I am Malala: But then, we all are Malalas, arent we?

Malala: The teenage heroine-February 17, 2014 When Malala Yousafzai publishe her autobiography !" a# Malala$ in %&tober 201', (ritten (ith the )ritish *ournalist +hristina ,a#b, it &ause an international sensation.un re s an thousan s of &opies of the boo/ (ere instantly sol out0 #any fa1ourable re1ie(s appeare in the global press- 2he (as hoste to a ozen of tal/ sho(s, inter1ie(s an is&ussions, in&lu ing the one she ha at the 3ohn F 4enne y ,ibrary in 526- Where1er she (ent, she (as haile as a young heroine- 2he ha rare au ien&es (ith 52 7resi ent )ara&/ %ba#a an 8ueen 9lizabeth "" of :reat )ritainFor e1ery teenage girl a&ross the globe, she (as the perfe&t role-#o el- 2he (as a(ar e 6n rei 2a/haro1 7rize for free o# of thought by 9uropean 7arlia#ent at this young age of 1;-To her &re it, at e1ery publi& foru# in (hi&h she parti&ipate , she spo/e fluent 9nglish, &learly, &onfi ently an authoritati1ely, (ithout the help of a noteboo/ or a pro#pter- That (as Malala$s ingenuity (hi&h the (orl a #ire so #u&hThe #i<e

feelingsabout Malala by 7a/istanis

)ut that (as not the &ase ba&/ at ho#e in 7a/istan, her nati1e lan - There, the feelings of people about Malala (ere #i<e - 2o#e a #ire her as (ell as the &ause she 1aliantly stoo for: First a girl$s right to e u&ation an no( a &hil $s right to e u&ation- There (ere politi&ians (ho appre&iate her (or/ e1en before she (as shot by Taliban in %&tober 2012- 7ri#e Minister Yousaf =aza :ilani hi#self a(ar e her the >ational 7ea&e 7rize in 2011 (hen she (as *ust 14 years- 2tate :o1ern#ents in 4hyber 7a/htun/h(a an 2in &hose to besto( her (ith han so#e &ash prizes- 2he (as e1en in1ite to a ress the 2in 2tate 6sse#bly)ut after she be&a#e popular globally, things at ho#e (ere not to her fa1our at all ti#es- There (ere #any (ho i not agree (ith her- There (ere so#e (ho e1en sub*e&te her to s&athing &riti&is#s- When she starte to re&ei1e a&&ola es fro# the 52 an organisations in the West, #any ba&/ at ho#e starte to lin/ her to the rone atta&/s on 7a/istani &itizens by the 52 #ilitary for&es- There (ere #any &onspira&y theories that ha been &reate to slan er her reputation- %ne (as that it (as a fa/e atta&/ &reate by her to see/ asylu# in a Western &ountry- 2o#e others ha bran e her a !+"6 6gent$ an a stooge of the "#perialists)ut at her #eeting (ith 7resi ent %ba#a *ust after her boo/ (as publishe , she i not #in&e her (or s about her opinion on 52 rone atta&/s- 2he tol hi# in plain language that if the 52 (ante to eli#inate terroris#, it shoul stop rone atta&/s"nstea , she stresse that the 52 shoul pro#ote e u&ation a#ong the young- This a 1i&e has been in a&&or (ith her publi& pronoun&e#ent that !7ens an boo/s are #ore po(erful (eapons than guns$"n this ba&/groun , her autobiography !" a# Malala$ eser1es an ob*e&ti1e an fair assess#ent- "t has 1aluable lessons for 2ri ,an/a (hi&h in #any respe&ts has no( been si#ilar to Malala$s 7a/istanMalala$s #aturity in rea ing 7a/istan$s so&io-politi&al history !" a# Malala$ is not only the story of a teenage girl shot by the Taliban for &a#paigning for the rights of girls to e u&ation- "t is also a fine a&&ount of the so&io-politi&al e1elop#ents in 7a/istan sin&e in epen en&e in 1?47The #aturity she has sho(n in e<plaining the latter has #a e so#e &riti&s of her (or/ oubt about its authenti&ity- 2o#e re1ie(ers ha e1en hinte at the possibility of a !ghost (riter$ (riting it on her behalf- The suspi&ion in this &onne&tion is in1ariably ire&te to(ar her &o-(riter +hristina ,a#b- There is no oubt that ,a#b shoul get &re it for the ri&h 9nglish in the boo/- .o(e1er, the analysis, in the 1ie( of this (riter, has been Malala$s o(n"t (oul ha1e been e1elope through a lifeti#e (ith the support of her father,

@iau in Yousafzai, an e u&ationist hi#self- Fro# a 1ery early age, Malala ha been use to Auestioning her father on nu#erous #atters, spe&ifi&ally religion, politi&s an (orl affairs- Malala, the abo1e a1erage intelligent girl, (oul ha1e &ertainly pi&/e up #ore than (hat her father (oul ha1e i#parte to her in those regular is&ussionsThis has been a#ply e#onstrate by her in the tele1ision is&ussions she ha ha (ith 1eterans in the in ustry- The arti&ulation she has sho(n in ans(ering the Auestionsthey ha put to her has e1en stunne so#e of the#- .er inter1ie(s (ith Baily 2ho( host 3on 2te(art an +>>$s +hristiane 6#anpour are &ases in point6 1i&e fro# the father: Bon$t epen on e<tre#ists to interpret 4oran Malala$s father, @iau in Yousafzai, has been a faithful follo(er of "sla#- )ut his 1ie( of "sla# (as ifferent fro# (hat (as popularly belie1e in 7a/istan- @iau in being a free-thin/ing eru ite i not ha1e to learn religion fro# others- .e ha the &apa&ity to #aster 4oran an other s&ripts by hi#self an un erstan their true #eanings- .is a 1i&e to Malala (as not to rely on "#a#s C lo&al prea&hers C to interpret the 4oran- 2he shoul learn the 4oran by herself an &o#e up (ith her o(n interpretations6fter stu ying the 4oran &arefully, Malala says that she foun a 1ast ifferen&e in (hat it sai an (hat (as prea&he by "#a#sThe free-thin/ing approa&h to stu ies (hi&h her father ha taught her has &on1erte Malala to a #o erate, tolerant an faithful "sla#ist- That (as ho( she starte to espise the e<tre#is# in religion (hi&h Taliban (ante to establish in 7a/istan"sla#isation of 7a/istan by :eneral @ia Malala$s a&&ount of so&io-politi&al e1elop#ent of 7a/istan sin&e in epen en&e is (ell re1ealing- 7a/istan (as an "sla#i& state (ith "sla# as the state religion- )ut it &onstitutionally prote&te the rights of &itizens to profess, pra&ti&e an propagate religions of theirs- 6&&or ing to Malala, that has been the gui ing prin&iple of the state as pronoun&e by 7a/istan$s foun ing father, Moha##a 6li 3innah"n fa&t, the "sla#i& state a here to this prin&iple in running its affairs in the first three e&a es sin&e in epen en&e- )ut things starte to &hange, notes Malala, after :eneral @ia ul-.aA too/ po(er in a #ilitary &oup in 1?77- :eneral @ia (as isolate fro# the rest of the (orl after he hange @ulfi/ar 6li )hutto, the 7ri#e Minister he

epose in the &oup- ,i/e all i&tators (ho ha1e lost re&ognition in the rest of the (orl , @ia too sought to establish legiti#a&y at ho#e by #o1ing into e<tre#is#Malala says that he openly supporte the e<tre#e groups that trie to ta/e 7a/istan ba&/ to a fun a#ental "sla#i& state- The result (as the !"sla#isation$ of the other(ise free thin/ing an #o ernising 7a/istan- %n&e e<tre#e groups are allo(e to raise their ugly hea s, it is i#possible for subseAuent lea ers to re1erse the &ourse e1en if they o not support it- Thus, the 7a/istani politi&al lea ers after @ia C )enazir )hutto, >a(az 2hariff an 7er1ez Musharraf C ha to sail (ith the rising ti es espite the &haos an instability it ha brought to the &ountry7a/istan is (hat it is to ay be&ause of the open a 1o&a&y of e<tre#is# by @ia an the failure of its subseAuent lea ers in arresting it- This is an eye-opener for 2ri ,an/a (hi&h of late has tolerate an nurture si#ilar e<tre#ist )u hist groups un er 1arious na#es- "f one goes by (hat 7a/istan reape after pro#oting e<tre#is#, one &oul say that the output (hi&h 2ri ,an/a (oul also reap (ill not be that ifferentWhat oes !" a# Malala$ #eanD This (riter feels that it has #any #eanings- "t #eans that one shoul fight for one$s rights e1en in the #i st of #ortal threat to one$s life- "t #eans that one shoul not sponsor or tolerate e<tre#is# propagate by &rafty groups in the na#e of religion, (hether it is "sla#, +hristianity, .in uis# or )u his#, to fulfil their o(n self-ob*e&ti1es- "t #eans that one shoul /eep on oing one$s goo (or/ irrespe&ti1e of the obsta&les one fa&es- "t #eans that one shoul spea/ out against in*usti&e in so&iety- This is Malala, that little girl in 7a/istan, e#bo ie in #any #eanings- "n that sense, aren$t (e all Malalas to ay (ho ha1e to fight for our o(n rights, against in*usti&e an against e<tre#is# all aroun DE >urture a terrorist0 he (ill turn his gun against you one ay Malala notes that the Taliban (as the logi&al out&o#e of this ina&ti1ity on the part of 7a/istani lea ers- "n fa&t, the Taliban (as &reate , says Malala, by the 52 in its (ar against the 2o1iets in 6fghanistan- ,i/e any e<tre#ist group, Taliban too turne its guns against its sponsors subseAuently- .istory has a#ple e1i en&e to substantiate su&h betrayalsTa/e the &ase of 2ri ,an/a$s ,TT9- "t (as nurture an sponsore by the "n ira :an hi :o1ern#ent of "n ia- )ut the ,TT9 subseAuently turne its guns against the 1ery sa#e :an hi ynasty- 2o, if one pro#otes e<tre#is#, one shoul be prepare to har1est its ugly output as (ell- This is a lesson (hi&h 2ri ,an/a shoul learn fro# a boo/ by a little girl in 7a/istanMisinterpretation of "sla# by Taliban The Taliban is pro*e&te to outsi e (orl as a bo y of e<tre#ist "sla#i& beliefs- )ut

Malala says that is not the &ase in 7a/istan- Malala reports a is&ussion (hi&h her father ha (ith one of his frien s on the sub*e&t- 6&&or ing to the#, the Taliban #entality is e1ery(here in 7a/istan- The #ain ingre ients of that #entality are anti6#eri&anis#, anti-7a/istani establish#ent an anti-9nglish la(sWhat the Taliban has one is e<ploit the people (hose #in s ha1e been infe&te by these 1iral feelings- 2o, it is a &ase of so#e s#art groups (ith 1i&ious ob*e&ti1es e<ploiting the alrea y #entally si&/ #asses- =eligion is brought as the *ustifi&ation of their 1iolent a&tions- The Taliban has a 1o&ate 3iha C a ter# (ith #any #eanings fro# uty to struggle to goo so&iety C in the sense struggling against those (ho o not belie1e in 6llah- )ut Malala says 3iha is not the &ornerstone of "sla#- That &ornerstone is pea&e, hu#bleness an li1ing a&&or ing to :o $s i&tates- 6s su&h, a #isinterpretation of a ter# has been use by the Taliban an other "sla#i& e<tre#e groups to pro#ote 1iolen&e in so&ietyFirst, the 1iolen&e is ire&te against those per&ei1e ene#ies outsi e the &ountryThen, it is ire&te against their o(n /in s (ho they belie1e o not follo( the :o $s (ay a&&or ing to their interpretations- Thus, 1iolen&e is propagate an e1eryone be&o#es a 1i&ti# of 1iolen&e- "t is nee less to say that a 1iolen&e-infe&te so&iety &annot progress as a !&i1ilisation$Taliban gra ually repla&es the go1ern#ent Malala says that the Taliban are s#art #ar/eters- They use the best entry-points to #uster publi& support- They first appear as heroes to eli1er helpless people fro# oppression an in*usti&e- 7a/istan is notorious for &orruption in e1ery sphere of publi& life, espe&ially in the a #inistration of *usti&e- There are not only elays in ue *u i&ial pro&esses but also (i e-sprea instan&es of tra1esty of *usti&e2in&e the &ountry follo(s 9nglish la(s, the Taliban &an ire&t the publi&$s (rath against the for#er &olonial #asters- They therefore &o#e for(ar in establishing unoffi&ially 2haria ,a(s an 2haria +ourts to a *u i&ate *usti&e- 7eople be&o#e i#presse be&ause &ases (hi&h ha earlier ta/en '0 years or longer are no( being hear (ithin a ay- Then, they start publi& punish#ents for so&ial e1ils li/e rin/ing, prostitution, a ultery an ga#bling- 7eople not only see that &ases are hear s(iftly but also that &ulprits are punishe pro#ptly- 2lo(ly, the Taliban starts in1a ing all aspe&ts of &i1ilian life- 6t that ti#e, they are so strong that no one ares to protest or fight against their tyranny- Those (ho o so (ill soon fall 1i&ti# to Taliban terrorBestru&tion of an&ient )u ha statues an stupas in 2(at Falley (hile 7oli&e loo/ a(ay Malala says be&ause of the apathy of those right-thin/ing people, the Taliban be&o#es

all po(erful in the 2(at Falley (here she li1es- There ha1e been ruins of thousan s of )u ha statues an stupas in the Falley, in i&ating the signs of the ri&h &i1ilisation it ha long ti#e ago- Malala says that the people of the Falley ha1e al(ays been prou of that ri&h &i1ilisation though they pra&ti&e a ifferent religion no("t is these statues an stupas (hi&h the Taliban starte estroying first, &lai#ing that they are not per#itte in "sla# C !hara#$ in their 1ie(- Malala says that they ha yna#ite the fa#ous 3ehanaba )u ha (hi&h ha been &ar1e into the ro&/ li/e the fa#ous )a#iyan )u has in 6fghanistan- The poli&e si#ply loo/e the other (ay an 7a/istan$s 6r&haeology Bepart#ent &oul not prote&t the ri&h heritage &o#ing fro# the an&ient 4ushan /ings of the 1alley- >obo y proteste be&ause they belonge to so#e other &i1ilisationMalala re#in s herself of the fa#ous poe# (ritten by 7astor Martin >ie#Gller about not spea/ing up against the >azi terror in :er#any an finally be&o#ing a 1i&ti# of that terror hi#self- 6t that late stage, there is no one to spea/ for his rightsTaliban prohibits s&hooling by girls Then, the Taliban starte issuing 1arious prohibitions- They in&lu e the prohibition of &o#puters, BFBs, 1i eos, )olly(oo #o1ies an #usi&, bangles, (o#en going to the #ar/et an finally girls atten ing s&hoolsMalala$s father ha built, through s(eat an labour, a girls$ s&hool in his 1illage- That (as the target of atta&/ by the Taliban- They first &on u&t a 1i&ious &a#paign against Malala$s father- They &all it >:%-fun e be&ause in 7a/istan, as a result of propagan a by short-sighte politi&ians, >:%s are hate by all- They ha1e been pro*e&te as outfits use by the Western (orl to estroy "sla# an 7a/istani nationThen they say that the s&hool uses girls in i##oral pra&ti&es.er father is or ere to &lose the s&hool for other(ise the Taliban (ill #ete out the se1erest punish#ent on hi#- "t is i#portant ho( Malala an her father respon e to this threat- 2in&e they are engage in a righteous a&ti1ity an they o nothing against the prin&iples of "sla#, they e&i e to &ontinue (ith the s&hool espite the #ortal threat to their li1es- The helplessness in the# is that the 7oli&e turn a blin eye to Taliban a&ti1ity an they ha1e no prote&tion fro# the legal go1ern#ent in the &ountryThus, it be&o#es a single girl$s an a single #an$s fight against in*usti&e- They &on&lu e that eath &o#es only on&e an that eath is a *ustifiable reason for the# to stan tall against the Taliban (hen the (hole Falley is ri1en for &o1er un er fear the Taliban has or&hestrate Taliban assassin: Who is MalalaD Taliban finally atta&/s not the father but the aughter- The assassin *u#ps onto the bus

(hi&h has been transporting the girls fro# s&hool to their ho#es an as/s for MalalaThen he shoots Malala an t(o others at point blan/ range an isappears- The Taliban issue a state#ent *ustifying the atta&/- "t sai that Malala (as atta&/e be&ause she ha efie the Taliban prohibition by &a#paigning for the girls$ right to e u&ation, engaging herself in anti-"sla# a&ti1ities by sprea ing se&ularis# an na#ing )ara&/ %ba#a as one of her heroesThe last sin is allege to ha1e been &o##itte by her in one of the publi& is&ussionsWhen as/e to na#e her heroes, she ha sai that %ba#a (as one of the# be&ause he &a#e fro# an un er&lass bla&/ fa#ily an struggle to be&o#e the top #an in the &ountry.o(e1er, the Taliban faile to /ill Malala- 2he sur1i1e than/s to the superb treat#ent she re&ei1es fro# the 7esha(ar +o#bine Military .ospital first an the 8ueen 9lizabeth .ospital in )ir#ingha# in the 54 later- "n her ne( in&arnation, she is no( stronger both physi&ally an #entally than before- 2he is no( eter#ine to &ontinue her struggle against ignoran&e an &hil ren$s right to e u&ation throughout the globe2he as/s for boo/s an pens for &hil ren- That is be&ause in her &on1i&tion, they are #ore po(erful (eapons than gunsMalala: " a# Malala fighting for our rights, against in*usti&e an against irrational e<tre#is# What oes !" a# Malala$ #eanD This (riter feels that it has #any #eanings- "t #eans that one shoul fight for one$s rights e1en in the #i st of #ortal threat to one$s life- "t #eans that one shoul not sponsor or tolerate e<tre#is# propagate by &rafty groups in the na#e of religion, (hether it is "sla#, +hristianity, .in uis# or )u his#, to fulfil their o(n self-ob*e&ti1es- "t #eans that one shoul /eep on oing one$s goo (or/ irrespe&ti1e of the obsta&les one fa&es- "t #eans that one shoul spea/ out against in*usti&e in so&ietyThis is Malala, that little girl in 7a/istan, e#bo ie in #any #eanings- "n that sense, aren$t (e all Malalas to ay (ho ha1e to fight for our o(n rights, against in*usti&e an against e<tre#is# all aroun D HW-6- Wi*e(ar ena, a for#er Beputy :o1ernor of the +entral )an/, &an be rea&he at (a(1?4?Ig#ail-&o#-J