What Does Freedom Mean to You?
By Farida Hasanali
Image courtesy cimaartindia.com
The August 9, 2010 issue of Time magazine featured an 18 year old whose nose and ears were cut off by her husband because she had run away from her husband’s house. She begged the judge, a local Taliban to listen to her story. She pleaded that she ran away because she was beaten everyday but her cries fell on deaf ears. Her brother-in-law held her down, while her husband cut of her ears and her nose and they left her bleeding on a remote mountain side. Fortunately she was rescued by U.S. Troops and is currently living in Kabul. But Aisha is not really living; she is likely dead on the inside. Her eyes are glazed over in a blank stare and she listens to the radio incessantly to get the latest news on whether the Taliban will come back into power. I don’t know how you feel about this, but I know when I read this story every bit of me wanted to find Aisha some justice. But I realized that more than justice what Aisha lacked is a moment of freedom. She has no freedom to chose anything in her life, where she wants to live, whom she wants to marry, whom she wants to run away from…that realization is what gave me goose bumps all over and when I said a prayer in thanks for the freedoms that I am blessed with.
On August 9, 2010 the Taliban executed a 47 year old pregnant woman. She was a widow and accused of adultery. Her husband is dead, how can she be unfaithful to him? Here is the clincher, she was whipped before she was shot in the head and this woman was pregnant. I am not placing any value judgments on whether she was guilty or not according to the laws set by the country, I am angered by the total lack of freedom these women have and the atrocious behaviors that men commit in the name of religion/law. Women aren’t the only victims of bondage, in war torn nations all over the world, children grow up not knowing what freedom means. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine not even knowing what it means to be able to roam the streets freely, to go to school, to eat until you are full, and/or to grow up with you parents? In Uganda the raging civil war between the militants and the rebels led to the children of Uganda being captured by rebels to be soldiers. The little girls were either required to fight or given as sex slaves to the soldiers. These children hid themselves at night because that’s when the rebels would raid their homes. Take a minute out of your day! Contemplate the idea that you NEVER feel safe. Harrowing isn’t it?
Our Independence, India’s independence from British colonialism was the result of the blood, tears and hard work of our freedom fighters. Our freedom fighters were not just the names we hear, Nehru, Bhagat Singh, and Gandhi to name a few, but also the thousands of people who stood strong in the face of beatings, who bore bullets at political rallies and who were martyred during the Hindu Muslim riots incited by the British. For 200 years the English had ruled us, stripping us of our culture, or beliefs, our values and our wealth. The British trained Indians as soldiers and used us against ourselves to fight stronger kingdoms and expand their rule. Our artisans were allowed to sell only to British traders at a price they had decided, the British sent our cotton to England to be spun into cloth that was sold back to us. Indian soldiers were traded as slaves to other British colonies, the education system of India eroded because the British did not care if Indians were educated, they needed them only for labor and fighting.
There are people who believe that the British did more good for India than harm for our infrastructure and education. In my opinion all the developments the British made, they made for their ultimate good. They introduced modern technology so they could manufacture cheap goods like textiles for greater profit. They built railways throughout India in order to make everything readily accessible. They established factories, schools and universities to introduce western ideas and to incorporate the idea of democracy. Although advancements were self-serving, in fairness we can agree that some of these gave India the basic infrastructure for the country it is today. The way I like to think about it, is it’s not what the British gave us, but what we took from them that is most precious to us today. Our freedom!
