PukhtunWomen

Long ago, I heard that men in Europe had been burning witches in the era around 1700-1800. Any woman suffering venereal disease was considered to be a witch and the rampage of burning witches continued, and most of the majority of it by men. And I think that’s why the slang "majority isn't always right" has been derived (I am not 100% sure though).

I remember a story of my childhood, a story told to me in the hujra again and again. The story was very simple, about a woman turned witch in a pass near Swat, and it goes like this.

A certain man had been traveling and was in hurry to get home to his family. His journey home lay through a certain mountainous area that was a network of passes. It was a time when people traveled in large groups for safety's sake, and they had to walk or if they were lucky they would have a horse or a donkey or a mule to ride on. Our man was determined to make it home as soon as possible and he was after all only half a days walk away from home. He separated from his group and set off at a steady pace, assured that he would be home for dinner. Every one he came across warned him of his folly and told him that no one dared to pass the place even in daylight alone, because it was full of evil witches and hags that tricked men to their death.

In spite of his hurried pace, the man found the sky grow dark as a heavy rain and a bad thunderstorm, he was forced to take shelter in a cave. He collected some wood near the cave and started a fire to heat his body against the chill winter cold. As he slowly warmed up and settled down for the night, the infamous witch of the pass entered the cave with a load noise.

The terrified man thought lightening had struck the cave, but was even more scared to see a human like figure in the cave with him. She was a scary apparition indeed, with her long tangled dirty hair, her red eyes and her long dirty nails and very very sharp teeth.The witch spoke out and said she too was sheltering from the storm and asked if she could join him at the fire. They made small talk and the witch asked him his name. Suspicious because of the tales of terror he had heard and suspecting foul play the man showed presence of mind by telling her his name was "pakhpela" i.e. "thyself/myself/yourself".

The conversation died down and both were silent and the witch feigned sleep, while the terrified man thought as hard as he could trying to figure out how to get out of the cave alive. All off a sudden he remembered having heard that to compete against the inhuman strength of the witch he would have a better chance if he could set her long unkempt hair on fire.

Gently pushing with his toe as he pretended to stretch, he managed to get a burning stick close to the witch and pretty soon she was on fire. She caught fire all over, from her hair down to her feet. Like a burning ball of fire, she ran out from the cave, screaming and calling for help to her sister witches who lived in the surrounding passes and mountains.

Her cries of "wosooma, wrutha shuma" (I burning and roasting), woke up all the other witches and they came howling and screeching to see what the commotion was about. Surrounding her they asked who had done this to her, “Who did this to you?”

All their sister could say back was "Pakhpela" (thyself/myself/yourself).

Angrily they all turned away and started back to their lairs, grumbling, “If you did it pakhpala (thyself/yourself), then "gila sela da bela" (why do you complain then?)
Not knowing that their friend witch had been referring to the man who was still hiding in the cave. As the witch burnt to ashes the man took off running all the way home.

[This should not be taken out of context and not male cha.]