WRECKED A KINGDOM.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 230, 28 September 1929, Page 13 (Supplement)

WRECKED A KINGDOM.

A COSTLY PHOTOGRAPH. THE AFGHAN DYNASTY'S DOWNFALL. SOME INTERESTING INSIDE HISTORY. (By MADAME NACI YE HALID HOURSHID BEY.) The author o£ this article is the widow of a .former Grand Chamberlain of the Sultan's Court, and one of the most prominent women in Turkey. Two years ago, through a curious circumstance which she describes, she was appointed to the post of Lady of Honour to Queen Sureya of Afghanistan. She was a member of the. retinue of King Amanullah on his famous tour of Europe. One day Sureya, Queen of the Afghans, got on a white horse, galloped down through the streets of Kabul, and rode astraddle at that. Next she had her photograph taken in infidel gear, which photo became circulated throughout the kingdom. The plioto showed a skirt of the orthodox flapper altitude, which altitude was very considerable. King Amanullah had inaugurated a vast array of progressive reforms, most of which have been duly chronicled in the heathenish Press of the Western world. All this constituted a heavy burden for the Faithful to bear, without further material for grief. But when the- Queen pulled off these two stunts, particularly having her photograph taken in sinful togs with abbreviated skirts, the Mullah shrieked aloud to Allah and took down his rifle. Afghanistan was thus plunged into the deep abyss of civil or uncivil war. The walls beyond Ivhyber Pass became spattered with the blood of Islam. The length of skirts have provoked much tumultuous speech throughout the world, but they have brought about a bloody war in Afghanistan. Alcohol and women are the two chief pests of the universe, we are told. So Mohammed prohibited the one and veiled the other. One day at Constantinople the Afghan Consul, Ishmael Efferidi Khan, went with a full-sized trouble in his kit to a highStanding Turkish official. He had been commanded by his Government to "spy out a lady of Western education, of high'social standing, preferably a Turk," for the post of Lady of Honour to the Queen of Afghanistan. He knew of no such animal, and so appealed to the Turkish official, who suggested me to the Consul for the Afghan job. That is how I came to be appointed Lady of Honour to the Queen of Afghanistan, a position most agreeable to me, which I filled for nearly a year until ill-health intervened. I found the Queen a most charming, cultured lady, in thorough accord with the reforms of the King. She would place those reforms in practice in the Court as fast or faster than they were promulgated. The King was intensely interested in the welfare of his people, and had a burning desire to put his country on the map of the civilised world. Wives More Trouble Than Goats. In pursuance .of his reform, these preliminary events led the King, to proclaim prohibition. Prohibition already prevailed in" Afghanistan, that is, with a little reservation. The King, in order to help his standing with Europeans, had adopted the policy of allowing a little liquor to be imported for the benelit of Christians, many of whom were afflicted with a great thirst. This caused further trouble, for it became noised abroad that some bottles of the infernal stuff had found their way into the King's cellar. This added fuel to the flames of revolt that already had too much fuel. But this was not the determining cause of the war. That abbreviated skirt and the unholy photograph were responsible for precipitating the conflict. Amanullah launched no reform that he did not practice himself. One of his first moves was practically to abolish polygamy. His father had more than a hundred wives, and about the same number of goats. The wives gave him more trouble than the goats. Viewing with his own eyes and hearing with his own ears the discordant difficulties of managing such a horde of wives, Amanullah decided that one was a-plenty. So he married one, by whom he had a son some eighteen years or age. All went well for a time until Amanullah met Miss Sureya in his brother's home, fell madly in love with her, divorced his first wife, and married Sureya. Six children have resulted from this union. Amanullah is tall, well built and very graceful in his movements. He is serious, earnest, energetic, and shows much initiative in business affairs. To his intimate friends he is gay, but within the strict bounds of propriety. Some months before the revolt he visited distant points in the kingdom with the view of getting in touch with the people and enlightening them by means of lectures. He spent much time in speaking and lecturing. On this trip Queen Sureya, with hex sister, accompanied ■his Majesty, all travelling on horseback, traversing steep mountasns and dangerous paths covered with snow. Many towns were thus inspected, deputations from the various tribes were received, and their grievances adjusted. Requests of the most incongruous sort were made. . Sued in fiis Own Court. One question was why women so often : fled from their homes. The King recommended the questioner to "allow more liberty to women," adding that "no woman could abandon a home that made her happy." He visited the tomb of Hazret Ali near Mezar, Turkestan, which is a place of pilgrimage for all good Musselmen. A few years ago Afghanistan had neither school nor court of justice. Beneath each palace, however, there ex- ; isted underground chambers of stone, into which: were thrown, without judgment, those who had been unfortunate enough to offend high personages. King Amanullah "promptly abolished these prisons, even unlocking with his own hands the chains with which prisoners were bound to the huge stones in the centre of the rooms. He set up courts whicli are open to all without distinction. He was once sued in one of these courts himself, and responded to the process just as a private citizen. He opened all sorts* of schools for boys and girls. He issued a decree that no distinction should be made in the schools between his own children and others. He distributed hundreds of wireless sets among his people, and put these to good use in broadcasting his. own lectures. When Amanullah undertook to establish a new financial system, there was a miniature The Afghan idea of "a financial system" was to have no system at all. System was an abominable thing designed to upset the plans of Allah and bring disgrace upon the thrifty Mullah. The Koran said not

a word about "system," so what was the use of this miserable contraption? But the miniature revolt was snuffed opt with a big stick. The Mullah grumbled, but endured the shame as best as he could. Another reeus came along when the King began to establish schools, particularly girls , schools. Why on earth a girl should be educated was beyond the ken of the Faithful. Education was an invention of the Devil Kmt might put lordly men in subjection to the inmates of the inner house. So away with this foolishness. But Amanullah stamped upon the rising flames and another stop in "infamy" was taken. The mullahs growled some more, but submitted for the time being. Still Will Go Marching On. Next, in the neighbourhood of Kabul,' factories began springing up, all nourished by the King. Cement came first, then soaps and divers things. Smokestacks began pouring out fog that polluted the air. The mullah screamed as he saw this new sacrilege of the heavens. God surely never created the sky to be anointed with such filth. But again did the faithful crawl into his tent to sulk. Grief on -grief multiplied his agony of soul. The strain was getting too great. But when the Queen's photo with an abbreviated skirt came, lie could stand no more. Hβ simply blew up, and Amanullah, the "Trusted of God," fled. Amanullah and. Sureya sought only the happiness, the welfare and the independence of their race. They would put Afghan on the map with the progressive nations of the globe. What happened to them was of minor consequence —they fought, worked and schemed for Afghan and Afghan alone. It is such as these that mark the milestones in the progress of the world. The abbreviated skirt, the wild horseback ride through the streets of Kabul, were merely a part of the game. Am*mtllah and Sureya played it well, even though they have ridden to their fall. But the wheels of the gods turn quickly at times, and they will come back. Yes, under the guidance of Allah, they will come back. Even if they should die, their spirit, like the ghost of John Brown, still will go marching. on ,—("Star" and Anglo-American N.S. copyright.)