Stoning shame?

It is shocking that a stoning of this nature could take place in our country or that people could allow it to happen.

While much has been made of the military success in tribal areas, events that continue to unfold there lead us to ask what this is really worth. A new video, being circulated across the internet, apparently shows the brutal execution of a hooded woman by Taliban militants. The woman, as punishment for being seen with a man, is pelted with rocks and then lies motionless on the ground. The footage, first aired by an Arab news channel, is thought to come from the Orakzai Agency. It is impossible to say at this point if it is authentic. The possibility of fabrication exists. But given the brutal background of events in the tribal areas over the last few years, it is not inconceivable that the video documents a horrifying event that did indeed take place.

The truth is that even after an operation, about which it must be noted many people living in the tribal belt have expressed doubts, the Taliban retain an iron hold over areas of control. It is shocking that a stoning of this nature could take place anywhere in our country or that people could allow it to happen. The mindset that lies behind such events has been created by the militants and the mentors who many believe still continue to back them in some way.

We do not know who died in the stoning incident. The face of that unfortunate woman is obscured. Her story needs to be more widely told as a means to bring home the full nature of that awful event to people. This happened in the case of the flogging we saw in Swat last year. The incident played a role in building opinion against the Taliban. We need to ensure the truth in the latest case too emerges from behind the shadows and can be told in full. The media must play a role in this, and in ensuring we see no further events as brutal as these anywhere in our country. No one else must suffer the same fate as this unknown woman who died so painfully.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 29^th, 2010.