Is there a difference between the act of imprisoning and torturing a 15 years old woman for five months as in the case of Sahar Gul and the act of urinating on dead bodies as this video shows? Can we draw a comparison and say which one is worst than the other?
I do not see any difference to begin with. But if I do, then I find the criminal torture and imprisonment of a minor more horrific. Besides, as an Afghan, I have a responsibility to point towards the social ills of my own society, before I burst out in anger against others, especially when they themselves confess to it, highlight the roots of the problem to which that act is only a symptom, question their social and political systems and challenge their people for their silence in the face of it. There is something in this confession worth learning from. But then, who said learning is easy!
What can we do to clean up our own mess? What can we do to prevent Sahar Gul's from happening? The case of Sahar Gul is the symptom of much deeper social and cultural problems that we wrestle with. We take pride in being a brave nation. What elements of pride reside in torturing a 15 years old minor? If we cannot even value and respect life, how dare we expect and require others to value and respect death? I am appalled by both. They hurt. They are painful. But what my own Afghan does to an Afghan is more painful than what a foreigner does to an Afghan. If I cannot hold my own Afghan accountable, how would I ever hold foreigners accountable?