Samar Minallah talks about 'The Swat flogging video'

[khanzadi]

The Swat flogging video

At a time when the entire country was under the threat of militants, I not only brought the attention of the country to this video but also condemned it at the risk of my own life. Much to the disappointment of many "professional conspirators" , the video was made by the Taliban and not by me


A year has passed since we heard the screams of a girl from Swat and saw how she was flogged by the Taliban in open view of the public. The Taliban spokesman, Muslim Khan, admitted in clear terms that the Taliban had carried out this act. Not only did he say on international electronic media that the Taliban flogged the girl in public, he also admitted that the case had not been investigated properly before the girl was punished. In addition, he has said it on record that the punishment was not carried out in the manner prescribed by Islam, where a child is supposed to administer the lashes to women. And he said that the girl should not have been flogged in the open, in the clear view of the public.


Having heard all that loud and clear on TV, are we still disputing the fact whether the incident took place or not? If an Islamabad-based NGO allegedly paid money to filmmakers and actors in Swat to make a `fake' video, then did the Taliban spokesman also take money to say that the Taliban indeed carried out the flogging? For those who still think the entire country suffers from memory loss, please have a look at the video at this web address, in order to refresh your memory and help you decide sensibly, Click Here to View Muslim Khan Admittance

Much to the disappointment of our conspiracy theorists', the entire country condemned the incident. People came out on the streets and the Taliban and their supporters conveniently termed it as a western conspiracy and a video produced at the behest of "anti-Islam forces". The same Taliban apologists are again attempting to engage the people in this nonsensical argument. They ignore how the Taliban used violence against women and men, cutting throats, hanging body-parts in public places and executing people without any judicial process. They seem to have conveniently forgotten all those gruesome beheading videos in CDs that were sold openly as 'Swat-1' and 'Swat-2'.


All this was not only filmed by the militants but also proudly owned and disseminated by them. None were 'fake', none were funded by any anonymous NGO based in Islamabad. The entire world knew about them. Alas, short is the memory of our many so-called armchair analysts! "Always tell the truth. That way, you don't have to remember what you said" — Mark Twain.


An article recently published in a local English daily alleging that the video was fake, does not bear the name of a journalist. It does not specify the name or identity of the 'Swati man' who claims to have made the video. It does not give the name of the NGO that supposedly paid the 'local actors' for acting in the 'fake' video. If all these were paid actors, does that imply that the Taliban leaders who admitted that the incident had happened were paid too?


At a time when the entire country was under the threat of militants, I not only brought the attention of the country to this video but also condemned it at the risk of my own life. Much to the disappointment of many "professional conspirators" , the video was made by the Taliban and not by me. My role was merely to bring it to public attention. No NGO made millions by 'launching' the video because the video was already on mobile phones and the internet since weeks. The only thing "added" to it was open and clear condemnation from me.


In the words of Rehana Hakim from Newsline in April 2009, "Everyone, it appears, had been silenced into submission by the Taliban guns, including the ruling ANP government. It was shocking to hear an ANP spokesperson remark that the incident had taken place before the Swat peace agreement, and that the video clip released by a Pukhtun activist to TV channels was intended to break the peace-deal! Did the incident, whether it happened now or six months back, not warrant investigation or condemnation? " If this was not the `right time' to raise a voice in support of the Pakistani girl who was flogged, can someone tell me when is the `right time' to do such a thing?


Thanks to the distraction and maligning campaign, I have received death threats, my credibility has been questioned, again, but only by people who do not matter. The rest have given me strength and support.


The people of Pakistan came out onto the streets so that no other girl should be treated in this manner. As for myself, I have been giving voice to the women of this country for the last 15 years, and will continue to do so. I have spoken against all forms of violations and abuse against women. If the news item titled `Suicide bombers have set out in search of Samar Minallah' (Daily Mashriq, April 8, 2009) could not deter me, nothing will.


Enough of gimmickry has occurred in the name of politics and religion! Now, for yet another u-turn, again for portraying the perpetrators of the past as the heroes of today, I and many other conscious citizens of Pakistan will not let the women's voices be muffled yet again.


For all the self-proclaimed analysts who sit on their comfortable sofas commenting on how the girl could get up after she was flogged and the authenticity of the incident, a resident of Kala Kalay said,
"I witnessed the flogging myself, so there is no reason to doubt the occurrence", which was quoted in a local English daily. "At that time about 200 militants and 130 villagers were present to see the flogging of the girl. The flogging was a shocking development for the villagers. They had assembled to watch the screaming girl but everyone was frightened and helpless while the militants were unmoved," he said.
If this is `fake', what about the way Shabana was brutally killed in front of many silent spectators? All those (visible and invisible) Muslim Khans who remained unmoved have not only defamed our religion but also the integrity of each and every man and woman of Pakistan.


As for me, I will continue to challenge those who misuse Islam for power and politics. I will continue to raise my voice against individuals and political parties who use my religion to spread hatred. I will continue to expose and challenge the `conspiracy' and `propaganda' theories that try to befool the people of this country.


For those who continue to sit on the fence, I urge you to please join together to make our voices heard. It is essentially the sane voice of the silent majority that matters. In the words of Martin Luther King, "The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people, but the silence over that, by the good people."


The writer is a research anthropologist and documentary filmmaker with an MPhil from the University of Cambridge, UK. She is the Director of an NGO, Ethnomedia.
She can be reached at samarminallah@ yahoo.com

Daily Times
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Link: [url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\04\04\story_4-4-2010_pg3_4]The Daily Times[/url]

[Irshad Khan]

Its sad that such things are happening in the land of Pakhtuns. A greater threat to Pakhtu is the Arabinization that is happening there and the sad thing is our political leaders are so shortsighted that they fail to see beyond their hands that take the bribes.... look at this ANP leader creating excuses for the Taliban. He knows the problem of Pakhtunkhwa but acts like he is stupid and does not know.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKF1d-Hk1NM

[Irshad Khan]

Tuesday, April 20, 2010
By Javed Aziz Khan from The News
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=235112

PESHAWAR: The much-publicised flogging of a woman by the militants in Swat last year took a new twist recently after some media reports suggested that the video was a fake.

Some local people in Swat insisted that the incident had happened in front of many villagers. A recent media report suggested that a resident of Swat, who claimed to have prepared the video of the girl’s flogging, termed the film a fake, saying he had staged it for Rs500,000.

The report further claimed that the woman, clad in red clothes and wearing a traditional black burqa while being thrashed in the video by three bearded men after being brought from a mud-house, was also arrested who revealed to have received Rs100,000 for acting in the ‘show’.

The reports while mentioning sources claimed an Islamabad-based NGO had produced the video to defame the country. Malakand region’s Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Qazi Jamilur Rahman told The News that a team headed by superintendent of police (SP) investigation of Swat was probing the case.

“The girl had stated before the then Malakand commissioner that nothing such had happened to her. A few elders of the village also gave their statements, denying the incident,” said the divisional police chief, adding that the girl also gave her statement before the Ilaqa Qazi, expressing ignorance about the whipping episode.

On the other hand, former Swat district nazim Jamal Nasir insisted that the incident did take place and that the victim, Chand Bibi, denied the incident in her statement to the commissioner only because of fear and pressure. “There are many people who had witnessed the incident and they had narrated it to me,” claimed Jamal Nasir while talking to The News.

He promised to produce the whipped girl in a few days before this correspondent.Another villager of Kala Killay where the incident reportedly took place said on condition of anonymity that the flogging had occurred on the roadside near a mosque and a graveyard, and was witnessed by a large number of villagers as well as drivers and passengers of a nearby pick-up stand.

“The girl was forcibly married to the person with whom she was accused of having an affair. Now the man has kicked her out of his home and she is living a miserable life in her old house as both her parents are dead while one of her brothers is a drug addict and another is working abroad,” said the villager, who said he received day-to-day updates on phone after leaving the village due to fear of Taliban.

Apart from causing anger among the people in and outside Pakistan, the airing of video of the girl’s flogging publicly by militants was also noticed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry took suo moto notice of the incident and directed the-then federal interior secretary, Syed Kamal Shah, NWFP inspector general of police Malik Naveed Khan and the district administration of Swat to produce the girl before the court and submit a detailed report in the case.

On the Supreme Court directives, the girl who was later identified as Chand Bibi of Kala Killay on Dewlai-Mingora Road in Kabal teshil, had given a statement to the former commissioner Malakand, Syed Mohammad Javed, in presence of Ilaqa Qazi that nothing such had happened to her.

The commissioner along with top officials of the Interior Ministry recorded statement of the woman as well as some elders of the Kala Killay to produce them before the court. The girl, however, was never produced in the court.

There was contradiction about the marital status of the woman as police said she was the wife of one Adalat Khan of Kala Killay while Swat district Nazim Jamal Nasir believed she was a bachelor.

The Kabal Police Station had lodged the first information report (FIR) in the case against unknown people under 7-Anti Terrorism Act, Section 365, 337, 342, 120 and 121 of the Pakistan Penal Code on April 3 last year after the video became public. “I can say that so far we have not got any evidence that the incident has happened but we are further probing to verify the facts,” said DIG Police Qazi Jamilur Rahman.

Kohat region DIG Police Abdullah Khan also denied arrest of one of the producers of the video in Kohat. Some recent media reports had claimed that one of the accused, who had produced the video had been arrested from Kohat.

A villager, who wished not to be named, disclosed that the then commissioner Malakand, Syed Mohammad Javed, had told authorities that the area was inaccessible but he managed to go there along with a Taliban leader.

“A militant commander Mahmood Khan, who is now in custody of the authorities, also came to the village and warned the villagers not to tell outsiders about the incident. He threatened to set ablaze the whole village and take all their women along,” the villager claimed. He also accused militants of raping some women.

“A militant from the area was interested in Chand Bibi and he had proposed her twice but she had rejected the proposal. After gaining power, the militant decided to take revenge from the poor girl by accusing her of adultery,” he claimed.

Former district nazim Jamal Nasir recalled that the man who was accused of having an affair with Chand Bibi was an electrician whom her brother had brought to their home to fix some fault. At that time, he added, brother of Chand Bibi was also at home but the militants accused the two of adultery.

“The girl was taken from her home to a house abandoned by the local landlords where she was kept in custody for three days. Later, she was whipped in public. She was crying for help but nobody was coming for her rescue,” claimed Jamal Nasir.

[Nail]

Very informative detail...

[Irshad Khan]

I do not understand the "Talib" sympathizers still want to continue to call this video a fake. ANP of all people too!!!! I can understand that its a matter of shame for them and for all Pakhtuns but lets call a spade a spade and move on! Lets make sure that things like this NEVER happen again.... There are people in the village who say this flogging HAS happened! Even the medical officer who has seen the girl says she bears scars of lashings. She had to "fix" her statement for fear of being next on the Talib list.

Punjabis who sympathise with Talibs, also want to prove it a fake, had a discussion with many and said it never happened. I asked them to answer a simple question, why or how can a "story" be made that has an actual village name,acutal victom's name, actual parents name and the capture the actual main culprit with a statement from Muslim Khan? And if there was a possiblility why a similar "story" was not made about his daughter(even though it might be a fake story)?

A story has come to light that a talib wanted this girls hand in marriage and she refused along with her parents. This was a way of getting back to the family. I cannot validate this story but if someone has more details please do share.