For those with a conscience the desert speaks many tales . In the wake of a desert in Arabia existed the nomadic Arab tribes. Covering most of the Arabian peninsula , where vendetta consumed generations . This was the Pre-Islamic state of the Arabs . The pagans were oriented to a male dominated society bearing customs which justified burying new born daughters alive . Woman were an object of inheritance , subjected to violence with non existent rights . With time came honor throttling misogynic customs.

Today the tales of the daughters of Arabia merge with the cry of women of Baluchistan . In the remote village of Baluchistan , Pakistan lies the grave of five women buried in the name of honor. Their crime being a free will about choosing their life partner . It is a common practice in the tribal areas of Pakistan , where a group of men decide the fate of a woman. More popularly known as the ‘jirga’ custom, where the supposed intellectuals make the decisions for others to follow blindly . The brunt of which is destined for the women only . To stir controversy a Pakistani Senator Israrullah Zahri from the province justified the act as ‘cultural’ and ‘in the name of honor and respect’ . He further elaborated that the matter could not be raised in the senate . Such is the misery of the woman in this country . According to the information obtained by Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), ‘the five women Ms. Fatima, wife of Umeed Ali Umrani, Jannat Bibi, wife of Qaisar Khan, Fauzia, daughter of Ata Mohammad Umrani, and two other girls, aged between 16 to 18 years, were buried alive in a remote village, the Baba Kot, 80 kilometers away from Usta Mohammad city of Jafferabad district. They were shot and badly wounded and then buried in a ditch while they were still breathing .The women rights commission plea for help against the brutal customs .

It is most unfortunate how history has taught us nothing . How the wounds from the past continue to haunt us even today . The hollers from the grave plea for peace and a to stop to all the madness. A lot needs to be learned from tragedy . The outcry ties hope to break free from the customs that have deprived our women for decades. We need to create a space in time where brutality is not masked in the name of honor.

Sana Saleem