This past year, the Nobel Committee awarded one-half of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize to its youngest recipient in history: 17 year old Malala Yousafzai. It’s not surprising to see why – she has been one of the most active women’s rights activists in the world, particularly for the right of every child, boy or girl, to receive education. She began in 2009, just 11 years old, to write under a pseudonym for the BBC about her life under the Taliban and about her belief in the right of education for all women. Later that year, she was revealed to the world as the anonymous blogger, and was nominated for several awards including Pakistan’s first National Youth Peace Prize.
In January 2009, her school was about to close for the holidays, and according to BBC News, she wrote:
“The girls were not too excited about vacations because they knew if the Taliban implemented their edict [banning girls’ education] they would not be able to come to school again. I am of the view that the school will one day reopen but while leaving I looked at the building as if I would not come here again.”
This activism would have unfortunate consequences however – when she was 14, her family learned that the Taliban had issued death threats against them. However, they mistakenly believed that the group would not harm a child. On October 9th, 2012 a gunman boarded her schoolbus and shot Malala in the head, as well as injuring two others. Malala survived the attack, received a massive outpouring of support from the international community, and went on to speak at the United Nations. The Taliban, unfortunately, has not been moved by these sentiments. Despite the fact that the group still considers her a target, she continues to advocate for women’s education. As she shared the stage with education activist Kailash Satyarthi (co-recipient of the 2014 prize), the Nobel Committee presented them the award for “their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.”
Yousafzai, during her speech at the United Nations
Yet despite her international support (or perhaps because of it), support from her home country of Pakistan has been somewhat more mixed. The tide turned particularly against her after she moved to England, with girls in Pakistan throwing mud at pictures of her when a girls’ college in Pakistan was to be named after her. The religious right has denounced her book, and local bookstores are afraid to stock it. Perhaps with good reason, given the significant controversy in her hometown of Swat, Pakistan. It isn’t all about religion either – some Pakistanis believe that by focusing on Malala, the West is diverting attention from its own crimes in the Pakistan region such as drone strikes and human rights abuses (NPR).
This kind of international fame coupled with domestic notoriety is not uncommon – New York Times blogger Huma Yusuf writes about other such cases: Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, the first Pakistani to win an oscar for her drama on acid attacks, was accused of exploiting vulnerable women and conspiring against the nation. Mukhtar Mai, who took her rapists to court rather than remain silent, was accused of capitalizing on her fame and smearing Islam.
It is both tempting and incorrect for us to accuse Malala and others like her to simply be profiting from their sudden fame. They are all courageous activists, risking their lives to improve the lives of others. On the flip side however, it would be even more wrong to believe that the Pakistan people in general are bigots. This is the case of a nation, who has suffered heavily at the hands of the West, trying to maintain its religious and cultural identify in a wave of sweeping international change. Granted, there are extremist elements, but it would be absurd for us to consider these elements as representative of the whole of Pakistan, or to a broader extent, Islam. The fight is not over, however – Malala’s cause has not yet succeeded, as scores of women and girls around the world find themselves denied education, and it is important to remember that, amidst the congratulations of a job well done.
Sources:
“Malala Yousafzai.” Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 11 Jan. 2015.
“Profile: Malala Yousafzai.” BBC News. BBC, 10 Dec. 2014. Web. 12 Jan. 2015.
“Malala, Hailed Around The World, Controversial At Home.” NPR. NPR, 10 Dec. 2013. Web. 12 Jan. 2015.
Yusuf, Huma. “About the Malala Backlash.” Latitude – Blog. The New York Times, 18 July 2013. Web. 12 Jan. 2015.
Image Sources:
http://plan-international.org/girls/admin/resources/malala-speaking580-1…