Back in September 2005, the now infamous Danish cartoon of the prophet Muhammad became a worldwide controversy. It was reprinted in newspapers in several countries and led to widespread Muslim protests and violence.

Now the book, The Jewel of Medina, a semi-fictional novel written by American journalist Sherry Jones about the youngest wife of Muhammad, has also led to a firestorm of controversy for its portrayal of the prophet. Many say it could incite similar acts of violence from radical Muslims.

The initial response to the advance edition of Jones’ book was explosive. It was dropped by her publisher Random House because of the anticipated backlash from the Muslim community even though it had paid her a US$100,000 advance. It was also pulled from bookshops in Serbia last August after pressure from Islamic groups.

But on October 15th, publishers Beaufort Books in New York and Gibson Square in the UK are set to publish the book in several countries with a planned printing of 50,000 copies. (Beaufort published O.J. Simpson's controversial book, If I Did It, about the murder of his ex-wife, while Gibson Square has also published similarly provocative works.) As a potential omen of what may come, on September 28th the home of Gibson Square publisher Martin Fynja was firebombed. UK authorities were aware of the plan and advised him to be away from his house. Four suspects were apprehended and arrested.

For Jones, who is still in the midst of a controversy that involves religion, fear and history, all she wanted was for the book to become a "bridge-builder between the West and Islam” by increasing the understanding of Islam.

"It felt injurious to my soul to receive comments about my book," Jones told me last month during the World Conference of Investigative Journalists in Norway. "But I welcome all points of view and opinions, and I'm happy to discuss my choices with anyone. In other words, I do expect controversy, which I think is very healthy. Debate and discussion are what free speech is all about," Jones adds.

Jones maintains that she wrote the book with respect for Islam. The book, she says, is a "feminist historical novel" that illustrates the early days of Islam through the eyes of A’isha and the prophet Muhammad. It is a tale about the equal role of women in Islam, a story of a wise and gentle leader in Muhammad who respected women and gave them rights they had never had before.

Former journalist and Journalism Professor at Georgetown University, Asra Nomani, first highlighted the controversial book in the Wall Street Journal. For her, the issue is not just about censoring the book, but on how “we are going to handle Muslim discourse.”

"[Critics of the book] argue that Islamic history is a sacred history and so to them, it is offensive. They call the book stupid, less intelligent discourse, satanic," explains Nomani. "Novels have to capture your imagination and I don't see what’s wrong about the book. The best thing to do is to recognize it."

Nomani attended the panel discussion in Norway and is also known as an activist in the Muslim reform and Islamic feminist movements. She admits that she held her breath reading through the scenes of Jones’ book.

"[Right away] I knew this will become controversial. Most Muslims wonder about A’isha's life. But the book is fine," Nomani says, adding that she was disappointed in Random House's decision to drop the book.

An ordinary woman

Jones describes herself as a feminist who believes every woman ought to have the opportunity to reach her fullest potential. A pacifist and a journalist since the age of 18, she was raised in a fairly poor military family in the southeastern United States but made the Northwest her home in 1986.

Since the second grade, all Jones wanted was to be a writer; she was always a voracious reader. A self-proclaimed “ordinary woman” and a mother to a teenager, she loves to cook, laugh, play classical piano, and read fiction books. Jones is also an environmentalist and believes strongly in animal welfare. A spiritual person, she embraces all religions as leading to the same God.

"What really matters is the way A'isha, Muhammad, and other figures from Islamic history spring to life in the pages of my book, enabling readers to feel true empathy for them and to better understand the egalitarian and peaceful underpinnings of Islam," Jones says.

Her inspiration to write The Jewel of Medina came from the 9/11 attacks when there was a lot of talk about Islam and about women’s repression under the religion in the US. She began to read books on women’s situations in the Middle East and historical books about Islam.

"The most remarkable woman of all was A'isha, prophet Muhammad's child bride at the age of 14. I was captivated by her story and felt great [admiration for] her leadership, independence and courage," Jones says. "I wanted to share that tale not only to tell the world what I learned about Islam, but hopefully to inspire women with a story of one woman's courage." Jones says that in trying to get the scenes right, she also never mentioned any graphic details of A’isha's sexual relationship with Muhammad.

Back on the shelves

The Jewel of Medina will finally be published this month in New York and the UK and is already being published again in Serbia. It is also scheduled for publication in thirteen other countries including Brazil, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Hungary and Poland.

"I carefully and thoroughly researched both The Jewel of Medina and its sequel, and I feel very comfortable and confident about the choices I made while writing them. I expect that others with different perceptions of A'isha will disagree with my interpretation of her," Jones says of her book.

But is she prepared for what may happen after its publication?

“My hope is that there is not going to be violence," she says. For Jones, all she hopes for is that once people read the novel in its entirety, they will engage in a "healthy discussion" about its content. "I have always been willing to listen to people about my work. I don't know what's going to happen until I see. What I have to do is to rely on God to give me strength and courage to face whatever happens.”




About the Author
Imelda Visaya-Abaño, began her journalism career in 1998 as a reporter at the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the leading daily newspaper in the Philippines. Her areas of interest are women and children's issues, science, environment, health, agriculture and education.

In 2002, Ms. Abaño was honored as the Asian Winner of the Global REUTERS-IUCN Media Awards on Environmental Reporting.

Ms. Abaño vows to continue serving her community through balanced news and fearless views. She believes in better journalism for better communities.

As it is, love can either be a blessing or a poison, depending on various aspects. But when love is felt for someone of the same sex, in some cultures, that love becomes a living hell - or simply a love created by a lesser God. Yes, a lesser God - not as strong and creative as the God we are used to. This lesser God created love but forgot to do the ample marketing needed to share the selling points of this particular love, such as poetry, music and literature.

Love knows no boundaries, but maybe our minds do. Otherwise why would I have asked my friend, Are you sure this is love and not just a greater friendship?

I am a human rights lawyer who believes that people should stand up for their rights, will, dreams and wishes in all situations. Now when a person close to me became a “victim” of this lesser love, I could not initially find words to advise her. But it got me thinking again about the trauma people around the world suffer from. In some cultures, women and men are forced into heterosexual marriages to cure what their friends and families call “psychological issues,” but which is actually a matter of a love created by a lesser God. My confusion? This dilemma took place in Sweden - a liberal, modern and educated country. It makes me wonder, if this confusion is so great amongst people living on “this side of the world,” what is the situation in countries where such love is actually a crime?

Social stigma and legality in India are forcing millions of people to suppress their natural emotions, wishes and dreams; socially constructed systems and perceptions that deem what is “normal and natural” are being imposed on society. Consider this: Indian law allows sentences from 10 years to life imprisonment for people caught indulging in the kinds of sexual relations that it identifies as being “against the order of nature” - the result of a 150 year old law. William Shakespeare’s famous quote - “They do not love that do not show their love” - is another miscalculation of this love created by a lesser God, because how is one to show and express the joys of love if the love one feels is not considered a natural emotion?

Homosexuals have been detained in clinics in countries like India and subjected to treatment against their will. The NAZ Foundation India Trust, an NGO, filed a petition with the National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC) regarding a case in which a man was forcefully subjected to shock therapy. The NHRC declined to take the case, as gay and lesbian rights were not under its purview. The Naz Foundation has challenged the constitutionality of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code in the Delhi High Court. The section describes homosexual intercourse as “unnatural sex.” The government dithered for two years before it filed its response and only did so after immense pressure from civil society groups and several judicial strictures. While its stalling is understandable as a tactic to eliminate another problematic litigation in the half-a-million or so cases clogging the Indian judiciary, the substance of its reply brings to light the country’s cultural straitjacket.

The government reply states:

“In fact, the purpose of this Section 377 ipc is to provide a healthy environment in the society by criminalising unnatural sexual activities against the order of nature... If this provision is taken out of the statute book, a public display of such affection would, at the most, attract charges of indecent exposure which carry a lesser jail sentence than the existing imprisonment for life or imprisonment of 10 years and fine. While the government cannot police morality, in a civil society, criminal law has to express and reflect public morality and concerns about harm to the society at large. If this is not observed, whatever little respect of law is left would disappear, as law would have lost its legitimacy.”

The government maintains that if “unnatural sex” is not prohibited, the normal social order would break down. To the government, issues relating to sexual minorities are not Indian, but something which only happens in the West.

To me, the right to life and livelihood is the most inherent right a person is born with. Whenever society forces a human being to comply with something that is actually killing a natural desire - the desire to share, love and be in love - the right to life and livelihood is immediately violated. In terms of civil laws, the entire scope of benefits, which flow out of the institution of marriage, are heterosexually ordered. There is no space whatsoever in an Indian family to express a non-heterosexual alternative. In traditional India, where marriage is life’s most important event and no family is complete without children and grandchildren, homosexuality is rarely acknowledged, let alone accepted.

Marriage under all personal laws and the Special Marriage Act in India are defined as an arrangement between two members of the opposite sex. This has caused particular violence to lesbian women in India who have forcefully articulated their desire to have their relationship validated by marriage. There have been ten documented cases of lesbian marriages since 1988, all of which were challenged.

The police, under the Criminal Procedure Code, have the power to arrest on suspicion that a crime is going to be committed. It is this unsighted power which is used to harass and violate the homosexual population who frequent public parks. There are documented cases of police abuse, including illegal detention, extortion, abuse and intimidation of the homosexual population. It discourages reporting of male rape, and thus encourages such rape, often by police. In sum, it disrupts the social existence of all “same sex persons,” erodes their dignity and self-respect, and reduces them to a sub-human level of existence. The silence and shame around the issue of homosexuality is so great and the fear of being isolated and discriminated so prevalent that a lot of those who are caught by the police prefer to pay a fine rather than fight for their human rights. Almost none of the cases go to court with the person being let go after he has paid off the police officer. Human rights abuses are thereby legitimized by law.

A law this unrealistic creates a stigmatized identity of the “homosexual as criminal.” Instead of breaking down discriminating social structures, the media encourages this antiquated value system by legitimizing the legal notion of “unnatural offense” and propagating such notions of homosexuals as “psychopaths, retarded and dangerous.” I have always wished that in Bollywood’s efforts to ape Hollywood, the film industry would figure out that it has the power to convey and correct misconstrued notions on difficult issues like homosexuality. But the film industry is just as disconnected from reality as the politicians of this nation. Hindi cinema through its launch of the homophobic film Girlfriend in 2004 - a violent modern depiction of lesbian love - has shown that even otherwise liberal Bollywood is not ready to discuss homosexuality. And with an education system where sex education is still taboo, it is unrealistic to even talk about introducing the concept of homosexuality as something normal.

Given all the stigma, the discrimination, the hatred, the government’s ignorance, the unrealistic laws and an old fashioned education system, how do we make this love created by a lesser God less complicated to people - people like myself, who constantly claim that it’s just love, a deep affection for another human being, and that’s all. Still, when this love appears on my doorstep, even I get confused. Where love should be effortless, it instead becomes a curse, all because of the boundaries of the mind. I wish that every person in love could follow Shakespeare’s words and even if the love is not mutual, one could rejoice in the sweet memories that love brings - like when I pass a particular kebab-place here in Stockholm, my whole heart rejoices. Well, that’s another story for another day.

In the name of love,
Parul Sharma



About the Author
Parul Sharma is a human rights lawyer and activist based in Stockholm, Sweden. Parul has written several articles on the rights of children and women and victims of crime. Parul is the author of the book Right to Life; the pluralism of human existence, released by India Research Press in April 2007. For the last few years, Parul has been working on issues related to corporate social responsibility with Swedish companies investing in emerging markets.

Visit her website A Seachange to learn about her initiative to inspire change "based on voluntarism and the power of each individual to make a difference."

No, this is not a parody of the 1990 Johnny Depp film Edward Scissorhands. This is Pearl Fryar’s life – and the engaging subject of the new documentary, A Man Named Pearl. For 78 minutes directors/producers Scott Galloway and Brent Pierson lovingly capture Fryar’s spirit and artistry as a self-taught topiary artist who has overcome a lifetime of bigotry to become internationally respected. The film is currently in theatres and will be released on DVD in December.

In 1976 Fryar and his wife Metra moved to Bishopville, South Carolina. As the son of a North Carolina sharecropper, Fryar was no stranger to racism; when the Fryars attempted to buy a home in a predominantly white neighborhood, they were told they weren’t welcome because “Black people don’t keep up their yards.”

Today Fryar’s garden is nothing short of awe-inspiring. The mazes of abstract topiaries and looming trees shaped with mathematical precision could easily be compared to the great European gardens, namely Versailles. The 68 year old Fryar is not just a gardener, he is an artist. In the ultimate stroke of irony, Fryar’s magnificent garden has been become incredibly well known and respected, even appearing in the New York Times.

What makes Fryar’s work even more amazing is that he does not pay for a single plant. Instead, he frequents the local nursery to rummage through discarded plants that are left to die. He has never taken a horticulture class and is completely self-taught. According to Fryar, “I don’t go by the book.” Fryar’s self-training has actually been an asset because he is not held back by artistic conventions or expectations. He never sketches; he just visualizes shapes and then works until he achieves his vision of each living sculpture.

• Pearl Fryar overcame racism by uniting people from all walks of life in his garden. •

While his garden is stunning, Fryar himself is really the story. His ascent from bigotry and poverty to fame and prosperity is truly the American Dream. But the very fit and attractive Fryar is incredibly humble; instead of bragging about his accomplishments, he prefers to discuss his strong Christian faith and the inspiration he draws from legendary African American baseball player Jackie Robinson. Despite the full-time job of single-handedly maintaining his garden, he regularly lectures at colleges, in addition to mentoring kids.

Fryar is a perfect subject for a documentary, but at times, the film falters and feels like a shallow fan letter; the filmmakers devote too much time to interviewing friends and fans who basically add little depth to the film. Fryar’s dramatic back story, including his hardscrabble childhood, is merely glossed over.

Despite these shortcomings, A Man Named Pearl is a feel-good film about a person who used his passions and talents to overcome racial discrimination by creating something beautiful from nothing. The transformative nature of Fryar’s garden is a potent symbol of the intolerance he overcame – and a true testament to the power of hope and perseverance.

- Images courtesy of Shadow Distribution

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No political meeting happens in Malawi without song and dance. Clad in colorful political party regalia, women and girls are the traditional singers and dancers for the country’s political parties. They sing adoring songs of praise for the political leaders they support and mock those who represent political interests different from their own. The majority of Malawi’s politicians are men.

As the country’s Presidential and Parliamentary elections draw closer, the women of Malawi want to move away from being mere singers and dancers; 425 women have mobilized to contest for the country’s 193 parliamentary positions in next May’s elections.

An aspiring MP Margret Nyakondowe says she is contesting because she understands the challenges facing people, especially women and children, better than any man.

"I am a mother and I know the needs of mothers in this country. I would like to see an end to those challenges and I will advocate for them in Parliament," says Nyakondowe.

In July, the campaigners launched a national program to increase women’s representation and participation in politics and decision-making positions – the crusade has been dubbed the 50:50 campaign. Its primary goal is to have 50 percent or more women holding parliamentary positions after the 2009 elections.

Lilian Patel, Chairperson of the Malawi Parliamentary Women Caucus and a current MP, says the women are not asking for special favors, just to be given a chance to be part of the country’s development.

"We always work extra hard as women in Parliament. We want to see women and the whole nation prosper. We have the people's interest at heart," says Patel, who has been an MP for 14 years.

The battle promises to be tough since the targets set are much higher than the number of women who currently hold decision making positions; at the moment there is only a 14 percent representation of women in Parliament, 16 percent in the executive arm of government and 12 percent in the judiciary.

“Malawi has made unsatisfactory strides in getting more women into Parliament,” worries Minister of Women and Child Development, Anna Kachikho, especially since the country is party to various international and regional instruments which call for the involvement of women in decision-making positions. Malawi has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Gender and Development Declaration, the Beijing Declaration, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and the African Union Solemn Declaration of Gender Equality.

Already, hurdles against the women aspirants are emerging from the country’s major political parties – some leaders in constituencies are literally blocking women from contesting. The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has set up excessive primary elections participation fees to hinder women from contesting, while the major opposition party, Malawi Congress Party (MCP), has declared that it will not give any special treatment to its women parliamentary candidates.

“Of course the elections are a competition, but men already have an unfair advantage over women, partly because of their well established financial capacity,” says executive director of the Association for Progressive Women (APW), Reen Kachere. According to government gender statistics, only 23 percent of women in Malawi have an equal or greater say in economic decisions at home.

“With start up financial incentives for women, the situation could be reversed to ensure sustainable women participation in politics and decision making,” says Kachere.

Under the 50:50 program, each candidate will be trained in assertiveness, advocacy, lobbying and campaigning. They will also receive $700 as start-up campaign money and media exposure.

• Women in Malawi sing in praise of their favorite politicians, but soon hope to have a more important stake in the country's development. Photograph by Pilirani Semu-Banda. •

But according to NGO GCN board chairperson Emma Kaliya, violence also deters women from participating in politics. Reports of violence and harassment always occur in Malawi, especially in the run-up to elections. Fights have already been broken up this month as different political parties hold parliamentary primary elections.

This unruly behavior by male parliamentarians discourages many women from contesting and the use of insults against women MPs is ever present in the Malawi national assembly.

The leader of opposition in Parliament, John Tembo, recently accused women in Parliament of getting cosmetic surgery. While making the remark, he pointed at the Minister of Information, Patricia Kaliati, one of the women in Parliament who is well-groomed. Some women MPs have even been called prostitutes, ugly and unmarried.

“MPs should tone down the language they use against women. This is a sad development because the shortage of women in the House is affecting discussions that affect them. For instance, issues to do with maternal deaths and property grabbing are not discussed,” says Kaliya.

But those championing the 50:50 campaign continue to encourage women’s participation in the coming elections despite these impediments. Through UNFPA, the United Nations in Malawi believes that a critical mass of women in politics tends to influence public priorities and helps to keep gender equality, women’s rights and issues of reproductive health rights high on the agenda of public policies and budgets.

Says UNFPA gender expert Veronica Njikho, “UNFPA is committed to helping the Malawi government and other civil society organizations that are championing the 50:50 campaign to ensure that they strengthen the skills of women aspirants for them to run successful campaigns.”

Njikho also says the UN would like to see political parties provided with the skills necessary to ensure that conducive political space is provided to women contestants and that the general populace is mobilized to support women candidates during the elections.

The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), which facilitates elections in the country and boasts 50 percent female representation, also supports the effort. The chairperson of the electoral body, Anastasia Msosa, has since appealed to traditional, political and religious leaders to make deliberate efforts to encourage more female participation in the 2009 electoral process.

Msosa observes that the active participation of women is vital considering that females in the country make up 60 percent of the electorate. “It would be great to see women use their voting power to be in power,” says Msosa.

But it is not only women that want to see the number of women increase. A prominent male civil rights activist in the country, Unandi Banda, says it is vital to choose women for parliamentary positions as they know social and economic problems much better than most men because women and girls in Malawi suffer most in terms of securing basic resources like water and firewood.

“Women are better placed to come up with policies that could improve the people’s lives,” says Banda. “For example, the lone member of parliament for the opposition Alliance for Democracy, Loveness Gondwe, always gives constructive criticisms during parliamentary debates. Most male MPs just make unnecessary noise.”

A district commissioner in Malawi’s southern district of Chikwawa, Lowford Palani, says that every nation requires the full involvement of women to develop.

Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) executive director Undule Mwakasungula agrees with the sentiments that it is the women that know best the socioeconomic problems confronting the country.

“Look at the long distances women travel to the nearest health center for health care, only to be told there are no drugs. Look at the long distances they cover to fetch water,” says Mwakasungula. Most women and girls in Malawi travel an average of 5 kilometers per day to collect water, carrying a container that holds about 20 kilograms of water on their heads. The average person in Malawi travels 20 kilometers to reach the nearest health center.

Like the many of the people who support these women in their fight for parliament, I believe women make better leaders than men. The women in the Malawi Parliament and those in decision-making positions are rarely implicated in corruption cases. They're more honest and have the people's interest at heart; issues of national importance like the environment, health and education get more attention from women parliamentarians.

The Malawi government through the Ministry of Women and Child Development has since pledged its commitment to ensure that women have equal access to parliamentary seats.

UNFPA Resident Representative in Malawi, Esperance Fundira, says the program to increase women in politics is not just about numbers. Citing the critical role women parliamentarians played in getting the Prevention of Domestic Violence Bill passed into law in 2006 she says, “There is overwhelming evidence from within Malawi on the difference women bring to the table when they are in key decision making positions. We must remember that by empowering a woman, the whole nation tends to benefit and we stand a better chance of achieving the Millennium Development Goals and making gender equality a reality.”



About the Author
Pilirani Semu-Banda is a freelance journalist based in Malawi. As a freelancer, Pilirani has won both local and international awards, including the Africa Education Journalism Award. She has also been voted Malawi’s best female journalist twice.

As the world observed the International Day of the Disappeared last month on August 30th, Asima Mohi-ud-Din attended a silent protest rally organized by the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP). For the last three months, protests over the transfer of 800 kanals of land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) have prevented the APDP from holding their monthly protests. Desperate to share her story with the world, this eighteen-year-old resident of the Baramulla district in Indian-administered Kashmir penned her grievances in an open letter.

"The sorrow that cannot be overcome has to be tolerated,” she begins. "This is a true story of a family that lived happily until an evil spirit caught it.”

Asima was only three years old, but the incidences of that evening are burned into her memory forever. On June 22, 1993 at 11:30 p.m., her household was awakened by a sudden knock at the door. As her grandmother approached the door with a flashlight, a band of unidentified armed men broke in.

Since that day, her father and uncle have been missing. Her mother, Haleema Begum, tried desperately to locate them using whatever clues she could gather from neighbors and administrative offices. As the years passed, Asima watched her mother become increasingly dejected. Traumatized by the loss and overwhelmed by the burden of caring for four young daughters, Haleema developed a fatal heart ailment. Unable to afford the necessary medical treatment, she passed away in 2006.

"She was our lone support, but that too was taken away by the Almighty. Had she lived more years, things would have been different for us," says Asima.

• Most of the victims' families have never found their missing family members. Photograph by Afsaana Rashid. •

Today, Asima and her sisters are calling for justice. "No one can imagine the way we live," says Asima.

Miles away in the district of Srinagar, a mother who has lost all four of her sons to the country’s conflict lives in abject poverty, in a tiny room. Barely in her early fifties, Sayeeda Begum ekes out a living spinning yarn, working day and night.

Sayeeda lost her husband, Ghulam Mohammad Dar, many years ago. After his death, the family plunged into poverty and a downward spiral of despair. Then, Sayeeda's eldest son, Nazir lost his life at the age of 25 in a bomb blast in 1990. He was killed by the explosion while selling goods on a handcart. A couple of years later, her son Tariq, a carpet weaver by profession, died in the cross-fire between Indian forces and militants in Safa Kadal. A few afer that, Sayeeda’s youngest son Mushtaq, a professional driver, was also killed by cross-fire. Witnessing the fate of his brothers, her fourth son seemed to lose his mind. Nissar, a tailor who occasionally worked as a laborer, suddenly went missing one morning.

Sayeeda says that she went to various places to find her missing son, but without success. "The machine he worked on still lies at home. Seeing it sends shivers down my spine."

Kashmir's Power Struggle

The status of Kashmir is a major stumbling block in relations between India and Pakistan, to date involving two declared and two undeclared wars. When the conflict started in 1989, many people began disappearing on both sides.

Some victims were arrested by the Indian troops and police for alleged involvement in militant activities. The families of those arrested believe that the victims are often killed after being tortured in custody, but many still hold onto the hope that they will see their dear ones again. Many have waited for over ten years without any word of the victim’s status.

There is no report that can prove that any missing persons taken by the government have ever returned. Exhumations have taken place in the few cases where families have tried to find out on their own where their missing relatives are buried. Tipped off mostly by locals or activists in the field, these families travel from place to place, seeking clues, especially in the rural areas. They mostly ask gravediggers if they have buried anyone that looks like their loved one. Some have exhumed bodies and some have not, but most have considered a grave as proof of their relative's death.

Some people have been subjected to disappearance by the militants on the pretext that the victims were working as informants for the Indian forces, but it is believed that these cases are rare.

Families are generally reluctant to identify the kidnappers, preferring to say that their loved ones were disappeared by “unidentified gunmen.” They do not disclose who was responsible, whether the Indian forces (the Central Reserve Police Force and the Border Security Force) or the militant groups, for fear of retaliation against them or their families.

The JKCCS & The APDP

Many like Asima and Sayeeda have turned to Kashmir’s APDP, an organization of the families of victims who have suffered enforced or involuntary disappearances. Campaigning for justice since its formation in 1994, APDP is now calling for an independent investigative commission and asserts that 8,000 to 10,000 people in the war-torn Kashmir valley have been forcibly disappeared since 1989. The government’s official position is that the numbers are much lower, claiming that no more than 3,931 have been disappeared since the conflict began.

• Without support from the government and few resources, these women simply wait for news.
Photograph by Afsaana Rashid. •

"It is the monetary benefits and lack of accountability that resulted in the split of APDP. Those who are really in need of help receive nothing more than slogans," says a social and human rights activist, who does not want to be identified.

However, both branches of the organization vow to continue their fight. Many families of the disappeared have lost patience with the court system, complaining that cases often are left pending for many years without resolution. When a court does issues a ruling in a family’s favor, the other branches of government are not obligated to honor the decision due to the State Human Rights Commission’s status as a recommendatory body.

“Courts have failed us but we will continue our struggle until our last breath,” declares Parveena Ahangar, whose own son has been missing for years. She says the families of the victims don't care about monetary compensation. "We simply want to know the whereabouts of our children; release them if they are in jails or show us their dead bodies if they are dead.”

Pervez Imroz, president of JKCCS and legal advisor of APDP says, "This situation is being confronted by three hundred thousand family members. The government has been too insensitive to this issue. More shocking is the indifferent attitude of civil society groups who [are not speaking up]. We are planning for international pressure because we feel only that works. We want to expose this indifference to the whole world.”

Last Hope

With their land divided by multi-decade conflict, their family members missing without news, the APDP split in two, and the government avoiding responsibility for this crisis, what hope is there for Asima and Sayeeda? For Asima, it is the hope that women around the world will read her open letter, and be called to act. Indeed, living in a constant state of crisis, for her and her sisters it may be their only hope for a better life.



About the Author
Afsaana Rashid is a journalist living in Indian-administered Kashmir and the author of Waiting for Justice: Widows and Half Widows, a book that addresses the plight of many women whose husbands have been subjected to enforced disappearance or custodial killings over the past two decades of Kashmir's conflict. Currently the chief correspondent for Kashmir's English daily, Khidmat, she was also a senior correspondent with Daily Etalaat, and has written for The Kashmir Times and Kashmir Images. She received her Masters in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University of Kashmir.

In 2005, Afsaana was awarded a fellowship for her work on the impact of conflict on the subsistence livelihoods of marginalized communities in Kashmir by Action Aid India. The following year, she was awarded a Sanjoy Ghose Media fellowship for her work in conflict areas. She also received a UN Population Fund-Laadli Media Award for best reporting in adverse conditions on gender issues in April 2008.

Devoted to covering human rights violations, Afsaana hopes to give a voice to the voiceless.

“While nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer, nothing is more difficult than to understand him” - Mikhailovich Dostovsky

The tiny island nation of Sri Lanka has been plagued by terrorism for the past 25 years. Citing irreparable differences with the majority ethnic group, the armed militant group the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelaam (LTTE) is demanding 35% of the country’s landmass and over 75% of its surrounding sea for a separate Tamil state. Constituting only 6.5% of the country’s population, over half of the country’s Tamils currently live amongst the majority Sinhalese.

It was the LTTE that reshaped conventional warfare by introducing suicide bombers – in particular, the female suicide cadre. The LTTE arguably still remains the global leader in suicide terrorism, carrying out two-thirds of the world’s suicide attacks. The real “men of steel” for the LTTE have been its female suicide bombers, who account for 40% of its suicide activities. It’s difficult to understand how a woman would choose to become a human bomb.

Why Suicide Terrorism?

Much study has been dedicated towards identifying and evaluating the psychological and sociological motives for suicide terrorism. The suicide unit of the LTTE calls itself the Black Tigers – of this, one-third are women who are venerated for their acts in LTTE cemeteries. With no body to bury, their granite tombstones watch over an empty grave. Before embarking on their mission, suicide cadres are given a special meal of their choice with the LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabakaran and a handsome monetary benefit is given to the family of those who are successful in their suicide missions. And each year on July 5th, the Black Tigers who have given their lives to the cause are celebrated by the LTTE, with Prabakaran lighting a lantern for each.

In her book, Women Fighters of Liberation Tigers (1989), the Australian wife of LTTE theoretician, Adel Balasingham describes the decision of Tamil women who join: “they are not satisfied with the social status quo; it means they are young women capable of defying authority; it means they are women with independent thoughts; young women prepared to lift up their heads.”

But this still does not explain why a woman would need to choose death over life to assert her power.

All suicide missions are generally successful - there have only been a few cases where vigilant military and even the public have been able to identify suicide bombers before an attack. A female suicide cadre sent to assassinate the current Prime Minister of Sri Lanka was apprehended on January 5, 2000 by the police before she could carry out her mission. Having been sent from the rebel-held territory in Sri Lanka’s jungles, it was only natural that she not be aware of the fashion trends in Colombo. So after watching her for a few days, the police apprehended her and removed the suicide kit strapped to her bra, stopping her from biting the cyanide capsule that all LTTE members are compelled to wear in an amulet. She is still in prison.

Recently the Norwegian government funded the movie My Daughter the Terrorist, which explores the paths of two female Black Tigers. The film raises an important question for me - how can a government, especially one that has been acting as a peace facilitator in Sri Lanka, agree to fund a movie when suicide and suicide bombing are deplored the world over? Though there have been different interpretations of the film, the Sri Lankan embassies have objected saying it sends the wrong signals to youngsters by glorifying suicide bombers on film.

But it also makes an important point about how politicized the world has become. Though many become cadres believing that the militant outfit is giving its all for “the cause,” it’s more likely that these men and women have been brainwashed and even drugged. Throughout the world, militant groups often sedate their cadres, sometimes in their food, to ensure loyalty and obedience. This partially explains how young men and women could choose to remain in the most challenging of conditions – often in the jungles, exposed to the elements, enduring the mosquitoes, without proper nutrition or even clean sheets or towels.

Though no official statistics exists, some reports claim that there are as many as 5,000 child recruits in the LTTE, accounting for 30% of the group’s brigade. Young boys, forcefully taken by the LTTE from their mothers’ arms, grow up knowing nothing more than hero worship for their militant leader. Childhood pranks are soon replaced by shooting at government armed forces in cold blood. Young girls are also taken against their wills, forced to strip and change into tiger attire - their dreams of home replaced by rigorous, early morning training sessions, LTTE indoctrination, tasteless meals and ultimately, a suicide mission.

Is this what these women suicide cadres want from life? Is this what they really want to be remembered as? Have they simply buried their old identities, giving up the desire to have or career or a family? Or is there something more to this gruesome exploitation of women? Even the LTTE leader’s only daughter did not become a member of the elite Black Tigers, showing the obvious hypocrisy of the LTTE’s philosophy – she was sent overseas to study and has never experienced what any of these LTTE women have had to endure.

I think the LTTE is turning to women for its suicide missions because they are less conspicuous and can easily blend into a crowd. Men are prone to greater scrutiny and their movements watched. Similarly, the LTTE targets children as they are able to move quickly in the country’s thick jungles and easily escape detection.

The LTTE would have us believe that these women are prepared for their “cause,” but we really do not know what goes on in their minds – none of the journalists I know have ever been able to question these women before their deaths. But a lot can be gleaned from the suicide cadre who was apprehended before carrying out her mission. Today she begs for clemency, begs to be given a new lease on life and asks to be pardoned. She is cooperating with the authorities, helping them obtain vital information about LTTE hideouts and operations. She is also undergoing psychiatric treatment in the course of her rehabilitation and hopefully someday, will lead a peaceful life.

Though we may never really understand what makes these terrorists tick, we do know that the leaders of these groups have brainwashed their followers into carrying out tragedies that serve only their personal desire to achieve power outside of the democratic framework that is accepted by the rest of us. Politicized and polarized, they are hidden in Sri Lanka’s jungles, waiting to use their bodies as human shields and bombs for a leader who will stop at nothing to secure a separate state.



About the Author
Shenali Waduge is a working mother of two from Sri Lanka. She received her Bachelors and Masters degrees from the University of Delhi in India. She has lived abroad in both the UK and India and derives great joy from learning about other cultures. Shenali’s journalism is an outlet to express her desire to see a more fair and just society. A voice for truth, she covers politics, social change, culture, women’s issues and education. Shenali regularly contributes to the Asian Tribune and Lankaweb.

Shenali is also an artist and volunteers her time to programs that help the needy in Sri Lanka. Her dream is to see a world without armaments, without strife and with the freedom for all to experience world cultures.