Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

Malala – A Drop in the Ocean of Heroines

Violence against women is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared with men. Moreover, it is the manifestation of an unequal power between men and women. But women resist boldly against such injustice.

The Islamic radicals ban girls from going to school in Afghanistan and Pakistan through issuing fatwa which is not supported rationally. So, in Taliban-dominated areas, girls are not allowed to attend schools just for being female. However, the girls’ freedom and their courage is a bitter pill for the Taliban to swallow. In other words, they fight tooth and nail to prevent females from social arena – especially from attending school and university – but their vain attempts make them boil with anger. The successes of the girls and women, who rebel against Taliban’s radicalism, are intolerable fiasco for them and Malala’s success is one of them.

On Friday, Malala Yousafzai, a 17-year-old Pakistani girl, was announced as the co-recipient of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for her struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.

On 9 October 2012, a Taliban gunman shot Malala Yousafzai as she rode home on a bus after taking an exam in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. The masked gunman shouted “Which one of you is Malala? Speak up, otherwise I will shoot you all”, and, on her being identified, shot at her. She was hit with one bullet, which went through her head, neck, and ended in her shoulder. Two other girls were also wounded in the shooting: Kainat Riaz and Shazia Ramzan, both of whom were stable enough to speak to reporters and provide details of the attack.

Ehsanullah Ehsan, chief spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that Yousafzai “is the symbol of the infidels and obscenity,” adding that if she survived, the group would target her again. In the days following the attack, the Taliban reiterated its justification, saying Yousafzai had been brainwashed by her father: “We warned him several times to stop his daughter from using dirty language against us, but he didn’t listen and forced us to take this extreme step”. The Taliban also justified its attack as part of religious scripture, stating that the Quran says that “people propagating against Islam and Islamic forces would be killed”, going on to say that “Sharia says that even a child can be killed if he is propagating against Islam”.

On 12 July 2013, Yousafzai’s 16th birthday, she spoke at the UN to call for worldwide access to education. The UN dubbed the event “Malala Day”. It was her first public speech since the attack, leading the first ever Youth Takeover of the UN, with an audience of over 500 young education advocates from around the world.

“The terrorists thought they would change my aims and stop my ambitions, but nothing changed in my life except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born ... I am not against anyone, neither am I here to speak in terms of personal revenge against the Taliban or any other terrorist group. I’m here to speak up for the right of education for every child. I want education for the sons and daughters of the Taliban and all terrorists and extremists.” She further added, “I speak not for myself but for those without voice ... those who have fought for their rights -- their right to live in peace, their right to be treated with dignity, their right to equality of opportunity, their right to be educated.”

Malala, who said that she was proud to wear a shawl that previously belonged to slain Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, said she had no desire for revenge against the Taliban or any other terrorist group.

“I do not even hate the Talib who shot me,” Malala said. “Even if there was a gun in my hand and he stands in front of me, I would not shoot him.”

She said she had learned this attitude from “Muhammad, the prophet of mercy, and Jesus Christ and Lord Buddha.” She said she was also inspired by people like Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Mohandas Gandhi and Mother Teresa.

Islam, she said, was a religion of “peace, humanity and brotherhood” that enshrined education of children not just as a right but “a duty and responsibility.”

The Nobel Committee said that Malala had won for advancing the right to education for girls and for setting an example for youth around the world.

“Despite her youth, Malala Yousafzai has already fought for several years for the right of girls to education, and has shown by example that children and young people, too, can contribute to improving their own situations,” the statement reads. “This she has done under the most dangerous circumstances. Through her heroic struggle she has become a leading spokesperson for girls’ rights to education.”

Such heroic acts being carried out by women are really praiseworthy and they have shown their abilities throughout the history and showing them now. The Kurdish women who fight in the front line against ISIS, the female suicide bomber who sacrificed her life for her country in anti-IS war and the 19-year-old girl who abandoned school to join this war are making history and announcing to the world that they are not inferior.