And John Donne, I wondered?
"Ah, John Donne," he raptured.
"John Donne... the poetry of love."
I do not know any Donne by heart but when I attempted Shakespeare's Seven Ages of Man from As You Like It, Mohammed completed every line as we bumped along the dusty road.
Parts of Pakistan are deeply conservative, devoutly Muslim places, and I was not signalled for lifts by many women.
But there were some.
A mother and grandmother, sitting in the back, their heads covered but not their faces and one-year-old Anis and his father Samir in the front with me.
He protested when I took a photograph of the two women but they did not object and posed happily as they waited for the flash.
When I delivered them to the Gilgit hospital where the little boy had an appointment with a heart specialist, his father was so pleased and grateful he gave me a bear hug, and a massive smile that erased his earlier stern objections to taking a picture.
I gave lifts to more than 20 people, learned how to say "no problem" in Urdu (Koi Batnahi), and had to hold back tears when two children said thank you for their lift and offered me money to help pay for the petrol.
From Our Own Correspondent was broadcast on Saturday 10 November, 2007 at 1130 GMT on BBC Radio 4. Please check the programme schedules for World Service transmission times.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/7090632.stm
Published: 2007/11/12 16:26:32 GMT
© BBC MMVII
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Emergency in Pakistan and the general state of affairs
Martial law is nothing new for Pakistan. Since the 1950's, we have had more army rule in the country than civilian. Yet this time there is something scarier and more overwhelming about the sudden move to Emergency rule. Did I hear someone say 'nukes'? Yes, that is the correct answer dear child. Nukes it is. And whosoever happens to be in charge of them. Now the wisdom of restricting nuclear capabilities sinks in as we have time to sit and ponder the consequences of them falling in the wrong hands. Can Amreeka save us Dear Lord?? One of the three A's has to swoop in to help!! Allah seems to be abandoning us, the Army is harassing and killing us, Amreeka? help? please?
Army rule in Pakistan may not be new, but suicide bombings are a very new phenomenon in Pakistan. There was always violence, granted. But not in the form of bearded crazies blowing up hundreds of innocent people with them. It is the scope and the enormity of the havoc these bombs wreak that is frightening. A gun or two in the Frontier never hurt anyone, except the rival tribe perhaps. But such indiscrimate killing is frightening because it can ruin lives entirely disassociated with any politician, any madrassa, any international drug ring. People cheering Benazir Bhutto- children enjoying the parade of the big-shouldered horse-faced lady; poor people selling their wares hoping to make a few extra rupees because of the large turnout; and then those who just want to see this spectacle. Shame on the horse-faced nasal-twang-voiced lady who knew this could happen and decided to put thousands of lives at risk for a measly publicity stunt. And a blight on her House.
Then the free and fair polls set for January 2008 gave a certain general and chief of army some bad days running to the pot. Yes he would step down as general, but no not in the next twenty some years. So he decided to suspend the sham of a constitution, kick out the judiciary and yell "Emergency everybuddy!" Sher aya, sher aya. Now what to do re baba? Condi bibi called to say General bhaiya, not a good move. And surprise oh surprise, bhaiya was in no mood to oblige. There was a lot of killing to do without domestic and international media yelling bloody murder. So not only did general sahib have to unplug all independent media outlets, cut off communication lines and deploy the guardians of our borders with what now seems like a very benevolent enemy (India...did you really not guess?), but he had to arrest about 500 people (Asma Jehangir must have sermoned all the way to jail) to quell any movement against his Godhood. Now what we ask?
Now: Killing in once-peaceful and really so beautiful Swat Valley; Army killing people, people killing army, people killing people.
Army continues to harass and kill Balochi's.
suicide bombings because of horse-faced lady's arrival in Sindh.
Tikka boti parties in Punjab.
One more bomb dropped in Waziristan. Few more children killed. General sahib has land in Turkey, BB has land in...oh she owns half the world, and Nawaz Mian is enjoy the palaces of Saudi and the hoors of the desert. No one hears the anguished cries of the people who lose their houses, their loved ones, their entire lives in the 'accidental' bombings on the frontier. People killing their own. We don't need to wait for the vilayati armageddon. Ours has already begun.
Army rule in Pakistan may not be new, but suicide bombings are a very new phenomenon in Pakistan. There was always violence, granted. But not in the form of bearded crazies blowing up hundreds of innocent people with them. It is the scope and the enormity of the havoc these bombs wreak that is frightening. A gun or two in the Frontier never hurt anyone, except the rival tribe perhaps. But such indiscrimate killing is frightening because it can ruin lives entirely disassociated with any politician, any madrassa, any international drug ring. People cheering Benazir Bhutto- children enjoying the parade of the big-shouldered horse-faced lady; poor people selling their wares hoping to make a few extra rupees because of the large turnout; and then those who just want to see this spectacle. Shame on the horse-faced nasal-twang-voiced lady who knew this could happen and decided to put thousands of lives at risk for a measly publicity stunt. And a blight on her House.
Then the free and fair polls set for January 2008 gave a certain general and chief of army some bad days running to the pot. Yes he would step down as general, but no not in the next twenty some years. So he decided to suspend the sham of a constitution, kick out the judiciary and yell "Emergency everybuddy!" Sher aya, sher aya. Now what to do re baba? Condi bibi called to say General bhaiya, not a good move. And surprise oh surprise, bhaiya was in no mood to oblige. There was a lot of killing to do without domestic and international media yelling bloody murder. So not only did general sahib have to unplug all independent media outlets, cut off communication lines and deploy the guardians of our borders with what now seems like a very benevolent enemy (India...did you really not guess?), but he had to arrest about 500 people (Asma Jehangir must have sermoned all the way to jail) to quell any movement against his Godhood. Now what we ask?
Now: Killing in once-peaceful and really so beautiful Swat Valley; Army killing people, people killing army, people killing people.
Army continues to harass and kill Balochi's.
suicide bombings because of horse-faced lady's arrival in Sindh.
Tikka boti parties in Punjab.
One more bomb dropped in Waziristan. Few more children killed. General sahib has land in Turkey, BB has land in...oh she owns half the world, and Nawaz Mian is enjoy the palaces of Saudi and the hoors of the desert. No one hears the anguished cries of the people who lose their houses, their loved ones, their entire lives in the 'accidental' bombings on the frontier. People killing their own. We don't need to wait for the vilayati armageddon. Ours has already begun.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Update on Kite Runner movie
Kite Runner boy star 'not safe':
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7028288.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7028288.stm
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Kite Runner movie fiasco
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6992751.stm
In a country and culture where honor is held in such high regard that lives are lost in keeping it safe, the directors of Kite Runner- a movie based on the novel by Khaled Hosseini- put the lives and honor of one of the young actors and his family in an extremely precarious position.
A little background is necessary before I delve in to the legal and humanitarian issues of it all. The book, for those who have not read it, contains the witnessing of a rape by the protagonist of the book of his servant and friend, by a psycopath. Keeping in mind that Afghanistan has been wrestling with Talebanisation for the past forty odd years, and has only recently been half emptied (read: bombed) of its civilian population in an American quest for 'democracy and modernity' (American style), topics such as sex are still largely taboo. And rape is...well...it is a sexual activity despite the lack of consent. Therefore to write about it with fictional characters is one thing, to picturize it on a child, that too an Afghan child, we can only start to imagine the repercussions.
To make matters worse, the father, Ahmed Jaan, of the young actor, Ahmed Khan Mahmizada, on whom the rape scene is filmed, claims he was never told about the scene, and once picturized was assured by the director that it would be cut from the movie. Ahmed Khan also claims he was unaware of the rape scene when he agreed to be a part of the movie. The producer, Rebecca Yeldham, denies the director promised Ahmed Jaan that the scene would not be filmed or would be cut from the final reel. She also claims that the scene has been filmed in a non-gratuitous and discreet manner, while also maintaining the so-called integrity of the book and making it clear that the incident is clearly sexual.
That brings us the legal problems first. Despite not having a filming background, I do know that everytime a film is made for commercial purposes, a release form has to be signed by those being filmed with knowledge of how the film will be used and what they will be portraying in the movie. If the person being filmed refuses to give their consent, the movie-makers cannot legally release the movie.
Although the BBC news article does not mention release forms, it does raise a lot of questions, for instance, did the actors and their parents know exactly what was going to be filmed? If they did not, and assuming they signed release forms, are those legally enforceable? Also, since the scene is being shot on a minor, his parent's consent is mandatory. In the Yoo Ess of Ay these details would be stringently enforced. In Afghanistan, who cares? take advantage of naivety and ignorance. After all, what's a little rape scene on a 10 year old when he is already undergoing the hardships of living in a country being bombarded by the noble super powers. They can deal with it.
But imagine the hue and cry if this took place here. People would be up in arms about the exploitation of a minor. Oh and if the producers were muslims/arabs/brown/not your typical blue-white-and-blonde American, there would be some more culture bashing.
And what can the Afghan family do? hope that the bbc news article enraged enough people to protest about this? Wait for the movie to come out, only to become outcasts in their community? sue the deep pockets?
While this story will probably fizzle away for us soon, the incidents will and have impacted a child and his family, and is not merely a story for them, but bitter reality. They have yet again been taken advantage of, and their voices will again go unheard unless we join our voices with theirs and make it one voice so loud that it cannot be ignored.
The bbc article gives more details, and I am sure you will find more travesties of justice when you read it. This is a very superfluous view of the issue. Feel free to leave comments, disagreements and corrections
In a country and culture where honor is held in such high regard that lives are lost in keeping it safe, the directors of Kite Runner- a movie based on the novel by Khaled Hosseini- put the lives and honor of one of the young actors and his family in an extremely precarious position.
A little background is necessary before I delve in to the legal and humanitarian issues of it all. The book, for those who have not read it, contains the witnessing of a rape by the protagonist of the book of his servant and friend, by a psycopath. Keeping in mind that Afghanistan has been wrestling with Talebanisation for the past forty odd years, and has only recently been half emptied (read: bombed) of its civilian population in an American quest for 'democracy and modernity' (American style), topics such as sex are still largely taboo. And rape is...well...it is a sexual activity despite the lack of consent. Therefore to write about it with fictional characters is one thing, to picturize it on a child, that too an Afghan child, we can only start to imagine the repercussions.
To make matters worse, the father, Ahmed Jaan, of the young actor, Ahmed Khan Mahmizada, on whom the rape scene is filmed, claims he was never told about the scene, and once picturized was assured by the director that it would be cut from the movie. Ahmed Khan also claims he was unaware of the rape scene when he agreed to be a part of the movie. The producer, Rebecca Yeldham, denies the director promised Ahmed Jaan that the scene would not be filmed or would be cut from the final reel. She also claims that the scene has been filmed in a non-gratuitous and discreet manner, while also maintaining the so-called integrity of the book and making it clear that the incident is clearly sexual.
That brings us the legal problems first. Despite not having a filming background, I do know that everytime a film is made for commercial purposes, a release form has to be signed by those being filmed with knowledge of how the film will be used and what they will be portraying in the movie. If the person being filmed refuses to give their consent, the movie-makers cannot legally release the movie.
Although the BBC news article does not mention release forms, it does raise a lot of questions, for instance, did the actors and their parents know exactly what was going to be filmed? If they did not, and assuming they signed release forms, are those legally enforceable? Also, since the scene is being shot on a minor, his parent's consent is mandatory. In the Yoo Ess of Ay these details would be stringently enforced. In Afghanistan, who cares? take advantage of naivety and ignorance. After all, what's a little rape scene on a 10 year old when he is already undergoing the hardships of living in a country being bombarded by the noble super powers. They can deal with it.
But imagine the hue and cry if this took place here. People would be up in arms about the exploitation of a minor. Oh and if the producers were muslims/arabs/brown/not your typical blue-white-and-blonde American, there would be some more culture bashing.
And what can the Afghan family do? hope that the bbc news article enraged enough people to protest about this? Wait for the movie to come out, only to become outcasts in their community? sue the deep pockets?
While this story will probably fizzle away for us soon, the incidents will and have impacted a child and his family, and is not merely a story for them, but bitter reality. They have yet again been taken advantage of, and their voices will again go unheard unless we join our voices with theirs and make it one voice so loud that it cannot be ignored.
The bbc article gives more details, and I am sure you will find more travesties of justice when you read it. This is a very superfluous view of the issue. Feel free to leave comments, disagreements and corrections
Friday, August 31, 2007
Threads in D.C- don't go there!!!
For anyone who will listen. The lady in Threads on U-street poked me in my eye so badly it had two red spots in it for a week. And she didn't even apologize. The place is dirty, expensive and the workers are unprofessional and rude. So if you need threading done, might as well do it yourself, or you will be left with one eye to give her an evil eye with.
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