SAHAR Magazine

SAHAR - The Voices of Pashtuns is an e-magazine produced and edited by Azra Nafees. It consists of writings by Pashtuns, regardless of their age, location, creed, etc. Its first issue was out in June and can be accessed through here; its second issue was in July and can be accessed, along with future issues, through this link.
Further, Azra's message to Pashtuns regarding Sahar can be seen at this link. (The magazine was formerly called Sabawoon.)

Now, as we are fairly new, we need more writers and readers. I'm writing this here to ask my readers to spread the word around. If you know any (Pashtun) writers or are one yourself, please have your piece(s) sent to Sahar at editorsahar@gmail.com. It is a great way for Pashtuns to come together for the same cause, to get a good start towards uniting our race, to raise our voices loud enough so that we can be heard universally, and -- last but not least -- to discover talent among Pashtuns! :)

As for the topics, as long as they are related to Pashtuns (our history, politics, geo-politics, economy, society, current affairs, culture, war/peace, leadership, etc., etc.), they are more than welcomed and appreciated. Pashto writing is also encouraged, whether written in the Pashto alphabet or transliterated. All forms of writings are acceptable as well, from articles to essays to poetry to prose. If you can think of something else, that'll be fine, too, I'm sure ;) Of course, it would have to go through Azra, who'd have to okay it, but as long as it's well-written and is "appropriate" enough for the magazine, it's all good. And if it's not accepted for one issue, it's most likely because it was turned in too late for that issue and will then certainly be considered for the next one. But in Azra's words to me, "Everyone is going to get their turn."

Anyway, Sahar thanks you in advance for your support and contribution! We look forward to hearing your voices, Pashtuns!

My Perception of Happiness

Some days ago, I met with a good friend, and we had a blast talking about what it means to be happy. You see, I have been questioning the concept of happiness for quite a while now, like REALLY questioning it, you know? And I am confident that I have FINALLY settled on my own concept of it. Or perhaps it is contentment I have defined? No, it can’t be since contentment would be more like just being satisfied with what I have and is included in my definition of happiness, but happiness goes beyond what contentment is. Yeah, so, either way, let’s just please talk about happiness, k?

We often hear people saying, “Will I ever be happy?" or "I need peace!" Well, if we wanna live a life of happiness, we must first define happiness for ourselves (and the definition is bound to vary from person to person). If we wanna live a life of peace and satisfaction, we must first define these as well then -- i.e., what makes us happy, and are those our needs or wants or what? Can we be happy without them, too? When do we feel at peace? And, most importantly, how can we tell when we are at peace or are happy?

~ What is Happiness?
According to my new thoughts, happiness is a mental state in which our mind and heart are most at ease. We create this happiness ourselves, though with some outside influence (such as life circumstances and other individuals), but it is how much of a say we let this outside influence have that determines our happiness – or the lack of it. The happier we are, the more we're proving to ourselves that no one and nothing else controls us, that we can be happy in spite of the illnesses (sick people, sick ideas, etc.) that prevail all over us. We don't need anything or anyone else to make us happy, and IF we believe we do, then we'll never achieve full and sincere happiness; we'll always be unstable. And IF we choose to let others decide if we'll experience happiness or not, then we must be careful in WHOM we give that right (or privilege, I shall say) to. This is when choosing our circle of friends carefully plays a vital role: if we're with the wrong people, we'll never allow ourselves to be happy. Now, if there are circumstances in our lives that are causing our unhappiness and lack of satisfaction or denying us peace, then we should do something about it and try to get out of it. If there is nothing we can do about it, however, then we should just stay with them an find happiness within the confines of those circumstances. We should live up to them, unless we can do something about it, and all shall be well. It may sound too impractical or unrealistic and all, but that's where inner satisfaction / happiness lies. And, actually, no, it’s NOT impractical or unrealistic because I myself am feeling on top of the world right now for having decided that I am in charge of my own happiness; no one will do anything to take MY happiness away from me, and never shall I ever do anything to take someone else’s from them.

~ Giving Others Power Over Us
I have also gathered that happiness and inferiority go hand-in-hand. In one of the Princess Diary movies, this guy tells the princess, "Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent." (I believe this quote was originally told by Eleanor Roosevelt.) I think it was from that moment (which was like, what, three or four years ago when I watched the movie?) that I started wondering if I give others the consent to make me feel inferior. When we let others make us feel down, we are submitting to other people’s wishes and expectations and thereby suffering from an invisible form of inferiority complex – yes, which would be that they don’t realize that they have the illness.

In essence, when we are happy – and I mean REALLY happy, like when both our heart and mind are at ease and relaxed – we have won the battle against those who think they have power over us, since the more unhappy we are, the more authority we have given others over us. The important thing, therefore, is to never let anyone – or anything – else have ANY power over us. Things will go wrong in our lives, and people will hurt us (but the secret is to just laugh at them for being such asses, LOL. k, sorry, that was a joke.), but it is how we interpret these happenings that can decide whether we'll be happy or not.

~ Sorrow and Happiness
However, I think I should also mention sorrow here since both sorrow and happiness go hand-in-hand, and we can’t expect to be happy all the time. Yeah. Well, let’s see. If we ALWAYS interpret our surroundings circumstances I mentioned earlier in a way that'll ALWAYS make us happy, then that's not real happiness, either. In order to feel real happiness, we must feel sorrow so that we know that happiness is basically the lack of sorrow. Naturally, there will come times when no matter what we do or think, sorrow will be taking over, and there’s nothing wrong with that except when we let it take control too much, too many times.
But ultimately, we all have our own source of happiness, different for each person. What makes one person happy may not make another person happy, or at least in the same way or to the same extent. Similarly, the way we deal with our happiness, as with our sorrows, differ, or even what gives birth to these two. So it's just a matter of figuring out what those sources and ways are and then learning to deal with them in a way that will give us some power in our feelings.

~ Summary
All in all, our happiness is up to us, and if we let others define or decide it for us, then we're in a way submitting to their will; and when we submit to the will of others (unless it is to God's, of course), we'll never find the ultimate state of happiness. And this is achievable because – as I shared earlier. Still, we should try to balance our feelings and emotions, however, so that it's not JUST happiness that is ruling our lives but also some sorrow. After all, how can we know we are happy -- or appreciate it -- when we have never felt its opposite?

When I Look in the Mirror

What, or who, do I see when I look in the mirror?

This is a question that I think everyone should ask him/herself at different stages in life. Maybe it would teach us who we are, who we want to be, what is wrong within us, what is right within us, and how to work on bettering ourselves.

As for me, when I look in the mirror, I think to myself, "Yeah, okay, I’m not the most beautiful woman in the world, but I am not ugly either. Not at all, in fact. And that's all that matters." Obviously, my face is the first thing I notice, and what defines external beauty is much of what is found in the face, not exactly the rest of the body. If I didn’t think I was beautiful, I would not be the person I am right now because I can imagine the many problems that would be glued to my lack of self-esteem. Thinking I’m not ugly at all solves my problem of self-confidence as well.

But the first and MOST important person I see in the mirror is ... a Pashtun female who is frustrated with several of her traditional standards. These standards don’t affect me personally or directly, but they affect other women of my race, and the frustration has predictably evolved into a smothering disturbance that is compelling me to speak up for those whose voices have been silenced for centuries, if not millennia. The woman I see in the mirror is a potential reflection of the woman whom my culture may breed were it given permission and provided opportunity, by women and men both, to do so; unfortunately, society is not given this permission -- yet. I see myself as another burden on my Pashtun society, a burden like Malalai – an Afghan female police officer who imprisoned and punished men who abused their female family members; she was murdered by the Taliban in October 2008. But I am convinced that only through females like Malalai will our society be able to become tolerant towards outspoken women, and what better way to see that happening than to be such a woman myself?

I see a confused student who is unsure of what she wants to do for life – become a lawyer, a journalist, a women’s studies professor, an Islamic studies student who would study Arabic enough to be able to interpret the Quran for herself, a researcher on Pashtun women, or all of these (maybe at different stages).

I see a Muslim female who is more than certain about her religious beliefs, which are extreme neither in the liberal nor the conservative sense. I a Muslim who has developed, constructed, and embraced her own conception of the Invisible Divine Being she calls God and couldn’t be any happier regarding her relationship with Her God.

I see myself as all of these above anything else because my race and religion are the most prominent characters that make up who I am. Realizing this now makes me feel like an ingrate for not mentioning the many other things that help complete my whole being, such as my being able to walk, talk, think for myself, see, go to school, and so on. It is as though these latter points are a given, as though I have to be able to do these anyway. This is not the case, though, practically speaking. There are many people worldwide are denied the opportunity to be educated, many religious believers are forbidden to ask questions and/or think, and many humans lack the faculty of seeing or hearing or some others. Is this why a physically disabled person is looked at as a different being, and he/she has a different place in society (and usually low one in eastern cultures)? Yes, the difference between "normal" and "abnormal" people is evident and should not be denied, and I’m not implying that there should be no such gap, but perhaps we take our privileges and rights for granted sometimes? Maybe not necessarily on purpose, as privilege is invisible, but without realizing it.

A few months ago, or actually a year ago, I would not have seen myself as a Pashtun woman because I denied myself this ethnic title of mine, this blood. But as I learned, read, and pondered over my history and culture and people, I realized I had nothing to run away from and that the problems that my people are facing can only be solved by those who realize and understand them and plot practical solutions for them; running away from them and denying my own identity was not the solution to anything but would only keep me a confused woman for the rest of my life, until I accepted who I was. So what has changed that today, the first thing I see in the mirror is a Pashtun? I’m not sure. Does one have to know what one really is, or is not, in order to see, like, and appreciate oneself? Do people who think they are ugly see themselves as ugly first, or do they consider their other qualities as well?

Yes, it would do most of us much good if we asked ourselves this question more frequently, just to appreciate who we are and to work on bettering ourselves when we are displeased with the person we meet in the mirror.

Participating in an Oppressive Society

In his article Patriarchy, the System: An It, Not a He, a Them, or an Us, Allan G. Johnson points out that every member of a society participates in its social construction, that we live in an oppressive system in which “all men and all women are involved ... and none can control whether we participate – only how.” I think about this and wonder how true it is. Does anyone get a say in whether or not to participate in the society we all have built together? Many of us willingly deny it, claiming that rules and regulations have already been set for us, and our obligation is to respect and follow them as they are, without questioning or challenging them. Is that true? If so, does it have to be true?

Humans are the ones who have formed those rules together. Religious groups of people argue that it is God, or whoever their Divine Being may be, who has set the standards for them, but humans have been the ones to set them in stones for themselves. In cases where God has proposed the norms, we humans are and have been the ones to interpret those norms based on the time and society we live in.

Both women and men, therefore, have a say in how their society is to function. In cultures where men dominate and rule their women, the women’s say comes in when they submit to those standards. If women were to stand up as one and together fight against their mistreatment, they would have as much a say. It is then up to these women to decide if they want to remain where they are, whether they choose to be continued stepped upon and battered by each traditional guideline that their ancestors outlined and implemented in their culture, or whether they stand up and look their treatment straight in the face with a raised chin and say, “Enough is enough. This worked for us centuries ago, and perhaps even decades ago, but now it does not apply anymore. Times have changed, and we have risen. We need not subjugate either gender, or build a hierarchy, in order to be in peace. We need to work alongside each other, men with women, and vice versa, children with elders, and vice versa, in order to be a healthy society that both genders call a secure home.”

Ta Laare Da Bal Cha Shwe

My second Pashto poem (the first one is rreally, really, REALLY, really bad so ain't worth sharing ... but I may still upload it some day :D).

Ta Laare Da Bal Cha Shwe

Maa weil mung ba yaozai shu, pa tora tora shpa ke
Spogmai pa sar walaara, da khaista storo da laande
Kho jor hera de krram, gula, ta che laare bewafa shwe
Au da bal gulab baora shwe
Maa we ta ba zama she, za ba sta sham
Kho ta laare da bal cha shwe

Maa weil charta ba laar shu, sam laree ao yawaze
Zama da zrra har yao armaan, zama jwand tol sta pa laas ke
Kho taa awaz onako, ta che da bale khule khanda shwe
Au da bal storee ranra shwe
Maa we ta ba zama she, za ba sta sham
Kho ta laare da bal cha shwe

Maa weil charta ba keeno, za ao ta da seend pa ghaara
Zrruna ba khpal spak ku, yao bal ta munga dwanra
Kho sta sara zrra na wo, ta che da bal zargee dua shwe
Au zama na beparwa shwe
Maa we ta ba zama she, za ba sta sham
Kho ta laare da bal cha shwe

Maa weil ta ba laas raakre, pa khushalai ao pa khanda
Dwanra ba yao shu pa maza, da ghamuno, selabuno na fana
Kho pa naseeb na shwe zama, ta che da bal ranzor shafa shwe
Au zama da jwand saza shwe
Maa we ta ba zama she, za ba sta sham
Kho ta laare da bal cha shwe

Extremism and Religion - Part I

I know too many people who think religion is bad for humanity. I can understand their view, but I also think they are looking at religion from only one angle, which may be a distorted view and not fair enough to make one jump to such a conclusion. I’m sure they have their own reasons for being anti-religion, but I find it utterly ignorant to go around with slogans that violently scream: "DEATH TO RELIGION! DEATH TO GOD!"

Most such people believe this way only because of what they see extremist religious people doing around the world. But do these people think they are being any less extremist when they go from one extremism to another? Perhaps the only difference between the Taliban and/or other extremists MAY be that these extremist atheists/agnostics don’t kill others. But, oh, they DO with their beliefs, their ignorance, their blindness, if I may say so openly. They believe that beliefs are supposed to be personal (I believe this, too), yet they go around bashing anyone who believes in God and labels him/her barbaric. I guess they think that makes sense . . .

So here’s my views on religion in regards to humanity - as in, whether it's good or bad for humanity overall.

If we look at religion from only ONE side and consider ONLY the harms of it, then of course it's a bad thing. Let’s take Islam, for instance. No, wait, this applies to ALL religions. If they are interpreted from a male’s perspective, then it’s deadly for humanity – okay, for women at least. But if we could interpret their teachings from a different outlook, a different gender, a more JUST mind, while living in our own time, then perhaps we could have more peace worldwide.

When people argue that religion overall is bad, my response is ... they may be wrong, they may be right. Since religious teachings (of ANY religion, not just Islam) are always subject to the interpretation of the stronger and usually selfish and biased mind, it can have extremely negative impact on society. And that's proven to us already. We have the Taliban currently controlling Pashtun regions in Pakistan; there are Muslims in the east, particularly in the Arab cultures, who consider women too weak to even breathe for themselves; and there’s classical and modern records of wars fought on the basis of religion, only because each religion wants to dominate all others.

BUT if it's interpreted properly, in the present time in which the religion is being practiced, then religion may have a healthier impact. Religion can make you either a very good person or it can make you really evil. One Pashtun leader, named Abdul Ghaffar Khan (because we appreciate what all he did for us Pashtuns, we refer to him out of love and respect as "Bacha Khan") interpreted religion (Islam) in such a way that led him to fight for the freedom of Pashtuns. He interpreted it to mean peace, success, happiness, stability -- ONLY if it's followed properly. He fought for the education of women, the liberation of women from the oppressions, the freedom for humans to be able to speak against injustices and fight FOR justice. There are some others like him who have used religion in a very peaceful manner, though such people are NOT common, unfortunately.

And my point? Simply this: it's ALL a matter of understanding a religion’s teachings and applying them to the time and culture in which you are living. You hear something about it, don't just stick with the first impression it makes in your mind but consider seeing it from different angles. Perhaps your first impression that hits you from whichever angle is not the right one, not the just one. I have personally witnessed (not just read or heard of) the harms that religion (interpretations of it) can do, and my people (the Pashtuns) are currently suffering from it, too. But does that mean I should call for NO RELIGION, NO RELIGION, NO RELIGION -- or carry slogans that scream "DEATH TO RELIGION!"? No, that'd be very dumb and ignorant of me, or of anyone who does that. We must first analyze the situation, analyze the argument, tackle it from different viewpoints, and see where it leads us.

I must admit, though, that people who have suffered a lot due to religion have every reason to leave that particular religion or religion in general (or just stop believing in God, if they choose). They've seen what we haven't seen, they've felt what we haven't felt, and religion doesn't work for THEM the way it may work for us. I have friends who have left religion (3 so far: Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism) only because of what they have been through throughout their life. I respect their decision, and I think anyone who looks down upon them is cursed with a blind heart, blind mind, AND a blind eye.

Then I also have friends who have accepted religion only because of what they have been through in life. For most people who stay in religion, that's their only hope. They *believe* that they'll go to a better place after death, and whether they're right or wrong is JUST a matter of faith; perhaps they're living a false dream by believing that, but who are we to decide that they're wrong?

There exist people in this world who do good only in order to seek some reward from God after they die (or even in this world; for some people, this is good) and avoid doing bad deeds (be it lying or cheating or cursing or abusing others or whatever else they may consider "sinful") only in order to avoid being punished by God. Yes, one can argue that these people are just selfish, but so what? If it helps them lead a good and healthy life, what business does anyone else have regarding them? It's always great to learn about different beliefs, but the reason for that should only and only be so that our minds can open more widely and accept different beliefs, not so we can mock others for their beliefs just because they are different than ours. There's absolutely nothing wrong with not believing in God, believing in more than one God, or being completely against religion and not having any, but something goes oppressively wrong when we deafen and blinden ourselves to the *fact* that we are not always right in our beliefs; there's nothing wrong unless and until we go around insulting others who believe differently than we do.

So whether religion is good or bad for humanity is a highly personal belief/opinion. It can go both ways, and I agree that it can have harmful effects -- but it can also give fruitful results if we let it. We decide which one we want it to be and have NO right to tell others how they should believe, how stupid their beliefs are, and which beliefs they should get rid of it. If we sincerely care about humanity, we'll only educate others in a proper manner and then let the people decide for themselves what's best for them. Only when their beliefs are affecting us negatively should we fight back and stand up for our own, which are not supposed to harm anyone.

P.S. I'm not done here :O I'll post the next part to this in a couple of days. I have a LOT to say on this matter, bahaha.

Exposing the Flogging-Video: Bad Idea?

So I have come across quite a few people who, believing that Samar Minallah was the one who recorded and internationally exposed the video of the flogging of the 17-year-old girl from Swat, condemn Samar's actions.
Shouldn't we question the accusation that Samar Minallah made this video in the first place? I highly doubt she was the one who recorded it or was a personal witness to it all, even. Many sources indicate that Samar merely circulated the video. And she shouldn’t be punished for having done so, because a LOT of people did that, too! Including me! And if it wasn't to be circulated, the event should never have taken place in the first place -- if those who carried out the action are so ashamed of it now or are cowards enough to say, "This was only for those who were present at the moment! No one was supposed to even get a glimpse of it!"

Samar has been interviewed, and her comments have appeared in various sources, but that doesn't necessarily mean that she was behind the making of the clip. All the stuff she's said to these sources, I would've said them myself, too, had I been the one being interrogated.

Now, the reason some people disagree with the publication of this video is that ... well, one reason is that they think it’s fake. Well! Let it be fake! It’s REALITY for Pashtuns, nonetheless! The public flogging is still nothing compared to the beheading and butchering my people have witnessed! And it still symbolizes our pain and mistreatment; it still illustrates our fate if the Taliban continue ruling us.

There are other people, though, who are angered by the video because they believe it has put the girl's reputation at stake now. But what kind of a society and humans living in that society would prefer a girl's "reputation" or honor to publicizing the injustices done to them? This girl represents the people of Swat and other regions where we are being ruled by Taliban. What's been done to her will no doubt be the fate of every girl who does something that the Taliban don't personally like! Did they have evidence for her "crime"? No, they didn't. Just like that, they can catch any girl and claim she did something that Islam doesn't allow and then punish her in such a humiliating manner.

Besides, right now is not the time for us to worry about our personal family honor/reputation. How dare we think of such a selfish thing when our whole RACE is being dishonored and mistreated by the Taliabn (and/or Pakistan army/govt)? And what about the reputation of Pukhtuns as a whole, as we are degraded on our own soil?
If this were my own sister, I, too, would be up for demanding justice for the hell she suffered. Or would I be expected to remain silent about it just because exposing her injustice would stain my family reputation?

The reason I am glad about the worldwide exposure of this video is that, you see, no one heard our screams as we silently shouted for help through our desperate sighs -- for the world to see us suffering in the hands of the Taliban throughout these last couple of dreadful years. We suffered seeing at least four headless bodies hanging on poles (in Green Chauk, Mingora – now referred to as “Khooni Chauk”!), and people worldwide thought it too trivial a matter to be discussed or looked into; we suffered watching hundreds of our schools being burned to ashes, and the world didn't think it was important enough to be mourned over or to help those who were going to be affected by it; we suffered the butchering of our fathers and brothers and sons – our sole breadwinners – and no one deemed it necessary to offer us food and clothing; we suffered the destruction of our safe homes, and the billions of citizens of the world remain focused on themselves (I forgive those who are suffering themselves); we suffered reluctantly fleeing our own land in hopes of a better place, and witnesses just watched us leave. And the list goes on.
Clearly, no one was hearing our cries or sharing our pain with us. The world merely served as a useless spectator.

Now ... now, FINALLY, our voice is being heard! Our pain is FINALLY appealing to the world! That only through this emotional, heartbreaking video of a girl's being flogged in public by REAL sinners (the Taliban and the girl’s OWN brother), and our voice is being heard universally. People at my school know of Pashtuns and our genocide now! (It doesn't matter that they may not be able to help us; awareness is still important.) Still, we condemn the publication and universal exposure of this video? People don't seem to have talked against the TALIBAN as openly, as widely as they are doing about Samar. How disheartening.

Anyways ... so I don't think it was a bad idea at all. If we had hidden this from the world, too, then NONE of our injustices would've been revealed; at least one has been revealed this way :)

Farhat Taj: Letter from the Frontier

Farhat Taj
Friday, April 3, 2009

I am from the North West Frontier Province in Pakistan and am studying at the University of Oslo. All my family and friends live in the frontier areas, and I have gone to my area at least once every year since I came to Norway.

I am writing because I am so very fed up with “experts” in both Pakistan and the West constantly distorting the realities of our people and area. Most of them do not even bother to come and see what is happening. I am asking in the name of objective journalism for some space so I may speak as a daughter of the land for our people.

The people living in northwestern Pakistan under Taliban rule are being held hostage. The Taliban terrorists have unleashed a reign of terror on the people, who are not willing to give up their Pashtun culture. They are overpowered by the armed militants. Their lives, livelihood and culture are attacked by the Taliban in league with al Qaeda.

Every day, people must bury friends and neighbors who have been tortured to death and beheaded. The Taliban hang up dead bodies of local people in public places to deter those who might think of standing up to them. The Taliban have destroyed educational institutions, for both girls and boys, and health centers. They have banned music and dance, which are some of the most cherished Pashtun traditions. The Taliban Shariah courts harass people every day.

The al Qaeda terrorists are alien Arabs, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Chechens, Afghans and even Africans. The Taliban also consist of many criminal gangs from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The Taliban have replaced the Pashtun culture with the Wahhabi way of life - the violent and intolerant interpretation of Islam sponsored by Arab sources in the Middle East.

In several towns, the people took up arms against al Qaeda and the Taliban. In most cases, the tribal armies were massacred by the Taliban and al Qaeda. The Pakistani army did not help, and the leaders of the local people's armies were targeted for death by the militants, one by one or in groups through suicide bombing. In several places, the local people are still resisting the Taliban and al Qaeda, but the militants have much better weapons and tools of communication than the local people.

Despite the massacre of so many young men of the area, local resistance against the Taliban and al Qaeda is going on from tribe to tribe and village to village. There could be much more robust tribal resistance to the Taliban and al Qaeda if the tribes were assured that Pakistan's army stands firmly with them and will show up in case help is needed. More important, they need to be confident that the intelligence agencies of Pakistan will not tacitly facilitate terrorist killings of tribal leaders and massacres of their armies.

People in Pakistan's frontier areas live under a brutal occupation of the Islamist militants. Yet most “expert analysts” on the area, both in Pakistan and in the West, do not appreciate the situation. Most do not even bother to come to the area to see what is happening to the people. Some of the so-called experts literally spread lies about the people.

This situation is very painful for me as a person who belongs to the area. I would ask that American readers be very critical of the “expert” views and try to find out about the reality on the ground.

Farhat Taj, a university student in Norway, is a woman from the frontier region of Pakistan, which is under Taliban rule.

SOURCE: Washington Times

More Serious Things to Worry about, No?... Probably Not.

Pre-script: I know this is a very un-serious post, but I still have something important to say. In the end, I guess. Fine, I'll TRY to keep it short (LOL, LOL, LOL! What, sorry that was a joke.) And who ever decided that Qrratugai must always write about serious issues and nothing else that travels in her mind? Well :) Welcome to Qrratugai's world, and at last ... you're experiencing hearing Qrratugai's REAL Qrratey (the best way to translate that might be "The Talkative Girl's Useless Talks," I am thinking).

So... a few weeks ago, I was invited by a really good friend to join this website that is for Muslim females only; no non-Muslims and no males are allowed to join the circle at all. It’s called something like a "Sisterhood Circle." (I won’t give the web address of it because, as bitter as I may be towards it, I think it’d be dishonorable and wrong of me to expose it when it’s meant for females only.)
Now, I was really happy there, I enjoyed my time there, I enjoyed posting blogs there (about Pukhtuns and our current genocide and some random things about Islam because, after all, it was/is a Muslim Circle). As I am about everything that I’m a part of, I was very passionate about this circle as well; I was very active there and joined several groups and discussions wherever I thought my thoughts and ideas were needed. A lot of the females there were new converts to Islam and had several questions to ask here and there, something I really appreciated and enjoyed responding to. Now, their questions were like, "Are we really not allowed to keep dogs inside our houses?" or "Are we really not allowed to take pictures? I have a lot of pictures of my family, and they bring good memories. Do I really have to get rid of them?" and other such questions. Mind me all you want, but I thought it was important that I mention to them to – for God’s sake – be more practical, more realistic. Clearly, that wasn't the most brilliant idea I've ever come up with :O I thought it was, eh. Well, I wrote a blog saying that I think we have much more serious things to worry about.... What! I was and still am serious! :S People are dying all over the world, people are hungry and need our help, women are being raped and are shouting for justice, languages are being wiped off the face of the earth, and there are at leas three million and a half more problems that I can think of, or that you can think of, I’m sure. So I expressed my thoughts and said something around the lines of:

Look, guys, does it really matter? I understand that what’s important to one person may be something totally trivial to another, but we really should be focusing on the bigger picture. What kind of a God is gonna punish someone, say a really good person, for having a dog inside his/her home or for taking pictures? All Islam asks is that you don’t worship those photos and illustrations and whatnot, and all’s well. And if you PERSONALLY don’t agree with the idea, then is it really belief? I don’t know about others, but I don’t think that’s sincere belief. And what’s the point of believing if one’s not gonna agree with it in one’s heart? But putting this aside, does it make sense at all that we wonder if our fasts have been accepting just because we broke it or kept a few seconds after/before the times set on our time tables at home (or are they, like, actually carved in stones but copied on those time tables?)? Does it ever occur to us that there may be some discrepancies, and it should be perfectly fine if our fasts are broken a little while after or before those times? And should it really matter if we can eat skittles/Doritos/starbursts/etc. when we should be more worried about things that are destroying humanity?

And next thing I knew – I was BANNED from the website! I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but I thought it was amusing so I laughed at it :S. I mean, really, what the hell.

Well, I’m gonna continue enjoying eating my skittles and Doritos and starbursts, and you continue forbidding the pleasure of it upon your sad selves just because you’re fooled into believing that it is haraam (forbidden) No hard feelings; we just have different understanding of the whole idea of something that’s allowed vs something that’s forbidden, no? There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as you let me live in peace with my beliefs and I let you live in peace with yours. And just as long as you don’t force yours upon me or consider me inferior to you just because yours are different than mine (I’d even like to say that ... well, just as long as you don’t think I’m gonna go to hell just cause I believe differently, BUT unfortunately, I can’t change the thoughts swimming in your head, so I’ll let you have that one, k? And so what if you think I’mma go to hell and you to heaven? LOL! I’m interested to see your ticket to heaven and mine to hell, actually. If you don’t have one for me OR for you, then quit talking BS about it :) It makes you look really, really dumb and unworthy of my respect and attention. No hard feelings, still, no hard feelings. Really.)

Oh, and then when I tried to discuss this with the girl who owned the website, she refused to talk to me about it. I don’t know why? BUT she claimed to someone else that the fact that I’d NOT given my real location was another reason she banned me. Oh, GEEZ, why on earth would I reveal my location like that? :| Anyone who wants to know can ask me any time, and the people who are important to me KNOW already where I live, so what’s up with that, buds? And then not to mention – I was never warned about this! I was never even INFORMED that I was about to be banned :| I thought that was very childish, cheap, and insecure of the person to do because it proved that she (or those who asked for my being banned) were just very insecure about their beliefs and didn’t want someone like me introducing new thoughts to them. I don’t know about the rest of the world, but I pity people who live in a little hole like that; don’t they get suffocated at all? Lord, have mercy on such sad and helpless and low self-esteemed creatures.
Wait, so they banned me, and I'm thinking ... didn't they actually judge me, when they hypocritically claimed that it was a non-judgmental site for non-judgmental sisters? Okay, I think we should laugh at that because that was very hypocritical -- not just immature and sad and pitiful and unwise -- of them to do what they did. They should have a big sign on their website that reads: "No, Sister, you're NOT welcome to disagree with the mainstream Muslim thoughts; you must agree with everything the typical Muslim preaches, teaches, practices, and believes, or else, we ban the cow outta you. Sorry in advance. Oh, but please bear in mind that you're not allowed to judge anyone here, all right? Thanks for understanding. Now, welcome to our Circle :) We hope you'll enjoy your stay with us and contribute your mainstream ideas to us -- in a non-judgmental manner! Thanks for joining."

Anyway... :) This was just to say: We have MUCH more serious things to worry about than whether a girl should cover her hair, whether my prayers were accepted if I showed a strand or two of it while praying, whether my fasts were accepted if I broke then a while after or later than the time on the tables, whether I can keep a dog inside my house, whether I can eat my favorite candy (skittles, etc.), whether I can take pictures, and other such totally unimportant questions that waste our time when we could be discussing methods to help people who are suffering from poverty, lack of education, oppression, etc., etc.

Peace be upon this world and ALL of its citizens! Aameen.

Psst -- Hi, People are DYING in Swat, Bajaur, and Waziristan!

Since late summer 2007, Pashtuns – an ethnic group of some 40 million people who live in Pakistan and Afghanistan – have been suffering in the hands of Taliban along with the Pakistani army (this time, in my beloved Swat). Fazlullah and his followers raised funds in order to create their FM radio show through which they claimed they were going to preach the real Islam to Pashtuns. Because the leader had a long beard and acted all holy and divine, it was not a challenge for him to attract any followers or to receive funds and other donations from any Pashtun. Many women went so far as to donate him their jewelry items in hopes that they will be rewarded for this generous act in the hereafter, just for supporting someone who wanted to bring the “true” Islam to the people.

Now, I'm sure we all know that Taliban are known for their extremism, which has led them and their followers to value and defend their barbaric beliefs such as forbidding education upon females, beating any adult female who is outside of her home without her husband (they even made it a law for couples to carry their nikaah naama / marriage contract with them wherever they went!), throwing acid upon any female whose face wasn’t covered, forbidding the taking of pictures upon everyone; enforcing men to grow beards; forcing everyone to stop listening to music, hence causing them to burn their televisions and radios (oh wait! Nothing's wrong with having radios as long as ALL they do on it is listen to Fazlullah's "preaching" of Islam); and so on.
THIS is their version of the “true Islam."

Women, Rape, and Pashtuns

Oh, man. I have SO much to say on the matter of rape (and how women are always the ones who get the blame) that I don't even know where to begin ...
As everyone knows already, rape is an extremely sensitive topic, in every culture and time. Unfortunately, in our Pashtun culture, as in many others, we still punish the victim and set free the criminal; we haven’t learned how to penalize the latter nor how to handle the whole issue. Many of us also seem to think that only girls get raped when in fact, boys do as well (though, yes, not as severely and not as much as girls, and male victims of rape don't have to suffer as much as female ones do). Less than a few decades ago in the west, too, it was considered a female's fault every time she would be raped; but today, that’s not the case for the most part. And it'll take a while for our people to reach this level, but we have to START somewhere.

Perhaps we Pukhtuns need to start re-evaluating our thoughts about females; we need to STOP treating the female like an "honor of the family"; we need to STOP letting her symbolize our whole reputation, our honor, our everything else. Does anyone have any idea how much pressure that puts on the female? *That* is the sole reason a female will rarely speak up about having been raped or molested. What is more important, a daughter or a reputation? Clearly, to too many Pukhtuns, their reputation/honor is more important because that may be all they have, but why use your daughter to represent it for you? I think that’s just selfish, and I have NO respect for any man, ANY family, who thinks this way.

My Letter to the World: On the Genocide of Pashtuns

 EDIT (Sept. 2011): Yikes! I wrote this like over 2 years ago or so, so ... well, I'm not impressed by it now that I look back. But I won't delete it from the blog in case it teaches someone something.
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After a smothering and unbearable sense of frustration, I figured it was about time I made the move, since neither the media nor the rest of the world seems willing to voice the miseries of an oppressed people like the Pukhtuns today.
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The people of Swat, Pakistan (in NW Frontier), and surrounding areas have been suffering and dying for over a year now, and much of the world remains ignorant of their genocide. Most Pashtuns, the ethnic group in Swat and much of the rest of NWFP, are painfully but highly convinced that the Pakistan government is behind this, that this is a conspiracy against them. And they have every reason to believe this. Pakistan claims it has sent “security forces” to Pashtun regions in order to settle the matter, but it fails to provide evidence of all the Taliban it claims to have killed. Pashtuns ask, “Does Pakistan not have the power to kill the main Taliban leaders, Maulana Fazlullah and Muslim Khan? Why does it destroy the homes of civilians but not those of the Taliban’s?”