I first came across this book when I stepped into Vijitha Yapa bookshop in front of Majestic City mall on Galle road in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo.
The title got me interested as me being a student of History. I checked the front cover of the book which said it's about the "experiences of a UN woman aid worker in Taliban controlled Afghanistan".
I was not surprised that the book was prominently displayed near the entrance as it was published by Vijitha Yapa Publications which I assume has a relationship with the bookshop and also because of the pride factor as it was penned by a proud daughter of our neighbor Sri Lanka.
My excitement in reading the book was also because finally I was going to get firsthand information on the mindset of a movement involved in atrocious crimes against humanity. But then my mind changed upon realizing that I had had enough of knowing about the suffering they were causing to the ordinary people of our South Asian neighbor Afghanistan.
So I didn't buy it but to my surprise a Maldivian friend lent his copy for me to read despite my been unaware he had it and I hadn't expressed any interest in reading it.
When I later pondered whether I should actually read it, because of my perception that it will be extremely depressing to know the Taliban's repressive attitude and stifling activities, I didn't feel like reading it at all and kept it gathering dust in my cupboard. But after several years I thought it's time to do the curtsy of returning the book to my friend. So, despite my having no mood to read it, I did. And I have to say I had mixed thoughts after finishing reading it.
For example, coming from an author who was directly engaged and closely interacted with the Taliban, the non-fiction book was largely quite a disappointment because it left major questions unanswered such as the thinking patterns of such a formidable movement assaulting the peaceful culture of Afghans, and involved in so many crimes against humanity that even the US and the UN combined couldn't deal with it. In fact, it took just a matter of days for the Taliban to take back Afghanistan after US forces withdrew from its two decade occupation.
Regarding Anoja's observations, if it could be called that, it seemed as if she was making fun of a violent organization she could not fathom, and due to her failure to understand, she was finding humor in the most unexpected of places and awkward situations.
To be fair, while she seemed to appreciate the accommodating nature of the Taliban men towards a lone foreign woman working amidst them, she also ends up mocking what she finds as ridiculous attitudes of an Islamic patriarchy which she seemed not bothered to analyze intimately and thereby ends up satirizing in an unrelated manner.
In the end, it seemed to me like a narrative that boils down to a tale where there is a serious clash of civilizations based on the cultural biases and prejudices leading to misplaced misunderstandings akin to Western inability to understand Eastern traditions and norms such as explored in the movie based on a true story, "Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway" where Norwegian child welfare authorities seize and keep apart for more than a year two children from Indian immigrant parents due to simple quirks such as the Scandinavian nation's assumption that feeding a child with hands is unhygienic.
I confess that I feel uncomfortable to treat this book lightly, given that Anoja is a truly brave and courageous woman for not only helping the women and children of Afghanistan in an all male working environment but also giving similar expertise during the 26 year armed conflict in Sri Lanka.
After reading it, I messaged my friend and asked how to go about returning it to him and he appropriately messaged: "After all these years? You can keep it!"
No comments:
Post a Comment