The Girl from the Swat Flogging-An interview with Saira Bibi

[Xeric]

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http://www.newsweekpakistan.com/the-take/244

The Girl from the Swat Flogging


An interview with Saira Bibi

From the Feb. 7‚ 2011‚ issue




Nazar Ul Islam / Newsweek Pakistan


In early 2009, Pakistan surrendered Swat to the Pakistani Taliban. Then emerged the mobile-phone footage of the Taliban mercilessly flogging a 19-year-old woman—and everything changed. Pakistan was outraged. The government ordered a military operation against the militants in Swat and neighboring areas leading to the creation of the world’s largest population of internally-displaced. Newsweek Pakistan’s Nazar Ul Islam spoke with Saira Bibi, 22, in an exclusive interview in Swat, where she lives with her husband, two children and extended family. Excerpts:

Tell us about the day of the flogging.

I don’t remember the exact date, but it was in January 2009. My husband works at a coalmine in Hyderabad and he was away. He had asked us to organize a lunch for one of his friends who had recently got married. After the lunch guests left, we heard noises at our door. They were shouting for us to quickly come out of the house. My mother-in-law asked them who they were. They said they were the Taliban. They said there were some allegations against me, and they wanted to question me. I told my mother-in-law I had no reason to face them. They kept shouting, threatening to drag me out themselves. My brother-in-law took me to them. He said we have no choice, that I should trust Allah.

What did the Taliban say to your family? How were you feeling when you left with them?

They said I would have to defend myself in their Shariah court which was set up at a government-run primary school for girls about 200 meters from our home. So we walked there. I was scared. In my mind, I was walking toward my death.

What happened at the school?

When I got to this self-declared Shariah court, I saw three men with long beards who were fully equipped with weapons. One of the Taliban there accused me of having an illicit relationship with the friend of my husband whom we had had the lunch for. He said I would have to face punishment; that I will have to be flogged because that is what Islam says. I denied the allegation, but they didn’t listen to me. One of them told me to bend my head toward my knees, and then they started flogging me. Another one counted up to 15 for each time I was struck. They told me to walk to the nearby ground for the final decision. As I walked there I was thinking they are going to slit my throat and kill me like they have others. There was a mob gathered there. I was told to lie face down on the ground. Two men held my hands down, another had his hand on my neck, a third one held my feet. I kept shouting I am innocent. I kept crying to Allah to help me. They lashed me another 15 times. After the second round of flogging, I wasn’t able to walk and my brother-in-law had to assist me back home.

Did the Taliban continue to harass or threaten you?

The Taliban announced that I had been punished, so if anyone teased me they said they would search for them [and punish them, too]. The militants were in power, they had vehicles, they had weapons, and they patrolled the streets and bazaars and mountains. The whole area was in their control. The people here know me and have been sympathetic. And everyone knows the Taliban were killing innocents for no reason except to impose fear. I wasn’t the only girl to be flogged. There were a lot of others. One of them left when the military operation started and she isn’t coming back.

How is your life now?

Everything is normal now. It’s best to forget the past. The area is now under Army control, and we feel safer.

Did you favor the military operation?

May God destroy them. The Taliban had made everyone’s lives hell. People were fed up with them. Every single person was affected by their brutality. We were all against them but could not utter a single word against them. The people of Swat have suffered too much. The Taliban have been defeated and there isn’t any chance of them coming back. If, God forbid, they do, we will leave.


To comment on this article‚ email [email protected]

[Awesome]

Xeric, thanks for posting this.

This should also shut up all those that claim that this was all staged. The monstrosity of the Taliban is no joke, and all these people involved in supporting extremist ideologies in Pakistan will one day not like it when women close to them are flogged on the streets of Pakistan.

Such people are equally answerable for such crimes to Saira Bibi.

[Christian]

Taliban wanted to make pakistan their new home....like afghanistan. Thank god the military intervened.

[Ahmad]

From the Feb. 7‚ 2011‚ issue

7th of Feb 2011?

[Ahmad]

If she was married, according to Sharia, she would have been stoned. But thanks god it didnt happen.

[somebozo]

Taliban are simple self appointed moral police, a culture we have inherited from the arabis and their popular "mutaween". Free Pakistan from the imperial grip of Arabist and you will have all islamo-terrorist gone in the wind. There is something significant here..the whole of community hates this group yet they continue to infiltrate and rule..ideologies cannot rise in a community where they are disliked so where are these people coming from?

[Gossipmonger]

7th of Feb 2011?

@Ahmad: very keen observer (eyes on details)
However, this News from a Weekly edition. say 1-7feb2011

[Xestan]

Bloody TTP!! Enemies of Islam and Pakistan!

I am glad Pakistan Army kicked their arses very HARD

[Xestan]

Xeric, thanks for posting this.

This should also shut up all those that claim that this was all staged. The monstrosity of the Taliban is no joke, and all these people involved in supporting extremist ideologies in Pakistan will one day not like it when women close to them are flogged on the streets of Pakistan.

Such people are equally answerable for such crimes to Saira Bibi.

Sir, there was a fake video too, I'm not denying that the incidents didn't take place, just saying the famous flogging video was fake, whether fake or not it really did good job by changing the public opinion

[Ahmad]

Why did the public opinion change? they wanted sharia law and the taliban did deliver it.

[Xestan]

Why did the public opinion change? they wanted sharia law and the taliban did deliver it.

Ohh C'mon! Stop being ignorant, Sharia'ah is not what was practiced by TTP in Swat, that was barbarism which was given a name of Sharia'ah law..

No common man will deny Sharia'ah laws, people of Swat always wanted Sharia'ah law BUT what TTP did cannot be justified in Islam, in Islam people who act like TTP are liable to death and they were punished hard by ALLAH through Pakistan Army.

Swat is under Sharia'ah now btw.

http://www.defence.pk/forums/current...t-up-swat.html

[Ahmad]

Ohh C'mon! Stop being ignorant, Sharia'ah is not what was practiced by TTP in Swat, that was barbarism which was given a name of Sharia'ah law..

No common man will deny Sharia'ah laws, people of Swat always wanted Sharia'ah law BUT what TTP did cannot be justified in Islam, in Islam people who act like TTP are liable to death and they were punished hard by ALLAH through Pakistan Army.

Swat is under Sharia'ah now btw.

http://www.defence.pk/forums/current...t-up-swat.html

Man, hudood is also part of sharia law, my question is: people didnt like what? i am a bit confused here, they didnt like the hudood being applied or they didnt like the hudood being applied by the taliban?

[Xestan]

Man, hudood is also part of sharia law, my question is: people didnt like what? i am a bit confused here, they didnt like the hudood being applied or they didnt like the hudood being applied by the taliban?

They didn't like that a group of people through arms seize control of a town and killed civilians and soldiers in the name of Islam.

Applying Sharia'ah law is NOT a duty of any group, it is the responsibility of the State, if it doesn't do, peaceful means should be adopted to implement Sharia'ah.

Public opinion changed because on the News channels, the story was also there that the girl was flogged because she went out with her Father-in-law, who's a mehram, many scholars stated that on tv but Taliban's version of Islam stated what un-islamic act.

Even if a woman goes out without her mehram, she's NOT liable to any kind of punishment in Islam.

And furthermore, Pakistani public didn't like the way they took over everything into their hands, Sharia'ah courts were NOT their father's property that whoever they liked were tried and killed.

People didn't like this!

[Xestan]

Fatwas were issued against TTP by many notable scholars of Pakistan and Sunni Ittehad council, a body of Ulema demanded government to take actions against them.

[Awesome]

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Sir, there was a fake video too, I'm not denying that the incidents didn't take place, just saying the famous flogging video was fake, whether fake or not it really did good job by changing the public opinion

if it was fake, wouldn't she confirm that in the interview, she's acknowledging that shes the girl from the video.