Gordon Sinclair was, for many years, a fixture in the Toronto media. He was read in the Toronto Star, listened to on CFRB radio, and watched on CBC-TV. Almost a stereotypical Scot, with that ethnicity's keen regard for the dollar and lack of tolerance for humbug, he brought to many eyes a twinkle almost as bright as that in his own.
Mr. Sinclair had a lengthy and profound fascination with the Indian subcontinent, which he described as "filthy and fascinating" -- sentiments which I found, decades later, to be well founded in fact. In 1935, the Star sponsored Sinclair's "Khyber Caravan", a little jaunt through Kashmir to "Khyber and beyond".
The area through which he passed was, at the time, one of the nether parts of the British Raj. This was before the partition of India and the unending battle between that country and Pakistan, which, along with the similarly unending turmoil in Afghanistan, today renders a journey along Sinclair's route impossible.
In his book, logically entitled Khyber Caravan (Hurst & Blackett, 1936), Sinclair tells a story of an encounter with some Pathans on the far side of the Khyber pass. He was invited into his escort's fortress home for tea. Whereupon...
A girl brought tea up in a pot-bellied jug. I was surprised at that because the code of behaviour on the Afghan border is so stringent that no woman comes into the presence of a strange man, even in her own home. The old chieftain must have understood my surprise because he soon explained that this girl was about to take the blue spot, that is become a professional lady of the evening, in Peshawar, where the more ardent grow rich before they marry.
This girl was engaged, they explained. Her groom-to-be was in Britain's army but he had three years to serve and the family thought it best that during that time the girl be occupied and earn her keep, so what better occupation for a girl of her charms than selling those charms?
That was in 1935. Since then, the British have left, the Soviets [or Russians, if you like. Ed.] have come and gone, and now the Americans and their running dogs ["allies", surely! Ed.] have come and (almost) gone. All these foreigners have sought to impose at least a veneer of civilization on the Afghans. And they've had at least some success. Right? Girls don't get sold into slavery any more...right? Well, check out this story, from Agence France Press.
Afghan police have rescued a teenage girl who was beaten and locked up in a toilet for over five months after she defied her in-laws who tried to force her into prostitution. This was reported on Tuesday, December 27th...2011.
Sahar Gul, 15, was found in the basement of her husband's house in northeastern Baghlan province late on Monday after her parents told police she had disappeared. Three women including the teenager's mother in-law have been arrested in connection with the case but her husband had fled the area, a police spokesthingy said.
Plus ça change, says Walt.
No comments:
Post a Comment