Rudyard Kipling"
“When you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
Madani and Taliban's ban on women in education By Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Monday, November 25, 2024
Malaysiakini : Let me be very clear. Our education minister invited a group of
people who, if they ruled Malaysia, would have her thrown out of office.
Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek
Young
women in universities and schools would be banished to their homes.
Women in the workforce would be expelled to their homes. Women in public
service, which includes the state security apparatus, would be evicted
from their jobs and sent to their homes.
What we take for granted here, the faces of women in every sector of our public lives would only be a memory.
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang has claimed that Western propaganda tarnished the image of the Taliban. He said the Taliban has changed.
Two years ago, Hadi said this of the education issue and pooh-poohed the so-called ban on women and education:
“Does the ban (on education for girls) include learning fardu ain
(religious obligations)? The compulsory education to know God, pray to
him, be of good character, eat and drink halal, and dress in an Islamic
fashion and all its customs.
“Maybe for the enemies of Islam, such matters are not part of education.”
Example of extremism
Shahidullah
Shahid, deceased Taliban spokesperson turned Islamic State (IS)
supporter, said this about the attempted murder of Malala Yousafzai, who
was 15 at the time:
“Malala targeted and criticised Islam.
“She
was against Islam and we tried to kill her, and if we get a chance
again we will definitely try to kill her, and we will feel proud killing
her.”
Malala,
on the other hand, observed, “I spoke of the irony of the Taliban
wanting female teachers and doctors for women yet not letting girls go
to school to qualify for these jobs.”
Remember when political
operatives in this country used the Taliban as an example of extremism,
not a group to be legitimised? Back in 2016, former communications and
multimedia minister Salleh Said Keruak hinted that if anyone wanted to
erase Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s legacy, this could be done by tearing down
the Petronas Twin Towers.
Remember what Rafidah Aziz said, “Are we adopting the approaches of Osama bin Laden (the late Al-Qaeda leader) and the Taliban?
“Does heritage mean anything to anyone in authority? Our collective past, our history. What we stood and still stand for?"
Legitimising the Taliban
And
legitimising the Taliban is what the Madani government and Fadhlina
have done. Think about this for a moment. What did PAS-led Perikatan
Nasional say about Lim’s legitimate query? Two statements need to be
examined.
The first - “We support the education minister in
providing expertise and knowledge to develop Afghanistan, just as
Malaysia provides the same assistance to countries that have just
achieved independence.”
And the second - “As a Muslim country, we
should help our friends who have achieved independence. We urge the
Malaysian government to strengthen relations with the Afghan government
that has been officially elected by the people of that country.”
Firstly,
as to the question of independence, I really do not want to get into
the history of this mess, but were the lives of people, especially
women, better before or after this so-called independence?
Secondly,
if this were a democratically elected government, did women vote for
the Taliban and what was their educational platform?
More
importantly, in terms of optics, this paints a very queer portrait of
this visit. According to Lim, Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh,
who is from DAP, was not aware of this visit. Why is that?
The
education minister claimed, “That is the cause I will continue to
champion wherever I am, regardless of my position. I want the world to
learn from Malaysia where we have much experience in championing
education.”
Okay, so why wasn’t your deputy minister informed of
this visit so he too could contribute to the education of the Taliban
delegation?
If this was to showcase Malaysia’s educational system,
why wasn’t it all hands on deck as opposed to, well, we do not really
know what went down, because everything was done in a sub rosa (secretive) manner.
Did
the Taliban visit local universities? Did they visit local secondary
schools? Did they visit the Education Ministry? What did they think of
all the women working and studying in these places which are exclusively
supposed to be for men?
Question of Islam
The
education minister said, “But if I could convince them that educating
women is not contrary to Islam but is in line with Islamic values, then
it would be very meaningful for women in Afghanistan when they can
return to school.”
It is important for the education minister to
address this point in Parliament. I would like to know exactly how she
attempted to convince them that educating women was not contrary to
Islam.
I want to know exactly what materials and arguments the
minister relied on and more importantly, I want to know that if the
minister thinks what the Taliban is doing is contrary to Islam, why were
these people who are acting contrary to Islam invited to Malaysia?
After all, the Madani regime has banned other deviant groups like Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISBH) that have abused women and children.
Or
does she believe what the Taliban is doing is perfectly within the
confines of Islam as Hadi implies? Then what good would it do to expose
them to our education system and why is she attempting to convince them
to go against Islam?
If what the Taliban is doing is unIslamic,
will the Madani government publicly acknowledge that what the Taliban is
doing with regard to women and education is contrary to Islam?
I realise getting an answer from Madani is as “slim as onion skin”.
