Reader's Quotient:Transforming the DNA of Society

Authored by Nadi Ghulam:

"The truth will set you free. But first, it will piss you off."    --Gloria Steinem

  In 1986, French-Iranian journalist, Freidoune Sahebjam was travelling through Iran, when his car broke down near Iranian village.  By coincidence or fate, Freidoune met there Zahra and while waiting for his car to be fixed, he decided to hear the story of this strong Iranian woman.  What he heard, however, changed his life forever.  Zahra narrated him the horrifying story of her niece, Soraya, who was stoned to death by her husband and other men of the village two weeks prior. Soraya was a mother of four and a loyal wife.  When her husband decided that he wanted a divorce to marry a 14 year old girl,

Soraya refused since he didn’t want to financially support her and pay her dowry back.  Soraya knew that she wouldn’t be able to feed her children on her own since there was simply no job in a little village especially for a divorced woman.  Soraya’s husband went crazy and with the help of local Mullah, he prepared a plot accusing Soraya of cheating on him.  “According to Sharia law”, one should be punished for “moral crime” by stoning to death. Zahra promised Soraya that she would tell her story to the whole world and she kept her promise.  Freidoune came back from Iran and published a book, becoming the first journalist who reported on the crimes that were going on in Iran and bringing the international attention to women’s suffrage throughout the world. Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment.

 

Islam wasn’t the first religion to practice such things; in fact, the roots lead way back to ancient Judaism. The law in ancient Judaism dictated that in order for a condemned person to be stoned, two reputable people had to witness both the offense and stoning.  In present day stoning is practiced in Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Nigeria, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Iraq.  Even though 99% of the time the stoning punishments that take place almost never being reported, but the recent survey that was carried out in August, 2009, in Pakistan and Indonesia, showed that 83% of Pakistanis and half of “moderate” Indonesians believe in stoning adulterers. When a 17 year old Kurdish girl was stoned and kicked to death back in April, 2007, the whole world was terrified by petrifying videos that leaked on the internet.  Aisho, Somalian 13 years old girl, was buried up to her neck and stoned to death in front of more than 1000 people on a football stadium after she had been arrested due to her report on being raped by three men. June, 2006, Malak Ghorbany was sentenced in Iranian court to be stoned to death for adultery, 34 years old mother of two. Same court found two men guilty of murder and what punishment do they get?  Six years in jail! Faizabad, Afghanistan, Amina, a 29 years old married woman was dragged out of her parents house and stoned to death publicly on the basis of the district’s court’s decision. That was in April, 2005.  During Taliban regime the stoning of women was a common thing. Post that it’s not official and hence not  that common too but it’s still in practice.

These are just few cases that we know and can even keep a track of, but what about all others that took and still taking place annually? What about women and young girls whose names we will never be able to find out because no one talks about it? In majority of cases young girls get stoned when they report being raped by men. On most of the occasions these men are none but the members of their immediate and extended family. There are several organizations who work against stoning, such as Human Rights Watch, RAWA, Amnesty International.  One of their main goals is to abolish stoning as legal acts. The Global Campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning Women was launched in 2007, specifically to deal with cases like that and do anything in their power to end the “maiming and torture of women” while justifying such actions by relentless misuse of religion and culture. Women come out on streets and hold protests, fight for their right to be heard. However, the fact that evil still persists especially in lawless invisible villages can’t be denied. The Islamic Penal Code of Iran where Article 104 states "size of the stone used in stoning shall not be too large to kill the convict by one or two throws and at the same time shall not be too small to be called a stone” while Article 102 says “The stoning of an adulterer or adulteress shall be carried out while each is placed in a hole and covered with soil, he up to his waist and she up to a line above her breasts.”

To my belief, laws are made on some rational grounds to help make this society a better place to live in. Laws are meant to support the cause of humanity without any biased stand for any specific gender or caste or creed. I wonder if these laws serve the cause. Once again, I do not question religion and definitely don’t blame it.  What I do question every day is the way it is practiced. Throughout the history women have been tortured, diminished, humiliated. Shall anyone tell me as to who gave men the right to treat women as they do. Mothers, sisters, wives, daughters are born to be cherished and not beaten, adored and not threatened.  Soraya M, was buried up to her chest with her hands tied.  Her father disowned her and was the first one to throw the first stone.  Her husband who falsely accused her was the second followed by her two teenage sons.  Soraya M was just one of those many other invisible women. The question in hand is,” How long shall we sit with deaf ears and blind eyes?” Why can’t we listen to our conscience and act accordingly? Howsoever we may boast of us being civilized and learned but the fact is this that we still have a long way to go before we see an ideal society.