Taliban and women

Saturday, May 02, 2009

I have noticed that Muslim converts are invariably the most devout, often to the point of unreasonableness. It is such people who believe that reason is the greatest enemy that faith has. So, I read with amusement mixed with pity the letter written in defence of the Taliban by Danielle Ali Riaz.
This letter is full of a lot of false and misleading statements such as that girls have returned to school in Swat. Only a very small number have. One would however, like to know why the Taliban were destroying girls’ schools by the dozens in the first place? Women are still not being allowed to shop or to go out of the house in Swat without a mehram. This maybe Ms Danielle’s view of Sharia but the 160 million ‘non-Taliban’ Muslims of Pakistan do not subscribe to this way of life. Ms Danielle’s mother-in-law, she claims, has never been seen outside her home alone, but that venerable old lady is by no means the role model for the millions and millions of females all over Pakistan who are working and shopping, or studying or just managing their households.
The people of Swat had voted for the secular ANP in the last elections. But the Taliban browbeat the ANP by killing hundreds of its members and the party eventually capitulated and forced even the federal government to sign the surrender document. But outside the boundaries of surrendered Swat and especially outside the reach of the Taliban, few Muslim women are willing to adopt the soul crushing lifestyle being imposed out of the barrel of a Kalashnikov.
Ms Riaz’s last paragraph says: “let us get this straight – we are a Muslim country”. Certainly there is no disagreement on that, we are very much a Muslim country, but except for your beloved Taliban and other such brain-washed barbarians and their fellow-travellers, the overwhelming majority of Pakistanis reject the cruel, medieval, narrow ideology that these relics of the past want to impose by force on the state created by the liberal and broadminded Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. The Quaid’s vision was the direct opposite of the Taliban vision and subsequently also the Pakistani nation has always chosen moderates as against the mullahs, whenever they have had the chance to vote freely. Live and let live, Ms Riaz, and we can all be happy.

Zafarullah Poshni
Karachi

*****

I fully endorse the views of Danielle Ali Riaz. It is indeed very sad to note that because of the few misguided idiots in our country, the whole Sharia is being targeted as if it is at fault. I know dozens of devoted Pakistani men and women who try to adhere to the norms of Sharia and at the same time are a source of inspiration and guidance for those around them.

Dr Farooq Azam Rathore
Rawalpindi

*****

If one needs an example of how our nation’s psyche is subtly allowing extremism to flourish in ideological terms, we only need to read Danielle Ali Riaz’s letter (April 30) titled “Impact of Sharia on women”. While claiming to be an ‘extraordinarily independent person’ who opposes terrorism, Ms Riaz goes on to lay down her rule of law, including the much-disputable issue of the necessity of a male companion for any movement outdoors. I should clarify that much as I oppose Ms Riaz’s concept of Pakistan, I do not outright condemn it, and would definitely never ask her to shut up and get out of the country for thinking and acting the way she does. However, she is very comfortable with marginalising the population and getting rid of them to ‘go to live in England or the US etc’.
What she is unwilling to accept is that there can be (and are) other Pakistanis who completely disagree with her, and (dare I say it?) some who would even argue that many values of the west are better than our own. Are they not Pakistani? Such definitions are limited, to say the least — and at their very worst, they give cover and create grey areas where radical extremism can grow. My mother does not cover her head, would prefer not to cover her head and she is a Muslim. If the Taliban were to lash her for coming out in public as she has always done in this country, what would Ms Riaz’s stance be then? Uncomfortably quiet? We as a nation need to be more aware of what our words are actually conveying, and more importantly, we should no longer be afraid of voicing our differences. Better late than never.

Jahanzaib Haque
Karachi

*****

I found the tone used by Danielle Ali Riaz in her letter quite troubling because it seemed as if the letter-writer was speaking from a position of assumed superiority and hence contempt for others who did not agree with her views. That was also evident in her suggestion that those who do not like to live according to her views should move to the west.

Raziq Hussain
Wah