Feminine Resistance
By Bushra Jahani, translated from Persian to English by Rustam Seerat.
Over twenty years ago, Afghanistan fled from the hyenas known as the Taliban, seeking a path to eternal salvation. Yet, before reaching that path, it surrendered again, falling prey to the same hyenas it had been fleeing. During this time, I managed to go to school despite the suppression and patriarchal wrath that surrounded me. When I finished school, my family decided that I should get married. None of the excuses I offered were adequate. With no other option, I used university as a pretext. I said, “I don’t want to marry until I finish university. If you force me, I swear to God, I will kill myself.” My words persuaded my mother, who then spoke to my father, asking him to wait until I completed my studies. Reluctantly, he agreed. The next day, heading to his military duty, he blocked my path in the yard and said, “Listen, girl! Your mother begged me to wait until you finish university and not bring up your marriage. But I swear to God, if you mess around or do anything wrong by then, I’ll bury you alive in this very yard! Do you understand what I said? Do you understand?”
The final “Do you understand?” that he shouted in his harsh, gruff voice shocked me so deeply that my heart trembled until nightfall, my arms went numb, I lost the ability to speak, and I felt…