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salamu'alaikum, mA it's very refreshing to see an Afghan in Islamic Academia.. we definitely need it! I hope iA you benefit the greater Ummah and our people can benefit from your studies! I don't know if you know of another Afghan but she's studyying in Azhar - her name is Muslema Purmul, she writes on http://www.suhaibwebb.com
Hopefully there can be some working together for us Afghans in the future for some beneficial causes!
Hi there :) i just bumped into your blog site while researching material for my paper which is very close to your topics of interest and research. I am working on a minor thesis as part of my MA in International Relations at University of Melbourne. My research focus is the perceived dichotomy between cultural relativism and women's sexual rights. Being a pashtun woman, I have chosen Pashtun culture as my case study for this thesis. Although this is a minor research, i would like to pursue this area as my field of research in future as well. In that, it would be great to get in touch with people like yourself. Do you have any email address that I can use to communicate with you? if you do and would like to discuss this further, please email on nidokhan@gmail.com. Thanks :)
U're one of the best ambitious Pashtun women Qrratugai <3 Reading your blog helped me alot.. i've always wanted to change the illiterate society and their backward thinking knowing that am proud to be a PAshtun but there are some customs and traditions specially the mentality of some women that irritates me .. u are truly an inspiration Sweetheart :* sta ghwandey Pakhtanu muta zroorat da <3 Ur Sis, Asma
Pa khair, Asma jaaney! Thank you so much for your comment! I'm happy to know this blog has been of some help to you :) You're welcome here any time, and if you've any suggestions for topic you want me to write on more, don't hesitate to let me know.
The trick to learning to appreciate yourself and your people (in our case, the Pukhtuns) is to understand why we were are where we are today. It doesn't mean we should excuse our backwardness, but it's so that we don't start to look down upon our people and see ourselves as better than them just because we are, say, more educated or prefer a different lifestyle than the one they're used to. So, don't worry :) I, too, often get tired and sick of and irritated by the many things that's wrong with our people, but know that there is hope and that hope is no one but YOU. Get a good education and share your knowledge with others. That's a great start!
Thanks again for dropping by, guley! Hope to see you around more.
Hi Zurfash! Thanks for stopping by my blog this weekend. Please feel free to email me if you would like to contribute to my upcoming faith and modesty series. Since I come from a Christian tradition, much of the series will focus on how modesty affects Christian men and women, but I would love to hear your perspective on how issues of modesty, purity, sexuality, gender relations, etc. affect Muslim men and women.
Thanks for your comment, From Two to One! I'm so, SO sorry for this extremely delayed response :S I have been meaning to email you since forever ago! I will tomorrow :) I hope it's not too late to participate!
I want to know your opinion about the Pakistan Army operation in Swat. 1> Were there any militant group present creating turbulence? 2> There are some video clips on the Internet, showing Pakistan Army beating brutally the Local People and elders are tortured too. So is it True?
1. Yes. This is at least according to the locals of Swat. The experiences of the locals about what the militants did are horrifying and make one shudder.
2. Yes, at least some of them are true. The experiences that the locals have to share about how the army harassed them are very heartbreaking and painful as well.
Some Swatis believe/know that it was all a game of the government and that the Taliban and the government were/are the same people.
Greetings from Australia! Your blog is wonderful, particularly your Islamic Studies. Found your blog through the equally brilliant, The Fatal Feminist. All the best with your studies, bless.
amazed to see this blog and quite happy over the nationalistic sentiments you have for for Pashtuns and Afghans. Gender has been always a barrier to selfawareness even to those Pashtuns who claim to be very progressive and liberal. Consequently, many Pashtuns I have seen / me in may life feel apologitic for their identity which they instead should be proud of...reason behind is the radicalization and Talibanization of the Pashtun belt in Pakistan and Afghanistan. We as Afghans / Pashtuns must know of our roots which has a history of thousands years (more than 5000 old is the Pashtun civilization) and beaware of the fact that Pakistan has given us nothing than the NADRA NICs (national ID cards) and sowing extremists and Islamo beasts in our region - Pakhtunkhwa.
Thanks so much for your visit and comment, Zaheer! I agree that there is nothing to be ashamed of, and IF we find anything we're not proud of in public, we need to work to fix it.
Qrratugai...considering that that comes from qrrate, really cracks me up...LOL...even though you can not really say the "rr" of qrratugai of Pashto in English for the exact same letter doesn't exist in English, but we know what it means :)...I just bumped into your blog while following the Ghazala Javed murder (for whom I'm mighty sorry...not that I'm a loyal fan of hers or anything, but just at the barbarism of our society, and by some of the denigrating comments of some people who sit upon a high fine pulpit trying to spew their religiosity at the rest of us...as if making people happy by music and dance are so sinful...and then there was news that even in death they will not spare her as some dastardly barbarians tried to unearth her mortal remains by burrowing a hole in her grave...where are we?? Are we human or monsters?)...thus its extremely heartening to know that there are women like you also from our ethnicity...I just want to applaud your blog...its great keep it up! TKhan.
Salaam, TKhan! And thank you for your comment :) I'm delighted to hear you found it worth applauding! I'm grateful for your generosity.
I ask myself this all the time (are we humans or monsters?), and what made me feel even worse about Ghazala Javed's murder was the low efforts to unearth her body! That, I couldn't understand at all! We can't let people be in peace even after they're gone.
Thanks again for your visit, and I hope to see you around more often :)
I came across your blog because I wanted to find out more about Malila Yusufzai. I had never heard of her before Tuesday and was immediately in awe of her as well as horrified at what had happened to her. Now I've found your blog I can start finding out the answers to many questions that have been brewing to do with Islam and gender. I look forward now to reading your blog. PS how can I pass on my best wishes and support to Malila and her family?
Hi, Alex :) Apologies for my late response. Thank you for your comment!
You probably already know the answer to your question of how to pass regards to Malala and her family now, but there was a website that the Queen Elizabeth Hospital had for people to send Malala wishes and messages and all. My connection is terribly bad right now, so I can't get to that link but I'll post it to you as soon as I can, if the website is still running, okay?
Thanks again for your message! I'm glad to hear the blog may be of use to you. Please feel free to let us know if you've any questions about Islam, gender issues, Pashtuns, etc. :)
salamoona , great job , we all proud of u , my dear sister do u know about the history of afghans and pashtoons ? If yes plz tell me about the sources because some one here telling me that we don't have any history , i will wait http://www.facebook.com/aaryan08
Thank you for your question. Someone told you a big and unfair lie - every society, every ethnicity, every nation has a history, and the Pashtuns are no exception. I'll write a blog post with a list of resource on Pashtuns, Pashtun history, Pashtun culture, etc. that I hope will help you answer the question properly, kha?
Hi Orbala, I bumped into ur blog through Twitter as I was looking for some likeminded pakhtuns n found it very appealing. You have written about topics one would have in his/her mind but would refrain from talking about, due to the pakhtun upbringing. I am also glad to know that you are from Swat as I my self hail from Matta, Swat. Best of luck with your endeavours. khwashala aw abaad wossey
Hi Orbala, I bumped into ur blog through Twitter as I was looking for some likeminded pakhtuns n found it very appealing. You have written about topics one would have in his/her mind but would refrain from talking about, due to the pakhtun upbringing. I am also glad to know that you are from Swat as I my self hail from Matta, Swat. Best of luck with your endeavours. khwashala aw abaad wossey
Thank you for your comment and your support! I agree - a lot of us have questions, concerns, wonders, and just other thoughts that are absolutely natural, but our upbringing and our ideas of what it means to be Muslim and/or Pashtun really prevent us from discussing them openly.
Looks like you've a blog, too - I can't access it, though. What's the link? I'd like to add it to the list of Pashtun Bloggers list above (in the tab "Pashtun Blogs").
Also, I'm @qrratugai on Twitter. Not sure if we've interacted yet.
Great blog you have ...so many great topics and discussions ...just discovered you!... something is up with our google profile...but here is our (less-frequently used/visited blog): http://poetic-threads.blogspot.com/
Lol @ Qrratu
ReplyDeleteHi, Ayesha! :) Welcome to my blog, and thank you for your comment!
ReplyDeletehahaha ... yeah :p Do you speak/know Pashto?
Thank you for the invitation, Said. That's very generous of you! I'll certainly join.
ReplyDeleteHello, Anonymous!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for dropping by and reading us! Bless you.
salamu'alaikum, mA it's very refreshing to see an Afghan in Islamic Academia.. we definitely need it! I hope iA you benefit the greater Ummah and our people can benefit from your studies! I don't know if you know of another Afghan but she's studyying in Azhar - her name is Muslema Purmul, she writes on http://www.suhaibwebb.com
ReplyDeleteHopefully there can be some working together for us Afghans in the future for some beneficial causes!
Thank you so much for your support, Hasib :) I appreciate your dropping by and commenting! God bless you!
ReplyDeleteHi there :) i just bumped into your blog site while researching material for my paper which is very close to your topics of interest and research. I am working on a minor thesis as part of my MA in International Relations at University of Melbourne. My research focus is the perceived dichotomy between cultural relativism and women's sexual rights. Being a pashtun woman, I have chosen Pashtun culture as my case study for this thesis. Although this is a minor research, i would like to pursue this area as my field of research in future as well. In that, it would be great to get in touch with people like yourself. Do you have any email address that I can use to communicate with you? if you do and would like to discuss this further, please email on nidokhan@gmail.com. Thanks :)
ReplyDeletebest,
nida
NICE TO MEET YOU.
ReplyDelete@ Anonymous: I'm sorry I just saw your comment! I'll contact you soon. :)
ReplyDelete@ Izdiher: Welcome to my blog! Thanks for your comment, jaan!
U're one of the best ambitious Pashtun women Qrratugai <3
ReplyDeleteReading your blog helped me alot.. i've always wanted to change the illiterate society and their backward thinking knowing that am proud to be a PAshtun but there are some customs and traditions specially the mentality of some women that irritates me ..
u are truly an inspiration Sweetheart :*
sta ghwandey Pakhtanu muta zroorat da <3
Ur Sis,
Asma
Pa khair, Asma jaaney!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your comment! I'm happy to know this blog has been of some help to you :) You're welcome here any time, and if you've any suggestions for topic you want me to write on more, don't hesitate to let me know.
The trick to learning to appreciate yourself and your people (in our case, the Pukhtuns) is to understand why we were are where we are today. It doesn't mean we should excuse our backwardness, but it's so that we don't start to look down upon our people and see ourselves as better than them just because we are, say, more educated or prefer a different lifestyle than the one they're used to. So, don't worry :) I, too, often get tired and sick of and irritated by the many things that's wrong with our people, but know that there is hope and that hope is no one but YOU. Get a good education and share your knowledge with others. That's a great start!
Thanks again for dropping by, guley! Hope to see you around more.
I just love it..in ur ...Pa khair, Welcome......"Ahlan wa Sahlan"..nothing to b amazaed..i m in Saudi Arab!
ReplyDeleteBlogggg is suprrrrrrrrrrrrbbbbbbbbbb...Qurratugai...khu hr sa losssthll ba pakay wkht akhlee..khafa kaigy ba na!!
LOL! Thanks, Majida! That's okay - you can take your time :D Che kala kala ratley she, nu dagha hum zamung da paara der di :) Khushala osa, wrorgiya!
ReplyDeleteHi Zurfash! Thanks for stopping by my blog this weekend. Please feel free to email me if you would like to contribute to my upcoming faith and modesty series. Since I come from a Christian tradition, much of the series will focus on how modesty affects Christian men and women, but I would love to hear your perspective on how issues of modesty, purity, sexuality, gender relations, etc. affect Muslim men and women.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, From Two to One!
DeleteI'm so, SO sorry for this extremely delayed response :S I have been meaning to email you since forever ago! I will tomorrow :) I hope it's not too late to participate!
I want to know your opinion about the Pakistan Army operation in Swat.
ReplyDelete1> Were there any militant group present creating turbulence?
2> There are some video clips on the Internet, showing Pakistan Army beating brutally the Local People and elders are tortured too. So is it True?
Thanks for your comment, Zaman!
Delete1. Yes. This is at least according to the locals of Swat. The experiences of the locals about what the militants did are horrifying and make one shudder.
2. Yes, at least some of them are true. The experiences that the locals have to share about how the army harassed them are very heartbreaking and painful as well.
Some Swatis believe/know that it was all a game of the government and that the Taliban and the government were/are the same people.
Mashallah.. deer khawand ye waky.. deera khawza zabaa karawey..
ReplyDeleteThanks, Habib!
DeleteGreetings from Australia! Your blog is wonderful, particularly your Islamic Studies. Found your blog through the equally brilliant, The Fatal Feminist. All the best with your studies, bless.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your lovely comment :)
DeleteWhat do you study? Are you in a similar/same field? I love it - it's great!
thank u
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome :)
Deleteamazed to see this blog and quite happy over the nationalistic sentiments you have for for Pashtuns and Afghans. Gender has been always a barrier to selfawareness even to those Pashtuns who claim to be very progressive and liberal. Consequently, many Pashtuns I have seen / me in may life feel apologitic for their identity which they instead should be proud of...reason behind is the radicalization and Talibanization of the Pashtun belt in Pakistan and Afghanistan. We as Afghans / Pashtuns must know of our roots which has a history of thousands years (more than 5000 old is the Pashtun civilization) and beaware of the fact that Pakistan has given us nothing than the NADRA NICs (national ID cards) and sowing extremists and Islamo beasts in our region - Pakhtunkhwa.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your visit and comment, Zaheer!
DeleteI agree that there is nothing to be ashamed of, and IF we find anything we're not proud of in public, we need to work to fix it.
I hope to see you around more often!
Qrratugai...considering that that comes from qrrate, really cracks me up...LOL...even though you can not really say the "rr" of qrratugai of Pashto in English for the exact same letter doesn't exist in English, but we know what it means :)...I just bumped into your blog while following the Ghazala Javed murder (for whom I'm mighty sorry...not that I'm a loyal fan of hers or anything, but just at the barbarism of our society, and by some of the denigrating comments of some people who sit upon a high fine pulpit trying to spew their religiosity at the rest of us...as if making people happy by music and dance are so sinful...and then there was news that even in death they will not spare her as some dastardly barbarians tried to unearth her mortal remains by burrowing a hole in her grave...where are we?? Are we human or monsters?)...thus its extremely heartening to know that there are women like you also from our ethnicity...I just want to applaud your blog...its great keep it up! TKhan.
ReplyDeleteSalaam, TKhan! And thank you for your comment :) I'm delighted to hear you found it worth applauding! I'm grateful for your generosity.
DeleteI ask myself this all the time (are we humans or monsters?), and what made me feel even worse about Ghazala Javed's murder was the low efforts to unearth her body! That, I couldn't understand at all! We can't let people be in peace even after they're gone.
Thanks again for your visit, and I hope to see you around more often :)
Salaam,
ReplyDeleteDer Kha blog dae. Der mehnath sara likal kay. I appreciate your effort.
Majid Suhail
Balarkhela, thank you very much for your generous thoughts :) God reward you!
DeleteI came across your blog because I wanted to find out more about Malila Yusufzai. I had never heard of her before Tuesday and was immediately in awe of her as well as horrified at what had happened to her. Now I've found your blog I can start finding out the answers to many questions that have been brewing to do with Islam and gender. I look forward now to reading your blog. PS how can I pass on my best wishes and support to Malila and her family?
ReplyDeleteHi, Alex :)
DeleteApologies for my late response. Thank you for your comment!
You probably already know the answer to your question of how to pass regards to Malala and her family now, but there was a website that the Queen Elizabeth Hospital had for people to send Malala wishes and messages and all. My connection is terribly bad right now, so I can't get to that link but I'll post it to you as soon as I can, if the website is still running, okay?
Thanks again for your message! I'm glad to hear the blog may be of use to you. Please feel free to let us know if you've any questions about Islam, gender issues, Pashtuns, etc. :)
best wishes,
k, Alex, I found the site. Here:
Deletehttp://www.uhb.nhs.uk/malala-yousafzai.htm
You can leave a message to Malala on that message board, and rest assured that it'll reach her. (Isn't that a great service?!)
salamoona , great job , we all proud of u , my dear sister do u know about the history of afghans and pashtoons ?
ReplyDeleteIf yes plz tell me about the sources because some one here telling me that we don't have any history , i will wait
http://www.facebook.com/aaryan08
Pa khair, Noorulhaq!
DeleteThank you for your question. Someone told you a big and unfair lie - every society, every ethnicity, every nation has a history, and the Pashtuns are no exception. I'll write a blog post with a list of resource on Pashtuns, Pashtun history, Pashtun culture, etc. that I hope will help you answer the question properly, kha?
Thanks again for your comment!
Hi Orbala, I bumped into ur blog through Twitter as I was looking for some likeminded pakhtuns n found it very appealing. You have written about topics one would have in his/her mind but would refrain from talking about, due to the pakhtun upbringing. I am also glad to know that you are from Swat as I my self hail from Matta, Swat. Best of luck with your endeavours. khwashala aw abaad wossey
ReplyDeleteHi Orbala, I bumped into ur blog through Twitter as I was looking for some likeminded pakhtuns n found it very appealing. You have written about topics one would have in his/her mind but would refrain from talking about, due to the pakhtun upbringing. I am also glad to know that you are from Swat as I my self hail from Matta, Swat. Best of luck with your endeavours. khwashala aw abaad wossey
ReplyDeletePa khair, Saifullah :)
DeleteThank you for your comment and your support! I agree - a lot of us have questions, concerns, wonders, and just other thoughts that are absolutely natural, but our upbringing and our ideas of what it means to be Muslim and/or Pashtun really prevent us from discussing them openly.
Looks like you've a blog, too - I can't access it, though. What's the link? I'd like to add it to the list of Pashtun Bloggers list above (in the tab "Pashtun Blogs").
Also, I'm @qrratugai on Twitter. Not sure if we've interacted yet.
Best,
Hi there Again, I dont have a blog n hate writing but am a very good listener though. That account is my google account, dunno somehow works here.
ReplyDeletekeep up the good work!!
Saif
Great blog you have ...so many great topics and discussions
ReplyDelete...just discovered you!...
something is up with our google profile...but here is our (less-frequently used/visited blog):
http://poetic-threads.blogspot.com/
Thank you so much for your wonderful writings in so many areas of interest. Angel
ReplyDeleteSo are you afghan og pakistani? Im a little confused..
ReplyDeleteI'm a Pakistani Pashtun.
DeleteIf Pashtuns are ethnically Afghan (which is what we're classified as in Pakistan on our ID cards), then I'm ethnically Afghan but from Pakistan.
Or as I like to say it more simply, I'm a Pashtun from Pakistan.
MashaAllah Dheer Khokole - In Sha Allah Will read Your Blogs - Your blog is wonderful, Wish You All the Best :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Spin Gwala!!
Deletethe Village of Qurratu, this blog is the most interesting blog i had ever seen! :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd appreciate you for promoting Pushton Bloggers and Culture.....
Thank you Syed :) I've added your blog to my list of bloggers. Khushala she!
Deletei also writes at ibnirshad9.blogspot.com ....................
ReplyDeleteYou are amazing! I love reading your blog and always look forward to coming back for more :) Thank you for all that you do :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, anonymous :) That's very kind of you to say! God bless you.
Deleteorbala!!! r u on facebook?
ReplyDeleteSalamoona, iam from Khyber Agency, Pakistan and i want to write for your blog. How can i contact with you and what will be the procedure?
ReplyDeleteW/S, Mansoor,
DeleteThank you for your comment. You're welcome to send me whatever you'd like me to publish on my blog at orbala1@gmail.com.
Best,