10 Dec How Far Can Cruelty Go?
My grandmother often told stories about the laws of the jungle—where animals fought for survival, and the strong preyed upon the weak. While such struggles could be understood as a necessity of life, the cruelty of today’s world is far more terrifying. Humans, in their relentless pursuit of power, trample over one another with no regard for compassion, sacrificing children and destroying futures. Entire generations are deprived of the chance to live freely, receive an education, pursue their dreams, or become the people they were meant to be. Men and women alike are left in unbearable circumstances, suffocating under systems designed to deny them their humanity.
In Afghanistan today, girls are stripped of every basic right, and even the last glimmer of hope—education—has been extinguished. The opportunity to train as midwives, a path that once offered both purpose and service to society, has now been banned.
This relentless deprivation of education and opportunity crushes talents, suppresses ambitions, and erases joy. Imagine a nation without doctors, nurses, teachers, or professionals of any kind—a barren landscape where boys and girls are left with no option but to attend extremist institutions masquerading as religious schools. These schools teach only hatred, leaving no room for love, kindness, or compassion. They shape a future rooted in cruelty and destruction, where the seeds of violence are sown in young, impressionable minds.
Love, too, is forbidden. It is feared, silenced, and suppressed—seen as a dangerous force capable of driving action and sparking hope. Love empowers people to value themselves and care for others, a notion that terrifies oppressors. As the great poet Ahmad Shamlou once wrote: “They smell your breath, afraid you might have said, ‘I love you.’”
But the blame cannot rest solely on the Taliban. Many of these individuals are themselves victims—products of war, deliberately kept ignorant, uneducated, and brainwashed to remain tools of cruelty. They are pawns in a much larger game, used by foreign powers to serve their own interests.
It makes me wonder—how far can human cruelty extend? How easily can people manipulate others to destroy lives and futures? And how long will this ruthless cycle continue?
What satisfaction or joy do they find in robbing others of the right to live peacefully? How can they sleep at night, knowing their actions perpetuate suffering?