Controversial novel banned in Afghanistan
Afghans living in foreign countries are still witnessing and hearing about the dramatic events in Afghanistan. With the influx of technology, especially social media, in Afghanistan, stories do not stay hidden from the rest of the world. “Gumnami” (“the anonymity”), a book that was banned recently in Afghanistan, is another example of discrimination against the new generation who wants to bring change to the country.
Mohammad Jan Bakhtyari, the author of “Gumnami,” said, “The novel reveals lots of brutal incidents, including judicial murder, honor killing, sexual abuse, rape by Mullahs and extremism.
The book illustrates a profound status of the Afghan society and gives in-depth knowledge of behavioral interactions.” The book not only challenges Afghan culture and tradition, but also Afghan extremists.
“The work discloses many taboos, raises up questions, and directly challenges religious extremism for the first time in Afghanistan,” said Bakhtyari. “The novel directly condemns supreme religious leaders including some of Iranian Ayatollahs.”
The concept of religion in the United States. however, is different. There is no doubt that people are practicing Islam in the United States, but not necessarily with closed-minded ideas and practices.
University of Virginia student Fatima Mohammed said, “As a practicing Muslim, my religion plays a huge role in my life, and I think it would be ideal for society as a whole to be religious. However, I do not think that religion should be forced upon a society to maintain its people.”
On the other hand, Bakhtyari added, “The novel created a huge potential of public awareness about …women’s rights, justice, social tolerance and calling for a secular Afghanistan.”
As “Gumnami” was banned and collected from the market in Kabul, it also forced the author to leave the country, due to pressure from religious leaders and the government.
Mohammed said that in the United States, “because of the first amendment giving all Americans the freedom of religion and the freedom of expression, it would be against the law to ban a book based on religious issues.” How long it will take the Afghans to be ready for such a law is a question that may be answered in another hundred years.
Not only was the book controversial among extremists, but also was unwelcome by the government. Bakhtyari did not think of democracy in Afghanistan and said, “The people against me are those who think that their acts should not be criticized because they believe that they are the offspring of Prophet Mohammed and this is the obligation of all to obey them. Those people are against me that historically have been the contractor of religious business, which is a portion of [the] customary economy in Afghanistan.”
How much a government should support books for change in a society is another contentious topic. Mohammed added, “The government should be open to the publishing of any book, regardless of whether…it supports a certain stance, religion, etc. Freedom of the Press is a right that is extremely valuable in a free country.”
As democracy sounded to shape a better future for Afghanistan, it did not show its interest with the reveal of “Gumnami” in the past weeks.
As the book was written in Dari, and symbolized the dark side of the society, “the incidents occurred following the publication of the book gives a good measure to gauge the brutality and intolerance which halts freedom of expression, as well as democracy,” Bakhtyari said.
As a result of this book, Bakhtyari relocated from Afghanistan, but he is not discouraged from his writing. “I am working on my new novel. Creative writing is not like a project with specific time of piloting an ending. My subjects are the life of my people. Afghanistan is full of uncovered subjects.”
Journalist Ghulam Hussain Sirat followed this issue closely for Deutsche Welle Radio in Kabul. “This novel informs the unsecure religious centers where people trust to send their children, and this is the first time that the dark sides of these centers are shown publicly,” said Sirat. “The mullah who are trained in Iran threaten the writer because it is the first time breaking the red line of their discipline. In one part of the book, the story said we are from women and go to women instead of saying we are from Allah and go to Allah.”
Sirat, as well as other groups of the young generation, are looking to bring changes to Afghanistan. “The young generation is not hopeless. They know the darkness of Afghanistan will end, but creating such environment needs international support. The young Afghan generation and civil activists must be supported by the international community to start the change in Afghanistan.”
