Whew! Every single time that I watch this video I get get a catch in my throat and tears in my eyes. Aesha Mohammadzai is an amazing young woman with an amazing story that is still waiting for it's happy ending.
What appalls me the most about this story is the fact that in the society into which she was born, such a beautiful little girl could be given to repay someone else's crime, abused for years, to the extent that the abuse resulted in the mutilation of her nose and ear. Women are so marginalaized in Afghanistan, that even years after the Taliban was overthrown, such horrors are still accepted as the norm.
If there is anything that I can say about women, it's that we are born with a deep well of strength and resilience. The depth of which is unknown even to us until we are forced through adverse circumstances to draw from it. I'm am sure that as Aesha continues to be surrounded by a strong support system, as she continues to learn English, to read, to write; as she continues in therapy and as she eventually undergoes the reconstruction surgery....she will be able to see that she is valuable, beautiful, and important.
Even though she has encountered such harshness in life, she exudes sweetness. How many of us can say the same? In this country we have all faced our own hardships, our own sadnesses. We are all injured in some deep emotional way, but usually, our injuries remain on the inside. Aesha's emotional scars extend from her heart to her face, yet that sweetness remains.
What about us? Does the sweetness of Christ remain in us, despite of the hardships in life we've faced. Hmm. Food for thought.
I will never meet this young lady, but she has struck a chord in my heart. What if I had been born in Afghanistan? That could have been me. That could have been my sister, my mother, cousins, or aunts. I am once again grateful that I live in a country where freedom still exists and that I am not forced to live on the margins of society simply because I am a woman.
Join me blog land, in lifting up Aesha Mohammadzai in prayer everyday, for her emotional healing, peace, and physical well being as she undergoes surgery. Join me in praying for the women who remain in Afghanistan, those whose every day existence is a drudgery and a horror.
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