New Beginnings for Afghans
Marjah is the place that saw bloody battles. Now the civil administration is trying to step in to keep the predators out.
THE MAYOR of Marjah has come to a town that he is mandated to be governed. He is not a local kid but was born and brought up in another town in the same province of Afghanistan as Marjah A lot of blood was shed before the day when an Afghan governor (read Mayor) came over to mix with the governed. His name is Zahir and he is an Afghan of the pushtoon descent who had been living in Germany for the last 16 years or so. Condition has stabilised, thanks to the US Marines. They are still there keeping a watchful eye. The Islamist Taliban terrorists are also lurking. Most of them have gone underground to fight for their cause another day. Some of them have melted away and have become a part and parcel of the local population. They look alike, eat alike, dress up alike and speak alike. Their Kalashnikov goes into action now and then sniping at the foreigners or foreign-friendly Afghans like Mayor of Marjah, Zahir.
Strange, but true! And as if in a trance he kept on saying good words for the Islamist terrorists who did not interfere with the sowing and harvesting of opium producing Poppy. He feared that the Americans and the Afghan police would destroy his lush green crop of poppy and leave him penniless. Zahir assured him of support in growing other cash crops and also social support but he looked unconvinced. Ali Mohammad, the farmer, accused the Afghan government and the police as corrupt who pocket all the money that the Americans and Europeans pour into Afghanistan for the welfare of the common man.
Brigadier Ghori, stepped in to make a short speech to convince the crowd that the greenery and the prosperity of Marjah was indeed a gift from the Americans. It was about half a century ago that they dug all the canals criss-crossing Marjah to make a desert into a fertile land that it was today. Americans would bring more prosperity. Now wisdom dawned. The Afghan brigadier buttressed his arguments by dispelling doubts of white man staying on in Afghanistan for ever. Brigadier Ghori said that the administration and defence of the country was in the hands of Afghan citizens and foreigners would return after peace and stability was restored. The assembly of farmers and workers looked convinced but wanted the Afghan government to show results lest the Taliban staged a comeback.
The Afghan society is a conservative one where women have little role to play outside the four walls of the house. Once they step out they are covered in a BURQA from top to toe with only their eyes behind a mesh visible to an outsider. It is true that the Afghans do not want foreigners to come anywhere near their women. The Taliban had dismantled all the girls’ schools and women's colleges. The progress of girls’ education was back to square one.
The new Afghan government has permitted women to work in offices and support the movement for democracy. Women themselves are keen on receiving education, working in government offices or private establishments and be financially independent. Some women have been elected to legislatures and they promote advancement of women in all walks of life. However, the progress is slow and is a case of too late and too little.
Never mind say the promoters of women's Liberation movement. A step forward today will mean a giant movement tomorrow.
Above all, the education of women and their participation as equal partners of men in all walks of life will help curb Islamist terrorism and cut the roots of their support. If women are given training in handling of weapons and field craft, they will be a big asset in beating the Taliban at their own game. It will take time though. In the Marjah meeting with Mayor, there were no women anywhere. Possibly it is a little early to expect them to break all barriers in one go. But the seed of women's freedom has been sown and the day of harvesting is not far off.
The promise of good governance and freedom from corruption that the new administration is making has to be fulfilled. It is not an easy job to cleanse the bureaucracy, the police and the politicians of corrupt practices. But a beginning has to be made to let democracy take roots.
The foreign troops must not show undue urgency to quit Afghanistan and return to the cosy comforts of their homes in the United States. The devilish hurry, if I may say so, will spoil the party that all democracies are planning for. A hurried withdrawal will be suicidal. If the Americans and the European troops withdraw in a jiffy, a power vacuum will be created. Pakistan, not a democracy but an oligarchy – cum-military rule, is waiting in the wings impatiently. They have tasted blood once when the Soviets had withdrawn. Pakistan then had become a virtual ruler of Afghanistan and had put the Taliban just as a front-face. Pakistan had allowed terrorism to prosper in the fertile soil there. It was in the Tora-Bora caves that Osama bin-Laden nurtured his plans of attacking America and bombing all commercial centres. Osama succeeded in his sinister designs. Americans dislodged the Al Qaida in 2001 and are there since then. A military withdrawal in a hurry now will put the clock back and bring TERROR to the doors of America and Europe once again.
It will, therefore, be in the interest of the western powers to stay on in Afghanistan and train the Afghan Army and the Afghan government to perfection so that they govern their own motherland. Good governance will keep the predators like the Al Qaida and the Taliban as well as their mastermind, Pakistan, at bay. The aim should be “Afghanistan for Afghans, by Afghans and of Afghans”. Let us all put our heads together and achieve the aim and keep the predators away.
Brigadier Ghori, stepped in to make a short speech to convince the crowd that the greenery and the prosperity of Marjah was indeed a gift from the Americans. It was about half a century ago that they dug all the canals criss-crossing Marjah to make a desert into a fertile land that it was today. Americans would bring more prosperity. Now wisdom dawned. The Afghan brigadier buttressed his arguments by dispelling doubts of white man staying on in Afghanistan for ever. Brigadier Ghori said that the administration and defence of the country was in the hands of Afghan citizens and foreigners would return after peace and stability was restored. The assembly of farmers and workers looked convinced but wanted the Afghan government to show results lest the Taliban staged a comeback.
The Afghan society is a conservative one where women have little role to play outside the four walls of the house. Once they step out they are covered in a BURQA from top to toe with only their eyes behind a mesh visible to an outsider. It is true that the Afghans do not want foreigners to come anywhere near their women. The Taliban had dismantled all the girls’ schools and women's colleges. The progress of girls’ education was back to square one.
The new Afghan government has permitted women to work in offices and support the movement for democracy. Women themselves are keen on receiving education, working in government offices or private establishments and be financially independent. Some women have been elected to legislatures and they promote advancement of women in all walks of life. However, the progress is slow and is a case of too late and too little.
Never mind say the promoters of women's Liberation movement. A step forward today will mean a giant movement tomorrow.
Above all, the education of women and their participation as equal partners of men in all walks of life will help curb Islamist terrorism and cut the roots of their support. If women are given training in handling of weapons and field craft, they will be a big asset in beating the Taliban at their own game. It will take time though. In the Marjah meeting with Mayor, there were no women anywhere. Possibly it is a little early to expect them to break all barriers in one go. But the seed of women's freedom has been sown and the day of harvesting is not far off.
The promise of good governance and freedom from corruption that the new administration is making has to be fulfilled. It is not an easy job to cleanse the bureaucracy, the police and the politicians of corrupt practices. But a beginning has to be made to let democracy take roots.
The foreign troops must not show undue urgency to quit Afghanistan and return to the cosy comforts of their homes in the United States. The devilish hurry, if I may say so, will spoil the party that all democracies are planning for. A hurried withdrawal will be suicidal. If the Americans and the European troops withdraw in a jiffy, a power vacuum will be created. Pakistan, not a democracy but an oligarchy – cum-military rule, is waiting in the wings impatiently. They have tasted blood once when the Soviets had withdrawn. Pakistan then had become a virtual ruler of Afghanistan and had put the Taliban just as a front-face. Pakistan had allowed terrorism to prosper in the fertile soil there. It was in the Tora-Bora caves that Osama bin-Laden nurtured his plans of attacking America and bombing all commercial centres. Osama succeeded in his sinister designs. Americans dislodged the Al Qaida in 2001 and are there since then. A military withdrawal in a hurry now will put the clock back and bring TERROR to the doors of America and Europe once again.
It will, therefore, be in the interest of the western powers to stay on in Afghanistan and train the Afghan Army and the Afghan government to perfection so that they govern their own motherland. Good governance will keep the predators like the Al Qaida and the Taliban as well as their mastermind, Pakistan, at bay. The aim should be “Afghanistan for Afghans, by Afghans and of Afghans”. Let us all put our heads together and achieve the aim and keep the predators away.
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