麻豆社

Good morning. This week I saw a heart-breaking video of a 10-year-old Palestinian girl, Nadine Abdel-Taif from Gaza, her eyes filled with tears as she points at the rubble and destruction caused by missiles and says, 鈥淚鈥檓 always sick... I can鈥檛 do anything鈥�I want to be a doctor鈥�..I鈥檓 only 10."

On the other side of the conflict Israeli women comfort their children in bomb shelters under the roar of exploding rockets, praying that they will be safe, but sometimes they are not like Ido Avigal, a five-year-old boy killed in Sderot.

We have all paused and reflected on their suffering, but I ask myself after the initial shock and anger are we going to go back to life as before, or are we going to say 鈥榚nough is enough鈥� and make a concerted effort to change things?

Children and women have been used as a weapon of war for centuries and are among those who are worst affected when caught in the crossfire of opposing factions.

A lesser known, but equally distressing conflict in Tigray, Ethiopia, is having a devastating effect on the population. Women and girls are subjected to rape and sexual violence as a weapon in the civil war. As one woman caught in the conflict, put it, 鈥淲e are isolated, lonely, neglected. The young people are so scared.鈥�

Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion was critical of all who usurped human rights and exploited others. In his lifetime, he witnessed the Mughal Emperor Babur鈥檚 quest for territorial conquest in the sub-continent and the utter devastation this caused on innocent citizens, in particular women. He wrote about it in a composition titled Babur Bani:

鈥榃ealth and youthful beauty, which gave them so much pleasure, have now become their enemies. The order was given to the soldiers, who dishonoured them, and carried them away.鈥�

Guru Nanak was pained to see the suffering and abuse of women, especially since they had little to do with politics and war. He highlighted how oppression and exploitation are violations of God鈥檚 law, and that everyone had a duty and responsibility to confront injustices against religions, class, caste and gender.

Guru Nanak鈥檚 words on suffering inflicted by conflict are so relevant for us today. Whilst they remind us that not much has changed, they also challenge us to stand up against violence and advocate for the protection of women and children, so that they can live in a world in which they are free from violence and all children can sleep without fear, and their hopes and dreams, like Nadine鈥檚 of becoming a Doctor, can be realised.

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