The death of spring in Afghanistan

For the first time in the history of Afghanistan, women went out carrying the coffin of a young lady who was killed and burned by a mob last week. It is taboo for Muslim women even to participate in funerals, mind you carrying the coffin and proceeding to bury the dead. But this was no ordinary deceased. She was a 27-year-old lady who was accused of burning the Quran and given a swift punishment by a mob of men who took it upon themselves to penalise her.

Of course there is no evidence that she actually committed this act. It is said that police who were supposed to help her out of this gruesome death, not only failed to assist her, they participated in her killing.

Again, it is not the first time that women in Afghanistan are subjected to such cruelty, I need not bring more examples, the internet search engines can take this awful task off my hands, and a small search will land you on hideous videos and live testimonies of how women are treated there.

Though I choose not to watch such videos, I watched this one, I had to slap my conscious and remind myself that I’m not writing enough about this. What can I do at this time but to write and shed a bit of light to the heartbreaking episodes happening in Afghanistan! It is such a sad event in a time where in that part of the world households are preparing for the advent of springtime, the New Persian year.

People clean their houses, plant flowers, bake sweets and await the arrival of the 21st day of March, the first day of spring. This year the festivities were killed, spring was squashed and replaced by a harsh winter and with the way things continue to happen in that part of the world, there seems not to be any glimpse of a springtime anytime soon.

For all those men who participated in this grisly crime, punching, beating and jumping on the helpless lady’s body, and then burning her, you will all burn in hell and then you will be revived and burnt again, and again. Before you reach to hell, may those hands and feet of yours be subjected to the same beating you have inflicted upon her. Do you think you can get away with this? Do you think that there is no justice somewhere else? What do you understand about justice anyway? A man devoid of humanity descends to the lowest ranks.

Those women who carried the coffin refused that she would be buried by men, the same men that one day might turn against them too. I say, continue to protest , keep the flame going, let her blood not go to waste. Violence against any human being is totally unacceptable and a sign of weakness and not strength.

Did you know?
Facts about Afghan women.
Many women die in pregnancy and childbirth: 460 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)
85 per cent of women have no formal education and are illiterate.
Life expectancy for women is 51.

Editorial @ug.nationmedia.com