Shot in face, Afghan teen wants to meet Salman Khan

NEW DELHI: Shakila Zareen, 17, stroking her shattered face gently says “Mein bahut sundar thi, dekho kya kar diya usne (I was very pretty, see what he has done). She was allegedly shot at by her 31-year-old husband point-blank in her face in Afghanistan , blowing out her nose, one eye, teeth and hearing in the left ear.

Having undergone nine surgeries so far (6 in Kabul and three in Delhi) Shakila is looking forward to a peaceful life away from her home country.

“Hum sundar ho jayenge phir America jayenge. Waha padai karenge (I want to be pretty again and will then go to the US to study,” an enthusiastic Shakila who nurtures dream like any other teenager, said. She wants to be a journalist so that she can write for distressed women to help them get justice.  

“I do not want to go back to Afghanistan ever. My husband is a powerful man, he will kill me this time. He used to beat me up all the time and one day he just shot me in my face. He has given me a lot of pain. If I ever meet him I will cut him into pieces,” she said with tears rolling down her cheeks.

Back home are the six siblings, the youngest being 13 year old. They get to speak to their mother Sherman Jan once a week. Sherman, 55, has been in Delhi with Shakila since January. Shakila’s father, a soldier had died last year and the mother struggled hard to make the ends meet.

“Here I have just two pair of clothes. I wear one, while my mother washes another. Such is the plight but I do not want to be sad but hopeful. God has given me a second chance and I am thankful. The question ‘why me’ sometimes do engulfs my mind,” she said.

The red ‘Omega’ watch and stylish flip flops that she received from an unknown person in Kabul after her story was flashed on a radio are the only ‘expensive’ items that she owns.
Shakila nurses Bollywood dreams too. She talks comfortably in Hindi, courtesy the hindi movies that she watched back home. “I love Salman Khan and want to meet him.

My favourite actress is Aishwarya Rai and the dimple girl Preity Zinta,” she says. Adding that the staring eyes at the hospital and in Delhi streets leave her appalled. “I have seen people calling me ‘bechari’ and stare at me. Some look shocked and others show sympathy. I do not want either,” she said.