Daily Times

In a gruesome episode of religious vigilantism, a young woman, Rokhsana, has been stoned to death after being accused of ‘adultery’ in a central Afghanistan province under Taliban control. A 30-second video captured by a crowd of spectators shows the inhumane practice of flinging stones directly at the woman as her cries fill the air. Half buried in the middle of a barren mountainous land, an unrelenting barrage of stones by an exclusively male gathering of local Taliban religious leaders and armed warlords has evoked an international outcry. Rokhsana allegedly ‘eloped’ with a man of her choice after her family forced her into a marriage against her will. Varying reports suggest the involved young man was lashed. Afghanistan is no stranger to crimes of violence, abuse and persecution directed against women. In March this year, Farkhanda was savagely beaten and set ablaze in Kabul after being falsely accused of burning a copy of the Quran outside a shrine. Blasphemy and gender violence often go hand in hand in a society that follows a strict, asphyxiating interpretation of Sharia law. The Afghan government remains powerless to take any effective action due to a lack of security forces and dearth of political control in the said area. According to Seema Joyenda, one of the two female governors in Afghanistan, women in Afghanistan experience gender-related problems all over the country, but the Ghor province seems to have a surfeit of conservative attitudes.

Reactionary and fanatical practices rooted in a literalist understanding of Islam have marred Afghan society for long but especially during Taliban rule. Despite the western push for liberal progressive policies, a draconian traditional misogynistic patriarchal tribal culture exists as a persisting reality and a widespread endemic. Taliban attitudes remain to this day a residual influence on a schizoid societal reality, confused between shedding archaic values and donning modern garb. A sub-text of the war on terror comprised a narrative advocating women’s liberation. Unfortunately the narrative has largely remained more of a theoretical aspiration than a practical reality. Western attempts at championing women’s rights is a noble initiative, but there needs to be a realisation that backward attitudes informed by militant policies embedded in society are a roadblock in that righteous cause. Advances in women’s rights can only come from an organic change under a reformed state and society that encourages education, prosperity, development, enlightenment and thriving social and political institutions, rather than pushing to revolutionise a traditional society from the outside. Change in thought, policies and attitudes is a tall ask in any given timeframe, yet there needs to be a conscious effort to harness values that encourage tolerance and harmony, even in an unpromising perpetually war-torn country. *