Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is an incredible woman. Journalist, filmmaker, visionary, and advocate, she flits along the frontlines of the Pakistani Taliban and interviews top leaders and young recruits alike. Her eyes flash with determination, and her voice drips with urgency. Her wisdom is far beyond her 30 years of age, and her camera lens has seen far more terror and turmoil than most people see in a lifetime.
I met Sharmeen this evening at an event held in an innocuous community house in the suburbs of Chicago. She premiered her film The Taliban Generation, which describes the madrasa education system in Pakistan, The schools have become a breeding ground for the Taliban.
In the film she has an encounter with Shaheed, a 13-year old boy in Karachi. Shaheed, despite a lack of education in math, science, history, and literature apart from the Koran, has been taught how to think about women.
“Women are meant for domestic care, and that’s what they should do,” he says. “The government should forbid women and girls from wandering around outside just like the government has banned plastic bags. No one uses them anymmore. We should do the same with women.”
I am so grateful for Sharmeen’s work in Pakistan, speaking for those who have no voice and spotlighting a global problem that keeps women hidden and leaves an entire country in bondage. Tonight was a wake-up call for me. And a blessing. All at the same time.
You can watch Sharmeen’s documentary, which aired on PBS a few months ago, here.
Muslims pride in the belief of the afterlife and respect for our current existence. But now it seems we just don’t give a damn about it all. If I were to tell you that a governor was appointed for paying massive amounts of dollars or a minister is making money by selling LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas) files, I can guarantee you no less than a thousand emails and text messages would be circulating Pakistan. We are not a nation of drama queens. Enough is enough!
http://ahraza.wordpress.com/2009/10/26/enough-is-enough/