2021 MFF 穆斯林影展－Tafakkur 沈思｜「理解穆斯林社會的『榮譽處死』」——以巴勒斯坦女性為例子 “Understanding ‘Honor Crimes’ in Muslim Societies: Case study or Palestinian Women
2021 MFF 穆斯林影展－Tafakkur 沈思｜我們的織默即是殺人的許可證 Our Sience is a License to Murder
2021 MFF 穆斯林影展－Tafakkur 沈思｜「燕子」的故事 Parastoo Story
穆斯林影展「沈思」：第二日側記
日期：2021年10月23日
地點：ZOOM 線上座談
記錄者：Irfan Muhammad
中文翻譯：黃凱薈
「榮譽處死」指的是為了維護家庭尊嚴和榮譽而處死一個人。而諷刺的是，這項習俗主要針對女性，且須由其親屬執行。雖然世界各地不同宗教都有類似的習俗，但在現今，在許多穆斯林占多數的社會中仍實行榮譽處死。中東的伊拉克、巴勒斯坦及沙地阿拉伯，或是南亞的巴基斯坦及阿富汗等國家，仍能常見榮譽處死。於是乎，人們將榮譽處死與伊斯蘭掛鉤，就不意外了。
穆斯林影展第二天放映的紀錄片《自由之花》（Women of Freedom，2016），即揭示了巴勒斯坦社會榮譽處死的文化。以色列導演Abeer Zeibak Haddad以巴勒斯坦婦女的故事為主軸，講述當她們的父母和親人崇尚這份「榮譽」時，這些婦女就成為了暴力及殺害的對象。
該紀錄片引述的數據顯示，高達55%的巴勒斯坦青年支持這類殺害女人的行為，58%的人認為女性被謀殺是咎由自取。榮譽處死的受害者大多時候會直接喪命，毀容，或在餘生中不斷逃亡。這部紀錄片讓涉及的各方當事人表述其感受，其中不僅有受害者的視角，也呈現了死者家屬及加害者的視角。
Abeer也記錄了她自己造訪數個巴勒斯坦女權組織的過程，向組織者了解他們收到有關榮譽處死投報的數量。隨著時間的推移，榮譽處死的實踐開始受到巴勒斯坦，尤其是該國青年群體的譴責。他們在公共場所以示威、戲劇及藝術活動等方式表達對此類實踐的抗議。
榮譽處死發生在世界多個地區，包括歐洲和美國。聯合國估計，全球每年約5000名女性因為有違家族榮譽而遭到處死。《自由之花》映後座談期間，Abeer表示，她的這部紀錄片希望能讓這個充滿爭議且遭噤聲的議題，獲得更多的討論，並揭開此現象背後的真實情況。
在Abeer的母國以色列，每年約有10名阿拉伯婦女遭榮譽處死。Abeer說，她在10歲那年第一次聽到社會上存在榮譽處死的實踐。當時，她的家鄉拿撒勒（Nazareth）有個女孩未婚先孕，其祖母將水銀倒入她的耳朵中處死她。
Abeer決定打破沈默。她身處的社會，至今仍有許多以「榮譽處死」這一扭曲概念為名，謀殺女性的案例。為這部紀錄片做田野調查的過程中，Abeer在婦女庇護所遇到了數名倖存的女性，她們至今仍生活在恐懼中。她也遇見遭榮譽處死女性的家屬，以及在獄中會見了一名殺害親身妹妹的男子。這名男子，自小受教育要當家作主、捍衛家庭榮譽，事實上也是代代相傳家庭榮譽觀念下的受害者。
謀殺就是謀殺，没有所謂的「榮譽的謀殺」。然而，司法制度卻選擇同理這種現象，將之視為阿拉伯社會的內部問題。儘管如此，Abeer相信紀錄片的力量能對觀眾帶來情感上的長期影響，並促成人們的轉變。秉持著這股信念，Abeer持續拍攝，以開拓全新的社會新觀念。除了《自由之花》以外，她在更早以前的2011年，曾執導紀錄片《Duma》，探究巴勒斯坦社會的性暴力問題。
她的映後演講主題為「我們的緘默是殺人的許可證」（Our Silence is a License to Murder）。她透露，這個主題其實是《自由之花》的原片名。不過，在經過4年田調及拍攝，以及3年來四處展演、討論及辯論後，她認為現象的根源並非女性的緘默，而是當權者、政府，以及教育的匱乏。
這部紀錄片在挑起榮譽處死背後社會及政治情境討論的同時，也提高了阿拉伯社會整體，尤其是巴勒斯坦，以及全世界著手改變這一現象的意識。《自由之花》於2016年在以色列海法電影節（Haifa Film Festival）首映後，於2018年在全球多個電影節中共榮獲五個獎項。作為囚犯改造計劃的一環，這部紀錄片也在以色列10座監獄中放映，而Abeer也親身在映後與囚犯展開討論。觀影者中就包括了有暴力前科的囚犯。
巴基斯坦裔美國神學家兼穆斯林女性主義者Riffat Hassan隨後在題為「理解穆斯林社會的『榮譽處死』⸺以巴勒斯坦女性為例」（Understanding “Honor Crimes” in Muslim Societies: Case Study of Palestinian Women）的講座中，從學術角度作出回應。她解釋，我們有必要理解各個伊斯蘭社會。特別是阿拉伯社會的神學與歷史脈絡。
她以《古蘭經》舉例，據稱穆斯林在前伊斯蘭阿拉伯社會中已盛行排斥女性的文化。《古蘭經》第81章（surah）第9節提及活埋女兒做法；第16章第57至59節提及，有人因渴望得到兒子卻生得女兒時感到憤怒。這些經文描繪了當時阿拉伯社會對女性的態度。
前伊斯蘭阿拉伯社會是個游牧部落，人們在干旱的沙漠中過著艱苦的游牧生活。當時的情況不允許一個家庭養育多名子女，因此人們更希望能擁有可靠的兒子，而不想要女兒。這是阿拉伯社會排斥女性的原因之一，是社會經濟層面的因素。然而，雖然考量到既有的社會文化因素，《古蘭經》仍於第70章第31節中禁止信徒排斥女性，特別是基於害怕貧窮的理由。
阿拉伯社會排斥女性的另一個原因，則是因為將女性視為部落榮譽得威脅。阿拉伯社會有兩種榮譽符號「Sharaf」 和 「Ird」。 Sharaf可理解為一般榮譽，「Ird」則是只有男性才會擁有的特殊榮譽，而這份特殊榮譽有可能因女性的行為受損。譬如，某個部落的女性做出不符社會規範的行為，尤其是與性相關的行為，將減損她部落中的「Ird」。
與此同時，居住在沙漠的不同部落經常會發生戰爭，而女性很容易因此遭到敵人綁架並強暴。作為復仇，部落的男性除了會將加害者，連同受害女性一同殺掉，原因是允許該女性繼續存活將使部落蒙羞。從此脈絡看出，榮譽只屬於男性，而非女性。
然而，Riffat指出，《古蘭經》從未如此教導信徒。舉例而言，《古蘭經》要求要尋得四名證人，才得以懲罰通姦者。如若控方無法提供足夠的證人，則證詞不獲採納，被告通姦的女性也不得受到懲罰。
Riffat也提及了伊斯蘭教義與文化之間的鴻溝。她解釋，宗教並非從天堂直接掉下來，而是特定文化社會中的生活實踐，相同的宗教在不同的文化中，將展現出不同的特質。她續稱，世界五大宗教——猶太教、伊斯蘭、基督教、興都教與佛教，全都是從父權文化中發展而來。其中包含以男性為主導、男性為中心、男性為導向的特質，男人永遠位居上等位置，而女人則居於下方。
由於宗教詮釋大都根植於父權文化視角，以致形成父權偏見，因此以非父權的角度來詮釋《古蘭經》至關重要。為開展這類宗教詮釋，Riffat采用語言精確性、哲学一致性，以及正義概念的取向，來解读《古蘭經》。
她說，穆斯林将《古蘭經》看作上蒼的神啟，那麼祂必然反映出上蒼的品性。上蒼不同於常人，而使祂至高無上的品性就是正義。《古蘭經》的每字每句必定是反映出祂的正義，若有經文彰顯不正義的時候，那就不會是正確的詮釋。她也相信，《古蘭經》非常保護女性，對女性並無成見。
因此，她認為應多向穆斯林女性傳達正確的《古蘭經》詮釋，讓她們清楚自身的權益，並以此達至平等。穆斯林世界目前主要有兩種運動。一派人採取世俗主義，倡議人權價值，不以宗教為途徑，而只仰賴人權相關法律。而Riffat则認為，只要帶著正確理解宗教，宗教也可以作為解放之源。女性迄今仍面對各種不義、壓迫及暴力。她期盼世界各地的社運分子，協力對抗榮譽处死。
儘管穆斯林世界的女人命運充滿悲觀，影展次日的第二部紀錄片卻是由Reza Farahmand 2018年執導的紀錄片《戴火藥耳環的女人》（Women with Gunpowder Earrings），講述的正是女性戰地記者Noor Alhelli走訪伊拉克難民營，採訪伊斯蘭國（ISIS）武裝分子家屬的故事。
Noor以及她的團隊穿越了伊拉克政府與伊斯蘭國武裝分子對戰的槍林彈雨，在混亂的戰火中，接觸到數個受困的伊斯蘭國武裝分子家庭。這些家庭幾乎只有女性和孩童，且對自己的命運充滿困惑。由於他們有的人不諳阿拉伯語，這使得他們的生活更為困難。
他們有的來自土耳其至東歐這片區域；有的則是在財富的利誘之下，只身投奔伊斯蘭國。也有人認為，為了宗教來到伊斯蘭國是正確之舉；有的人則認為她們的丈夫是為了錢才加入伊斯蘭國，卻不認為他們的丈夫有罪，哪怕政府指控他們涉及恐怖主義。
Noor不僅深入探問困在難民營中，伊斯蘭國武裝分子家屬的命運，也探討伊斯蘭國受害者命運。她探訪了伊斯蘭國屠殺雅茲迪族（Yazidi）的科約村（Kojo）。那裡如今只剩一小撮人，Noor在那裡聆聽曾發生在該地的悲慘故事。
這部紀錄片展現了Noor的不同面向，她不只是一名挖掘及訴說故事的記者，同時也是一名女性和一位母親。她能夠同理這些因伊斯蘭國，而生活天翻地覆的女性及其家庭，也願意為他們付諸行動。
自2021年8月塔利班重新掌權阿富汗後，這個位於南亞的國度再度成為公眾焦點。經歷了二十多年的共和國時期，塔利班的回歸恐怕將再度威脅阿富汗社會，特別是女性和少數族群。
在塔利班掌權的大公國時期，阿富汗女性的生活受到重重限制，甚至無法離開家裡去上學。少數族群及少數宗教群體同樣受到監管。塔利班如今重奪政權，人們憂心阿富汗原本逐漸癒合舊傷又會重新裂開。
然而，阿富汗社會對女性和少數族群的壓迫，並非始於塔利班掌權，而是更久遠以前的事。
影展次日主辦方，邀請了由阿富汗難民組成的「燕子劇團」發起人Saleh Sepas前來分享。Saleh Sepas是阿富汗人，他敘述了阿富汗人如何長期生活在戰亂之中。相較於以難民身份居住在馬來西亞吉隆坡，阿富汗社會的生活就是坦克車與子彈聲相伴的日常。
政治人物或領袖引發戰爭。他們利用宗教實現自己的政治野心，也利用宗教為謀殺、種族滅絕和暴力罪行找藉口。女性淪為最脆弱的群體，她們甚至無法選擇自己的穿著。宗教不再是個人的事，阿富汗也沒有宗教自由。
種族之間衝突，使局勢雪上加霜。
以伊斯蘭什葉派（Shia）為主的哈扎拉族（Hazara）於1880年，在Abdul Rahman Khan的政權下面臨了種族清洗。 當時遜尼派（Sunni）佔主導地位的宗教領袖合法化屠殺哈扎拉族，導致63%的哈扎拉人遭到殺害。
哈扎拉族的男性遭到殺害，而女性則當作奴隸販賣。許多女性最終選擇死亡，而不願成為奴隸。這些女性逃往阿富汗烏魯茲甘（Uruzgan）的沙什帕爾山（Mount Shashpar）上，當Abdul Rahman Khan的軍隊逼近時，47名女性選擇躍下懸崖而亡，也不願遭到俘虜、奴役或強暴。
Sepas在活動中展示了一幅Hasan Ali Hatef的畫作，畫中描繪的就是這起發生在Abdul Rahman Khan時代，遭人忽視或否認的人間慘劇。
Abdul Rahman Khan於1800年代末至1900年代初所實施的政策，一直延續到如今的塔利班政權。即便政權的意識形態和國家構成都有所改變，但借宗教之名來達成政治目的的情況仍無改變。數百年來，阿富汗人因此飽受磨難。
Amanullah Khan掌權時期，世俗政權一度取代了承襲著Abdul Rahman Khan精神的法西斯政權。1970年代後期，阿富汗更是走向共產主義式的民主共和國。然而，阿富汗人並沒有因而迎來更好的國家治理。
即使改稱「民主共和國」，阿富汗的治理與「謀殺」還是密不可分。1979年至1992年期間，執政政府成了蘇聯的傀儡，導致數百萬阿富汗人喪生或失踪。儘管阿富汗的各政黨自稱是由知識分子所組成，這些暴力事件他們仍難逃其咎。
在這個時期，人民之間有所衝突。不論是共產主義者之間，或共產主義者與反共主義者之間皆是如此。如同其他家庭那樣，Sepas的家庭也存在著衝突。他的叔叔是一名共產主義者，另一個叔叔則是反共產主義的穆拉（Mullah，猶太波斯語的伊斯蘭社區宗教老師）。
這類家庭悲劇不斷地延續。在Ashraf Ghani統治下的阿富汗共和國，曾有個家庭裡同時存在著塔利班成員和政府士兵。他們在同個屋子裡互動，一起吃早餐，但在戰鬥時卻得相互廝殺。兩人死後並排安葬，只不過其中一個的墳墓插上阿富汗國旗，另一個則插著塔利班的旗幟。Sepas於2017年以這個故事創作了一齣戲劇表演，敘說政治錯誤利用宗教帶來的後果。
經歷了蘇聯入侵及阿富汗民主共和國倒台後，伊斯蘭不同派系於1992年至1996年間爆發內戰。 雖然他們在對抗蘇聯時期處於同一陣線，即伊斯蘭教義聖戰者（Mujahideen），卻因為宗教和民族觀點差異而開始分裂。Sepas說，儘管他們都高呼「真主至大」（Takbir） ，卻因派別的差異而互相殘殺。
在這種激烈交戰的情況下，阿富汗領導人自然死亡反而成為罕見的事。 1996年，塔利班在首次執掌阿富汗期間，公開處決前共產黨總統Mohammed Najibullah，並將他的屍體懸吊兩天。
2001年後，美國入侵阿富汗並擊退塔利班，阿富汗轉為美國式的民主政權所領導。然而，該政府也充滿舞弊和貪腐問題。由於忽視人權加上國家治理不當，塔利班得以在今年迅速推翻阿富汗共和國。Sepas認為，塔利班如今並無什麼改變，它仍是那個給阿富汗人民帶來恐懼的塔利班。
放眼阿富汗歷史，塔利班領袖的所作所為顯然並不「伊斯蘭」。他們只是利用宗教來行使政治詐欺，他們的所作所為都是種族及族群優越使然。
Activity Report: The Tafakkur ICCS-NYCU Muslim Film Festival Day 2
Date: 2021/10/23
Venue: Zoom webinar
Text: Irfan Muhammad (M.A. Student at IACS-UST at NYCU)
Honor killing are killings carried out with reasons to maintain the dignity and honor of the family. Ironically, this practice mostly targets women and is carried out by their kin. Although it occurs in many parts of the world with various religious backgrounds, in the contemporary context, this practice is still found in societies with a Muslim majority. Reports of this practice are common in countries such as Iraq, Palestine, or Saudi Arabia in the Middle East or Pakistan or Afghanistan in South Asia, making it unsurprising when people associate this practice with Islam.
The second day of the Muslim Film Festival features “Women of Freedom” (2016), a documentary film that reveals in detail the practice of honor killings in Palestinian society that is produced by Abeer Zeibak Haddad. This film portrays Palestinian women who are frequent targets of attempts on their lives where their parents and relatives endorse these acts of violence in reaction to what they consider a slight to their honor.
In the film, data shows that a whopping 55% of young Palestinians support the murder of women, and 58% think that when women are murdered it’s their fault. More often than not, the victims of these brutal acts end up dead, disfigured, or will be on the run for the rest of their lives. This film expresses the feelings of all parties involved, not only from the perspective of the victim but also the bereaved family and even the perpetrator.
Abeer then documents her visits to several women’s advocacy organizations in Palestine that track how many reports they received on this case. With the progress of time, the practice of honor killing itself has now been directly criticized by many Palestinians, especially the younger generation. Their refusal of this practice is carried out through demonstrations or theatrical and artistic actions in public spaces.
The screening of “Women of Freedom” was followed up with the director’s talk in the afternoon. It was made known that honor killing happens in many other places in the world including Europe and the United States. The UN estimates that about five thousand women are murdered every year around the world in connection to this violation of family honor. Her film wishes to encourage a discussion on this silenced and controversial problem that inflicts pain on many societies and aims to unravel the circumstance that led to this troubling phenomenon.
In Israel, Abeer’s home country, about ten Arab women are murdered every year because of this practice. The first time she heard about the honor killing in her society was when she was 10. There was a girl from her hometown in Nazaret who was pregnant out of wedlock. She then died in her own grandmother’s hands who poured mercury down her ear.
Abeer decided to break the silence around it and many other murder cases of women in her society surrounding the twisted term “honor killing”. As she researched for the movie, she met women who suffered murder attempts who now live in women’s shelters, afraid for their lives. On the other hand, she also met families of the women who were murdered and also a man in prison who murdered his sister. This man, raised to be the man of the house and to defend the family honor, is a victim of an education that has been passed on for generations.
While there is no honor in murder, and murder is murder, the legal system chooses to be understanding and sympathetic to this phenomenon and prefers to see this phenomenon as an internal issue of Arab society. Despite that, Abeer believes in the power of documentary cinema that can facilitate personal transformation since it has a lasting emotional impact on its audience. Based on this belief, Abeer continued to make films to open up new and different social attitudes. Besides “Women of Freedom”, she also directed “Duma” in 2011, a documentary film that shows the phenomena of sexual abuse in Palestinian society.
The title of her director’s talk was “Our Silence is a License to Murder”, which Abeer then revealed was the early title for “Women of Freedom”. However, after four years of research while making the film and three years of performances, discussions, and debates in various places, she concluded that the phenomenon of the murder of women did not stem from the silence of women but from the authorities, the government, and the lack of funding for education.
As the film strived to evoke discussion about the social and political circumstances surrounding these despicable acts, it raised the awareness to work and change this phenomenon in Arab society as a whole, especially in Palestinian society, and in the world in general. Since its first screening at the 2016 Haifa Film Festival, “Women of Freedom” has won five awards at different festivals around the world in 2018. The film also was shown in ten different Israeli prisons for prisoners with histories of brutal behaviour as part of their rehabilitation program, followed by a discussion between Abeer and the prisoners.
A more academic response to this issue came from Pakistani-American theologian, and Muslim feminist activist Dr Riffat Hassan. In her lecture, “Understanding ‘Honor Crimes’ in Muslim Societies: Case Study of Palestinian Women”, she explained the need to understand the theological and historical context of this practice in Islamic societies, especially those living in the Arabic world.
Dr Riffat then looked into the Quran, a sacred text that Muslims believe has told of this practice in pre-Islamic Arabia society. The practise of burying the daughter alive, for example, is stated in the 81st chapter (surah) in verse 9. In addition, the 16th surah in verses 57 to 59, tells of the anger of the people when one of them is blessed with a daughter instead of a more preferred son. All these portrayed the attitude of Arab society at that time toward women.
The pre-Islamic Arab society was a nomadic tribe who lived a nomadic life in the arid desert with difficult situations. In this situation, it was not easy to raise a family with many children and therefore they prefer a reliable son over a daughter. This is one of the reasons for refusing women, it is socioeconomic. However, the Quran then responds to this practice by revealing verse 31 in surah 70 which prohibits the practice especially for fear of poverty, taking into consideration of the existing socio-cultural aspects.
The second reason is that women are considered a threat to the honor of the tribe. In Arab society, there are two honor codes called Sharaf and Ird. Sharaf is honor in general and Ird is a special kind of honor to have only for men, which can be compromised or influenced by women’s behaviour. For example, if a woman or a girl from a tribe engages in behaviour that is considered socially inappropriate, especially in a sexual context, this will remove the Ird from her tribe.
Meanwhile, desert conditions with frequent battles between tribes make it very possible for a woman to be kidnapped by the enemy and raped. The men from that tribe will often retaliate by killing the man who raped the woman from their tribe, but this is often considered not enough and they will also kill the woman. This is because when the woman is allowed to live it will leave a dishonor for the tribe. In this context, the honor always belongs to males, never a female.
The Quran however, said Dr Riffat, never teaches anything like that. To punish adulterers, for example, the Quran requires the presence of four witnesses. If the accuser does not present the witnesses, the witness cannot be accepted forever, and the woman accused cannot be punished.
Dr Riffat also mentioned the gap between the normative teaching of Islam and culture. Religion, she said, did not just fall from heaven but lived in a particular culture. The same religion in different cultures will have different characteristics. According to her, the five main religions of the world: Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism, all developed within patriarchal cultures. Male-controlled, male-centred, and male-oriented, men are always at the top of the hierarchy while women are at the bottom.
Therefore, a non-patriarchal interpretation of the Quran is needed, considering that many interpretations are based on a patriarchal cultural perspective that was interpreted by men which then created a patriarchal bias. To that end, Dr Riffat uses the approach of linguistic accuracy, philosophical consistency, and the idea of justice.
According to her, when the Quran is believed by Muslims to be God’s revelation, it must reflect God’s qualities. The highest quality of God that distinguishes Him from others is Justice. As every verse must reflect God’s Justice, when there is a manifestation of injustice, it cannot be accepted as the correct interpretation. She also believes that the Quran is very protective of women, and there is no bias against women in the Quran.
Hence, this correct understanding of the Quran should be transmitted to Muslim women so that they know their rights and can be a tool for the liberation of equality. In the Muslim world today there are two types of movements. There are those who take the path of secularism in upholding human rights who do not use religion as a scalpel but instead only rely on human rights law. Meanwhile, Dr Riffat is part of those who believe that religion can be a source of tremendous liberation if it is understood correctly. Until now, women are still in the midst of situations of injustice, oppression, and brutality. She also hopes that all activists in the world will join in the fight against honor crimes.
Despite the pessimism surrounding the fate of women in the Muslim world, the second film of the day, “Women with Gunpowder Earrings” directed by Reza Farahmand in 2018, features a strong female war journalist Noor Alhelli who looks into the lives of the women and children of Islamic State Iraq and Syria (ISIS) combatants living in Iraqi refugee camps.
Noor, along with the team, must struggle amid the sounds and dangers of flying bullets on the battlefield between the Iraqi government and ISIS combatants. In the midst of the chaos, she approached several families of trapped ISIS combatants. They consisted almost entirely of women and children who are confused about their fate. The situation became even more difficult because not all of them could speak Arabic.
Some of these people came from Turkey to Eastern Europe, and some of them even came alone to the Islamic State territory because they were lured by prosperity. Some feel it is right to come there for religious reasons, while others feel that their husbands who joined ISIS solely for money reasons are not guilty of terrorism accusations pinned by the government.
Noor then dives deeper not only into the fate of the families of ISIS combatants who are stranded in the middle of the refugee camps but also the fate of a group of people who are victims of ISIS. She visited the Kojo area, which was the site of the massacre of the Yazidi minority by ISIS. In a village where only a few people remain, Noor hears the sad stories of those whose rights to life have been taken away.
This documentary shows the different sides of Noor who is not only a journalist working to uncover and tell stories but also a woman and a mother who has the strength of empathy to feel and to take action for those women and their families whose lives had been turned upside down by ISIS.
Since Afghanistan fell back into the hands of the Taliban in August 2021, public attention has returned to this South Asian country. After more than two decades of living under the republic, the return of the Taliban as a leader is feared to threaten Afghan society.
Women and ethnic minorities are considered the most vulnerable. Afghanistan has experienced.
Under the Taliban emirate, Afghan women live with many restrictions. They are not even allowed to leave the house for school. Likewise for ethnic and religious minority groups whose expressions are being monitored. The return of the leadership of the Taliban is feared to tear open old wounds that were slowly starting to heal again.
However, the repression of women and minorities in Afghanistan did not start from a Taliban-led Afghanistan. The practice was a long story.
In the second session of the second day of the ICCS-NYCU Muslim Film Festival, Saleh Sepas, an Afghan and the initiator of Parastoo theatre, said Afghanistan had lived a long time under the war. Compared to living as a refugee in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, tanks and whistling bullets are the actual norm in Afghan society.
War is often triggered by leaders and politicians who use religion for their political ambition and as an excuse for committing crimes of murder, genocide, and violence. Under this situation, women are the most vulnerable as they cannot even choose what they want to wear. Religion is not considered a personal matter, so freedom of religion is not something to be found in Afghanistan.
This is made worse by the existence of inter-ethnic conflicts.
During the leadership of Abdul Rahman Khan, the emir of Afghanistan in 1880, political problems occurred in the Hazara ethnic group where the majority of whom adhere to Shia Islam. At that time, religious leaders who were predominantly Sunni Muslims legitimized the killing of ethnic Hazara. 63 per cent of the Hazara people became victims of the ethnic cleansing.
The men were killed, while the women were sold as slaves. Under this condition, many women end up choosing to die rather than become slaves. These mentioned women fled to Mount Shashpar, Uruzgan. As Abdul Rahman Khan’s army drew closer, the women, numbering around 47, chose to jump off cliffs so they would not be captured, enslaved or raped.
Sepas showed a painting by Hasan Ali Hatef that depicted this very story that has been ignored or dismissed, a human tragedy that occurred in the era of Abdul Rahman Khan.
The policies that Abdul Rahman Khan carried out in the late 1800s to early 1900s were continued up till the current leadership of the Taliban. Although the leadership in Afghanistan continues to change both in terms of leadership ideology and state form, the misuse of the name of religion for political motives remains. For hundreds of years, Afghans have been tormented by this.
Afghanistan once existed under a secular regime under Amanullah Khan that replaced the fascist regime inheriting the spirit of Abdul Rahman Khan. It was on its way to becoming the Democratic Republic with a communist direction in the late 1970s. However, these changes have not provided the Afghans with good governance either.
In the era of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, even calling itself a democratic republic could not separate its governance from murder. The government, which was in power from 1979 to 1992, became a puppet of the Soviet Union, causing millions and hundreds of thousands of Afghans to be killed and disappear. Even though they are led by parties who claim to be intellectuals, they cannot escape the responsibility for the violence that has occurred.
During this era, there was also conflict among the people. Between the communists and the communists as well as between the communists and the anti-communists. This happened to many families including the Sepas family. One of his uncles was a communist while, his other uncle was a Mullah, an anti-communist religious leader.
This tragedy then became something that was passed down. Under the Ashraf Ghani’s Republic of Afghanistan, there is an Afghan family consisting of members of the Taliban and government soldiers. They interact at home, have breakfast together, but when they go to each other’s camps, they will fight each other. When both of them died, they were buried next to each other, but the tomb of one was planted with an Afghan flag while the other was planted with a Taliban flag. In 2017, Sepas created a theatrical performance featuring this story to illustrate the results of the misuse of religion by politics.
After the Soviet invasion and the collapse of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, a civil war between many Islamic factions erupted from 1992 to 1996. When fighting against the Soviet Union, they were in the same line of struggle and were known as the Mujahideen faction. However, due to differences in religious and ethnic views, these previously united factions began to disintegrate. According to Sepas, even though they echoed the same Takbir, an expression of greatness for God, they killed each other because of their different factions and religious styles.
It then became very rare for an Afghan leader to die of natural causes because of this heated situation. In 1996, during the Taliban’s first leadership in Afghanistan, they dragged the former communist President Mohammed Najibullah, executed him publicly, and hanged his body for two days.
After 2001, when the United States invaded Afghanistan and removed the Taliban, the regime changed again into an American-style democratic regime. However, the current regime is also full of fraud and corruption. With no proper consideration and vision for human rights affairs, this government’s mismanagements made it easy for the Taliban to overthrow the Afghan republic this year. The Taliban, Sepas believed, has also not changed with the Taliban who used to create horror for the Afghan people.
Looking at the historical landscape in Afghanistan, it is clear that what the Taliban leaders are doing is not Islamic. They only use religious reasons for political deception and the actions they take consist of racial and ethnic superiority motives.