Wednesday, March 30, 2011

"Secular" is Spectacular #1


And now for a story that would have never seen the light of day, save for the journalists Shoaib Choudhury and Farid Ahmed. A tip of my hat to you, gentlemen.

I say it would not have seen the light of day because despite the old journalistic axiom of "If it bleeds, it leads" the same doesn't hold true for reporting killing "in the name Of."

But we all know who's name we're discussing, or avoiding to discuss, don't we..?

But if the axiom holds true, there will be blood, ladies and gentlemen; in copious amounts by and large.

In another example of the brutality of Sharia law gone unchecked, a young Hena Akhter (14) was found guilty of "adultery" and sentenced to 101 lashes under the "fatwa" religious ruling of a local imam. A sentence carried out publicly where the "guilty" can be shown as an example in Shariatpur, Bangladesh.

Or, in little Hena's case, proclaim their own innocence amidst anguished screams, however in vain...

This is the type of thing that makes extinguishing religions sound like a very good idea. But moreover, this sounds more like a motion to hold people accountable.

Accountability where you ask? Well lets speak of facts, lest I find myself trying to convince by conviction alone. The facts are as follows: Enter Mahbub Khan, a nephew to a Darbesh Khan, who returned to Shariatpur after working in Malaysia. Mahbub thought it far from wrong to force himself upon young Hena, himself three times her age. Furthermore he then gagged her, took little Hena behind some shrubbery and...well you know what happens when one is gagged against her will then taken behind the bushes forcibly. What boggles my mind, is how Mahbub Khan's wife could find the two of them, her husband clearly raping the young girl against her will (gags are a sure-fire giveaway, by the bye) then drag poor Hena into her home where she beat and trampled her.

Like a fully expected Spanish Inquisition, the village elders met at the Khan residence to investigate and rule the case. The ruling's technical name was "illicit relationship" between Mahbub Khan and Hena. Either it was opposite day in the Islamic calendar and "no" meant "yes" or this teenage girl's human rights under the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights were violated. According to Sharia law, the Declaration was the only thing violated, as they clearly saw Hena's situation as "asking for it" or "being a slag."

Kids these days, getting raped willy-nilly...

Sultana Kamal was quoted "What happened to Hena is unfortunate and we all have to be ashamed that we couldn't save her life." Kamal heads the rights organization Ain o Shalish Kendra, against Sharia fatwa and I couldn't agree more with this cause. But that's me speaking.

Speaking numbers however:

500, 10, 101, 70, 201.

500: is the number of documented cases of fatwa religious rulings (carried out
against women)

10: is in how many years these cases have been documented

101: is how many lashes Hena was to receive

70: is how many she actually received before passing out, having to be taken to
hospital, where she later died of internal injuries.

201: is the number of lashes Mahbub Khan was to receive until he managed to escape,
no one taking an interest in actually stopping him.

Darbesh Khan (the uncle, mind) stated that he had "...nothing to demand but justice." That's an interesting choice of words, justice, because there is justice. Secular law, the "law of the land" which treats people as equals. The justice Darbesh seeks has already been metered. That is unless he no longer seeks theological justice. But as usual, things aren't a big deal until they turn up on our doorstep. A village ruled by the brutality of Sharia law and it's cruel/unusual fatwas, and suddenly this man who has lived under the auspices of this law now craves the justice of a secular nature? Why? Because someone close to him died from it. I don't know if one calls that a problem landing at their doorstep, or taking out the entire north wall of their house. Hypocrisy by untimely concern aside, I understand.

I understand that this man has just turned a point. The point many of us turn to in questioning just why it is we abide the rules set forth by our so-called spiritual leaders. Hena Akhter paid the price to enlighten many in her village, her example, made.

The link to the actual article is available here: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/29/bangladesh.lashing.death/index.html

If you wish to support Ain o Shalish Kendra, their link is available here: http://www.askbd.org/web/

Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS4kLMtOYSg

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Mean Streak

I had a few misgivings, maybe more than a few
Trust is so hard to come by, so, maybe I'm through
Try to take advantage, manage it, yet alone then
I knew
Sometimes we are all liars
Lack of control?
That's nothing new
I want to say that I can handle it
Put a restraint on my behavior and maybe I won't be so
Full of myself
But then I feel that mean streak
Coursing down my spine
And right then I realize that I'm out of time.
I snap and I give in
Said "I knew you were just gaming me!"
But I didn't mean that
See my fears got the best of me
Coupled with irrationality, losing grip with my reality and suddenly
I can't even remember how we got "here"
I turn my back for five seconds and right then
You are my enemy
When all you ever wanted was to just be such a friend to me
When did it all break down?
When did I just throw it
All away, and now I'm sad to say
This mean streak has been playing me