If you or someone you know who blogs and are not listed below, please share your/their link(s) with us in the comments section or via email (orbala1@gmail.com). Thank you!
Also, in some time, I’ll also give a brief overview of what each blog is about.
Female Pashtun Bloggers
Sobia / Sobia (World Affairs and Beyond) [separate blogs by one person]
Male Pashtun bloggers:
Khurram Yusufzai and LivePak (separate blogs by one person)
Qissa Khwani [an edited blog run by Takhalus]
Ranizai
Sorposh – پښتو ن غږ
Voice of the Afghan Youth [various authors]
Freedom from the Forbidden 
You speak like you have any say at all in how others should identify. I find that quite idiotic and wonder when such idiocy will perish.
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Okay, let me explain to you how that works. Firstly, though, the nation you have citizenship in or the nation that issues you a passport doesn’t necessarily get to define who you are. Lots of people have an American passport and American citizenship and do not identify as American; they prefer to be identified more with the countries in which they were born/raised or where their roots lie.
Second: Did you know that Pashtuns’ passports actually identify them as Afghan? Because “Pashtun” is synonymous with “Afghan.” Now that we’ve got this basic statement out of the way:
1. “Afghan” is an ethnic identity as well as a national identity. A person can be an Afghan by ethnicity (as are Pashtuns) but belong to another country nationally — e.g., India, Pakistan, America, and so on.
2. Since “Afghan” is a national identity, a person can identify as “Afghan” without being Afghan ethnically–as do the many ethnic groups inside Afghanistan, such as the Hazaras, the Tajiks, the Uzbeks, and others. These groups are all ethnic Hazaras/Tajiks/etc. but national Afghans).
So, no, you’re wrong by claiming that “CLEARLY they are wrong” – because they’re not wrong. They know what they’re doing.
One last thing, though: Many Pakistani Pashtuns who know their history well, especially the history of their origins in Afghanistan (did you know all Pukhtuns basically originated in Afghanistan? That’s actually our homeland, modern-day borders and nationhood aside). During the partition of Pakistan and India, Pashtuns, led by Ghaffar Khan (God be pleased with him), wanted to get Pashtuns their separate nation where their culture, language, identity could thrive. Sadly, that didn’t work out, and Pashtuns were forced to join either India or Pakistan. We opted for Pakistan because Pakistan happened to be Muslim, as are we. We were not given the choice to join Afghanistan (a choice we’d have been happy with) or be independent (something we preferred). Gradually, the more independent states of Pashtuns (e.g., Swat) were compelled/pressured to join Pakistan as well.
So, no, you don’t get to tell us what we can identify as and what we can’t. You don’t get to say we have no right to identify as Afghans when we know what we’re doing, when we actually are Afghans, when our history goes beyond that of Pakistan, when our identity is deeper than that of “Pakistani.” We share a language and a history and an actual culture with Afghanistan. Afghans aren’t just our brothers and sisters; they are us, and we are them.
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Conversation with a Mufti…!!
Library and coffee shops are the places, where ideas are learnt, and discussed. But in our society this kind of places can rarely be seen or attended. Although chai-shops are numerous, but they don’t have such kind of environment, where one can sit and ponder over the nature of truth.
I was sitting in the library as usual, reading a book about the different Muslim* school of thoughts in the reference room. There was pin drop silence, because ‘people’ don’t often come in such kind of places and consider it a wastage of time. I am referring to our educated lot.
A person entered into the room with a book in his hand. I put cursory glance at him and resumed my studies. After a while, I took my head off the book and the person was looking at me. We exchange smiles. It is a fact that whenever someone is looking (staring) at you, you would reciprocate with the same. Because the energy he is transmitting to you, would force you to look at him. However, after the exchange of ceremonial greetings, he introduced himself as a Mufti. It cultivated my interest in him.
I started to share the information about the life of Imam Abu Hanifa, and tried to elicit his opinion. I must admit, he was an eloquent speaker. The topic switched unconsciously to the status of women in Islam. His alarming statement was ”Despite the fact that Women are NAQIS-UL-AQAL (Faulty intellect), but still Islam bestowed numerous rights and privileges on them”. -_-
I asked him that how women are NAQIS-UL-AQAL. He said that in Quraan there is a clear injunction that one male witness will be considered as equal to two female witnesses. Moreover, in inheritance the daughter will receive half as that of her brother. Therefore, it can be rightly assumed that they are inferior to their male counterparts both physically and mentally. Even science has proven the relatively smaller size and volume of woman’s brain.
I requested him that you are an expert of religious science, therefore you should not be offended by whatever i’m going to present to counter your notion. I just want to clear my head of all the skepticism. He approved with a nod.
The size of the brain doesn’t approve of the fact that they are incapable of deliberation. Because whales (fish) have brains in kilograms while human have in ounces. Although there is a scientific work going on to determine the relation of the size of the brain to the human intelligence. However, the results are not well established. Even in the male, the sizes of the brain are asymmetric and the same is true for female. Different male has different sizes and volumes of the brain. It would mean (according to your logic) that most of the male are NAQIS-UL-AQAL as well.
Hazrat Aisha (r.a) reported most of the traditions from Prophet (saw). She has taught to 84 male scholars. Does Aisha Naqis-ul-Aqal as well?
Don’t go there. He warned me. I agreed to his commands, and excused for my inappropriate example in support of my argument.
The witnesses, you mentioned are only for contracts. The injunction was revealed at the time when women were not involved in the businesses. In Arab society, they were traded just like cattle and herd. Consequently, their social standing and confidence level was at the lowest ebb. Therefore, to give women, their due share in the markets and businesses, it was called upon the Muslim that whenever you make contracts you can also make two women as witnesses which will be equal to one man. The motive behind the two women as a witness were that if a conflict arose, then ultimately the case would be taken to the court and as women didn’t have that much exposure they might afraid in the tense environment of a court. Therefore, the two women would support each other.
Moreover, it doesn’t apply to eyewitnesses. Whenever a crime (rape, murder or theft) takes place in front of a female or male, the weightage of witnesses is equal.
The third argument you have put forward to support your notion is flawed. However, the inheritance is half for the sister because her brother has to pay Haq Meher (dower), and also the maintenance of a family is his responsibility. The female has no concern with it. She can work and she is not bound to contribute to the financial pool of the house. If she wants to contribute then no one can stop her.
I further elaborated the notion of polygamy. Mufti Sahab! Muslims throughout the world consider polygamy as their privilege and due right. For the justification of it, they frequently quote the particular injunctions of Quraan. However, We are going to contest their chauvinistic interpretation of Quranic injunctions which support their patriarchal social order.
First of all we have to understand the method of Quran to reform the society. For example, slavery had been pervasive in the Arab society. Therefore, gradually it has been curtailed by making such commandments that the Zakat can be used to acquit a slave Or Treating slave on equal footings as that of free men, were all measures to ban the institution of slavery with the passage of time. The same is true for polygamy.
In Arab society, a person used to have many wives. Therefore, Islam constricts it to four. However, when the Aya’th is carefully being observed, then it clearly commands that a person is allowed to have two, three or four wives, if he can do justice among them. But the most important part of the Aya’th has been ignored, which warned the Muslims that ‘you can’t do justice among them’. Therefore, it implies that try not to practice polygamy.
Men are after virgins. In our society man marry as many as four wives, which happened to be virgins. It is an established norm that divorcees and widows are considered a social pariah in our society. The man doesn’t want to tie the knot with widow or divorcee because they don’t have the virginity, to satiate his chauvinistic instincts.
It is against the principles of justice to practice polygamy without any reason. Islam is a Deen of moderation. It exhorts to be moderate in all the affairs of life, even in practicing the Ibadat (remembrance of Allah). Think for yourself, how could Islam allow the unbridled lusts of men to be satiated through the innocent lives (women).
If Muslims want to practice polygamy, then few reformation must be done in the existing norms through Ijtehad*. The pretexts under which polygamy can be justified is:
If a woman is infertile and can’t bear children, then the man may have the excuse to practice polygamy. But there is a check upon it as well. The man can’t have a virgin for his second marriage. He must marry either divorcee or widow. However, the couple may also avail the other option of adoption.
After a patient listening, he retorted, you are misguided by the English education. The universities are breeding grounds for anti-Islam propaganda. I would pray for your retrieval to the original path.
Instead of praying you should make me correct through your arguments; i riposted.
I don’t want to argue, he replied.
Neither I, I told him, I just want to have a healthy conversation. I want to learn from you.
Assalam O Alaikum…(He left with a salutation)
(I was the foolish one… Because there is an injunction in the Holy Quran, whenever you are encountered by a foolish person then don’t argue with him, just tell Assalam O Alaikum)
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Ooh, speaking of polygamy and infertility as a reason: If a man is infertile, can his wife have other husbands? No? I see.
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orbala are you even married because i highly doubt u are with all ur stupid feminist ideas. no man would want to marry you
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is your penis so shockingly short? why is it no bigger than a pencil eraser? have you tried extensions? I commiserate with your wife who you don’t have even if you’re married.
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