From ancient times, the scars of war shown through poetry

A place that is very close to my heart is Afghanistan. It is so rich in culture and in tradition. It is also a land that has fought for its identity and home since its inception and even until today. Afghanistan’s history has consisted of successive power struggles among neighboring countries, against various Afghan tribes, and between genders. Except for the changing national borders, Afghanistan looks very similar to what Genghis Khan and the Mongols were fighting to conquer in the thirteenth century; to what the Mughals and the Persians sought to expand in the sixteenth century; to what the British and Soviets tried to dominate in the eighteenth and then the nineteenth century. Throughout its history and until today, Afghanistan has also seen a constant struggle for women’s rights, primarily dependent upon who is in power. One Afghan woman reflected,

I remember the time of King Zahir Shah. Schools were open then and everything worked. Our lives were good. I remember the first time that women removed their burqas. The government gathered women from all areas and told them that they could show their faces. That was in 1959.

When will Afghanistan receive a break from this oppression?! I don't think anyone can answer this. Although most Afgans, and particularly Afghan women, have not been able to make great strides in Afghan policies over the war-torn centuries, at least some have found a means to express themselves and to fight back with words through poetry. Approximately 90% of women in Afghanistan are illiterate. The remaining 10%, however, have historically provided a great sense of inspiration for their suffering country men and women through their writings.

Take a moment more to feel a small sense of Afghanistan's heart.

To a Suicide Attacker
I'll ask you in the presence of God,
That in order to go to heaven
Why did you orphan my children?
Why did you widow a sick woman?
Why did you kill the son of an old lady?
Why did you kill the only brother of a weak girl
-Ahmad Fawa Lamay

Waiting for Peace
The sorrow and grief, these black evenings,
Eyes full of tears and times full of sadness,
These burnt hearts, the killing of youths,
These unfulfilled expectations and unmet hopes of brides,
With a hatred for war, I call time and again,
I wait for peace for the grief-stricken Pashtun.
-Zarlasht Hafeez (female Pashto poet)

I remember you

I remember you...
when you have no choice, no voice, no rights, no existence when you have no laughs, no joy, no freedom, no resistance your pain, your agony, your silence, your loneliness your anger, your frustration, your cries, your unhappiness

I remember you...
when you are abused, attacked, beaten and veiled when you are tortured, strangled, choked and almost killedyou feel numbness, nothingness, lifelessness and tears you are a shadow, a ghost, a creature with many fears

I remember you...
when you in the darkness, stillness of a star-less night lift your arms to the sky, with sadness and fright and ask the universe with eyes full of tears and pain why all these crimes? for what reason? can anyone explain?

I remember you...
when you finally will rise and stand on your feet and say " No! I will not stand for anymore defeat!" you will break the chains, burn the veil and destroy the walls! you will scream with all your might "Damn you all!"

I remember you...
when you take the solemn oath that you will struggle, resist and fight that you will gain your freedom with all your mightthat you will never give up, no matter how heavy the cost never again will you be confused, pitiful and lost

I remember you...
when you gain your rights, reach your goals and hope(s) but the path is hard, full of obstacles, you must learn how to cope to cope while struggling for your ultimate goal a reborn woman, free, independent and whole.
-Dr. Zieba Shorish-Shamley
(a poem dedicated to Afghan women)