Afghan Justice
P.K.Ghatak, MD
No. 7.
The administrator of the medical mission in Kunduz, Afghanistan introduced me to other members of the mission, when I arrived there, and gave me a tour of the place and pointing his finger at the stairway he said." Do not go up the stairs to the roof, you can easily see the courtyards of the adjacent houses from there. And if by chance you happen to see an uncovered face of a female member of a household that would be considered as a punishable offense because you have polluted the purity of his harem. The punishment of such offense is left to the demand made by the senior member of that household. In some cases, you can get away with a ton of money, or they may demand your gouged out eyes, or ask you to marry the girl you saw."
Not only I never went to the roof; I never looked at anything that remotely resembled a woman; always kept my gaze down - not going up above the knee level.
One day we were going to a satellite clinic, riding in a well-marked vehicle, with a prominently displaced logo and flags. As we were passing through a roadside market when a one-horse carriage (Tonga called locally) driven by an old man was coming from the other direction. The fluttering flags might have startled the horse, and it began to run erratically. The old man lost control of the horse and Tonga hit our vehicle. A metal tip of the horse harness smashed a glass window of our vehicle and penetrated inside the vehicle narrowly missing our interpreter.
Within a minute a large crowd gathered around our vehicle. Soon a fully dressed police officer appeared and began to question our driver and the old man. And after finishing his inquiry he arrested the old man and impounded his horse and carriage.
Our interpreter told me that we could not leave the area till the court proceedings had concluded.
Court proceedings!! I asked how long that would take. He politely said Afghan justice was swift.
We managed to slip some money to the old man; he paid the fine and the court released the old man, his horse, and carriage.
Afghan justice is swift and final. And later I learned this was the Sharia Law.
Not only I never went to the roof; I never looked at anything that remotely resembled a woman; always kept my gaze down - not going up above the knee level.
One day we were going to a satellite clinic, riding in a well-marked vehicle, with a prominently displaced logo and flags. As we were passing through a roadside market when a one-horse carriage (Tonga called locally) driven by an old man was coming from the other direction. The fluttering flags might have startled the horse, and it began to run erratically. The old man lost control of the horse and Tonga hit our vehicle. A metal tip of the horse harness smashed a glass window of our vehicle and penetrated inside the vehicle narrowly missing our interpreter.
Within a minute a large crowd gathered around our vehicle. Soon a fully dressed police officer appeared and began to question our driver and the old man. And after finishing his inquiry he arrested the old man and impounded his horse and carriage.
Our interpreter told me that we could not leave the area till the court proceedings had concluded.
Court proceedings!! I asked how long that would take. He politely said Afghan justice was swift.
A crowd gathered around an elevated gazebo like structure in the central square. A clergyman arrived and took over the proceeding as a judge. He began with an invocation followed by a short prayer, then the entire crowd joined him.
The police officer produced the old man and our driver to the judge. Each gave his side of the story; eyewitnesses were asked questions. In less than ½ hour the trial was over. The judge found the old man was responsible for the accident. The judge asked our driver how he wanted to be compensated. The driver asked for a sum of money, enough to cover the repair of the vehicle. The owner of a repair shop was present among the crowd. He gave an estimate. The judge told the old man to pay the driver that amount. And added until the full payment was made his horse and the carriage would remain impounded.We managed to slip some money to the old man; he paid the fine and the court released the old man, his horse, and carriage.
Afghan justice is swift and final. And later I learned this was the Sharia Law.
***************************************************************
Comment: 1: Had I been a bachelor like you on that date, I would have taken a chance to climb to the roof-top and scan interiors of all houses around. There could have been boon in the form of punishment giving you a chance to get married and not continue your life as a bachelor. Even now I shall suggest you to take a chance to get married. If you agree, I can look for appropriate match.
ReplyDeleteComment: 2: It appears you were not very happy with the Shariat Law. I too am not in favour of it. However, for poor countries like that of ours, a simpler judicial system is necessary. I do not know how long it takes for a case to be concluded with deliverance of Justice in USA and Europe from whom we borrowed our present judicial system. In India, it can be any length of time, may be even a century or more. On many occasion the litigants die before their case is settled. Mistakes in the incident you mentioned is of minor nature and with a little financial tricks the matter had a fair and final settlement which would have been impossible in India to-day. You will find a large number of vehicles confiscated by Police reduced to scraps in front of all Police Stations in India. If you met the Afghan incident in India, the Tonga would also been reduced to a scrap and the horse would have died either for lack of food or to be food for some others. The old man also would have been dead for being too old by the time for litigation and lack of food for dislocation from his only source of earning. Thus I feel the Shariat Law rendered better justice in the instant case.