Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, April 25th, 2024

Farkhunda’s Sacrifice Enlightened Thoughts!

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Farkhunda’s Sacrifice Enlightened Thoughts!

Now that everything has become clear, there remained no space for anyone to defend the murderers of Farkhunda. In the beginning, some members of society, especially the religious ones, tried to justify her brutal killing by giving the reason of blasphemy and insult of Holy Koran, but now they are also repenting on their previous comments. Due research discovered that Farkhunda was in fact a very good student of religious studies and she was liked by her family members due to her attachment with her studies and religious books.

Although the words are not enough to describe the pain one feels when he/ she watches the videos or photographs in which this innocent girl is tortured, her face bathed in her own blood and among a crowd of angry and violent people, who utilized their boastful strength to torture, mutilate and then burn this only girl, but these videos and photos would always be remembered as the best form of sacrifice to bring into light many hidden evils and show the true picture of morally corrupt society to the world. It is no doubt that she was able to serve the cause of humanity which could have not been done by large numbers of so-called saviors of women’s rights who tried their best to cash this sad incident to promote their own causes.

The biggest achievement of the sacrifice of this brave girl is to bring into focus the dirty and nasty criminal business that was carried out on the name of religion. As this business was run on the name of religion so no one dared to say anything against their owners, though many knew the reality behind them. This business is of so-called religious thugs who loot the innocent people on the name of spiritual healing or treatment. They are found in almost every mosque and are definitely found on the shrines of a saint. In Shah-e-Dushamshera, where this incident took place, a mentally and morally sick person was busy in giving sacred religious papers to people on the name of spiritual healing. Initial reports have revealed that Farkhunda also became a victim of this man and when she did not accept her any wrong demand, they accused her of blasphemy. Only blaming or accusing was not going to do the work. But on most of these places, they always keep a number of strong and healthy thugs who threaten the people whenever the things go wrong. So these thugs started hitting her and also encouraged the people nearby. People, completely in the trance of religious emotions, did not bother to inquire about the reality and soon the crowd went so violent that a number of policemen who tried to interfere, had to retreat and all these ended in the brutal killing of Farkhunda. But it is also a fact that except for these thugs, the general public did not take part in direct torture, rather they supported them by shouting slogans and encouraging the front-players. It is the reason why, those who had direct hand in the whole incident, one way or the other, were the stakeholders with the shrine. Not only this, these places have also become a hub for criminal minded people like drug-sellers, kidnappers, and others as they are usually the safe-havens and away from the interference of police due to their sacred identity. It is then not surprising that how people associated with such a sacred and peaceful place can be so brutal and skilled in carrying out such a cold-blooded act. As we saw, soon after this incident, people not only got enough courage to talk against them but government dared to carry out a wide-scaled operation against such places. In this regard, a lot of criminal-minded people have been arrested and it is hoped that our nation would be able to get rid of them permanently. At the same time, many illiterate people came to know that they were being fooled on the name of religion and spiritual healing by some thugs who were using the name of religion for their objectives.

However, this occasion must not be misused for defaming the good people who give a lot of hope to the poor people. There are also present some kind, pious and sincere religious scholars who also work for spiritual healing and treatment but in return, they never expect or demand any material gain from people. It is due to this sincerity that thousands of people miraculously get benefitted from their treatment, especially in the cases of mental or psychological disorders, in which case, doctors also feel themselves to be helpless.

But the most painful was the reaction of people present on the site of this sad incident. None of the people dared to ask if the accusation against her was right or wrong. No one got the courage enough to stop the criminal act of people on the name of religion. And thousands of people, who claim to be mentally sound and reasonable, could not stop themselves from being swept away by their stupid emotions and in a way; they also put their indirect share in the incident. This shows the rotten condition of morality and social awareness and how it has harmed the overall condition of people when they follow the religion without proper understanding. It gives another opportunity for us to talk about those sides of religion which are considered to be forbidden and often included in the blasphemy. However, sooner or later, we will have to discuss these things so that we should be able to see and practice the true picture of religion and get rid of all the impurities that we have added in centuries and which are also taken as sacred as the religion itself.

But the most important role in giving this incident such a focus was the effective and wide role of social networking sites. The incident could have easily been forgotten had this happened without any existence of social networking sites and the internet. The news of the brutal killing spread like a wild fire when its videos were uploaded on Facebook and YouTube and soon these videos got viral. The viewers of these videos were much moved and there was no need of any explanation about the nature of this incident. Soon, pages were formed on Facebook in support of Farkhunda and increasing public awareness also shook the media and civil society activists. Due to mass protests and criticism of the inactiveness of police, top government officials had to intervene and take special interest due to which arrests were made. The videos made clear the criminals and soon all the major players were arrested including the person who had given the first orders of the killing of Farkhunda.

Farkhunda has given us a new hope of justice and enlightenment by her blood. Now, government must take serious action against the perpetrators and they should be given the harshest punishment. This is the call of public and demand of justice as well.

Muhammad Rasool Shah works as Academic Coordinator at Barakat Int’l School, Kabul. He can be reached at muhammadrasoolshah@gmail.com

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