Malala Yousafzai- What great did you do?

Here’s a girl, just another girl, from Swat Valley, not old enough to have an
ID card but considered influential enough to take on some of the world’s
biggest media stages. What the newspapers and media told about the girl
really made me adore and love the girl. After reading the book “My name is
Malala”, I had to re-think my perception.
Catch up any guy in the street and ask him about Malala. Here’s what you
would supposedly hear: “A random Pakistani girl shot by the Taliban. She
all of a sudden becomes an international icon. She then moved to England
and started giving speeches on rights and education. The next thing we
heard was that she got a Nobel Prize.” As you can see, as a logical person,
it makes no sense. It is an undeserving misconception, not that difficult to
figure out.
We then ask the same question to a logical, better person. This is what he
will end up saying: “What you have been hearing about Malala is
completely wrong.
1. She has been fighting for rights for a long time – years before she was
even shot. She spoke for the radio, appeared on the television. Several of
her speeches were covered by the local news.
2. She maintained a blog for the BBC when she was just a 7 th grader. She
used to write about her life and the Taliban rule. That took a lot of courage
since several others have refused to do it before her.
3. She received a lot of death threats- from Taliban. Despite that, she
continued advocating her rights.
4. Taliban shooting her was not a random event. She was specifically
targeted because of ignoring their threats.
5. She was seriously injured after being shot. Two others were shot along
with her. They were girls. But their injuries weren’t that serious. They
recovered fast. Not the case for Malala- she was fighting for life.
6. So serious were her injury, she needed special medical care. She was
flown outside the country. Her life was at stake.
7. This is the time around which she got more publicized- internationally.
People mentioned a lot that all she needed was a bullet in her head to
make herself famous. That’s not the case. It’s all because she had
continued to fight for the right to education despite several odds and
threats.
8. Her autobiography “My Name is Malala” says it all. It gives the
perception of more than a picture. She mentioned how she misses her
home a lot. She also has an answer for those who criticize her life of
comfort in England. She’s there so that she can continue her activism.
Returning to Pakistan translates a disaster for her- straight death. She can
use her international attention to do much more for her country than she
was able to when living there.
9. Her receiving the Noble prize might be a bit over rated but she does not
as under-deserve as one might think.
10. She still continues to do a lot of active work- including opening a school
for Syrian refugees.”
Wow. These 10 points are enough and logical to make anyone think of
Malala as an inspiring, bold and a symbol of courage- the place where she
is now. But we now ask ourselves this question- “What made her do all
this? Is there someone behind or is it all done by her?”
This question changes the entire story, though it looks like an extension of
the story.
To get the entire understanding, we need to know exactly what happened
in Swat- the valley where Malala lived.
A beautiful valley with a river, turned into a warzone. Some unknown
extremists (the world calls them “Taliban”) and few local lunatics
combined started a fight against the Pakistan Army, who had bases setup
in the area, for completely unknown reasons. The presence of the army
bases reportedly triggered the fight, with the extremist group considering
the army as a threat to their own existence. Since the extremist were
nothing but a small insignificant group, they hired locals in exchange of
cash (somewhere around Rs. 500/person) to expand their base.
The fight did not end up well. Burning houses, leveling properties,
indiscriminate shelling, endless torture, all ruled the scene. Many killed, lots
injured. Then there was Malala, a 16 year old. Shot, wounded, struggled for
life, got military treatment, and then taken outside, somewhere safe.
 She claims to be fighting for girl’s education and school. But one thing
was clear. Swat never had any educational problems alone for girls.
There were schools built on mountains by the then ruler of Swat,
when it was a state. Malala’s father owns and owned a school by the
name of “Hira Model School”.

During the operation, the schools were bombed in Swat. It was not
because the extremists didn’t like education. It was because of the
Pakistan Army. They used it up for operations. They turned schools
into bases. Anyone can figure out what was going to happen next.

If the extremists were really against girl’s education, why did they
search only for Malala in a school bus full of girls?

Also note that educating a girl was a common practice at that time
too. Hundreds and thousands of girls attended high schools and
colleges in the big cities like Karachi, Lahore or even the smaller
cities. Swat was a small tribal valley. The rules there were bound by
the archaic tribal culture and the tough geography. You wouldn’t
expect attending a school over the mountains to be easy.

So, what has she actually achieved in terms of “Girl’s education”

when most part of the country’s girls were sent to schools? “Thanks
to Malala, girls in Pakistan can now go to primary school”- I don’t
know why they should say that.

On December 16, 2014, 132 students from APS were murdered and
still the fellow students returned to school within a month. Didn’t they
strive for an education? – They did. But they didn’t get famous. They
didn’t get supporters.

Malala’s father Mr. Ziauddin is and was a very controversial man. It

was said that he had contacts with foreign agents and diplomats at
the time. He was primarily a teacher. He later had a job in the UK
embassy.

 Malala’s Autobiography was written by her father. The same goes

for her BBC blog and several speeches she delivered way long
before she was shot. The contents were entirely her dad’s creation. It
 was also rumored that a BBC Urdu representative used to write her
blogs and attribute it to her.

Obviously, no normal person would be able to write a blog and

maintain a daily diary at that very young age

When Malala’s dad, the teacher, was approached by the authorities

that there needs to be a writer who would voice against the Talibans
and would represent the community and the school, not even a single
person came forward. The consequences of siding against Taliban
were known to all. Mr. Ziauddin, out of choice, later decided to go on
with his own daughter, Malala Yousafzai, to start a blog in the BBC
Urdu Website.

 Here comes the misconception: “Malala was the target of the

Talibans for being a girl activist who fought for education rights even
after the continued threats”. The true story is that it was her father
who received the threats, not she. When the Talibans attacked the
school, again it was her father who fought them, not she. Malala was
the target for the Talibans just because she was Ziauddin’s
Daughter.

 One thing which definitely deserves appreciation is her bravery and

courage. Though she herself didn’t speak up against the Taliban, she
represented it. Knowing the dangers and consequences, the
boldness she portrayed is legendary. Getting shot through the head
and surviving all the odds isn’t something for the weak. However this
doesn’t justify her getting the Nobel Prize. A bravery Award would
have been the perfect fit.

Again, the fact that she’s practically settled in the west living a
comfort life and sponsored by God knows who might be the reason
many take the incident as a conspiracy or an elaborate hoax. Some
goes on calling her as the “puppet of the west”.

 Two of her friends were also injured in the attack. No media, no

country asked about them. I understand that their injuries were minor
and required less attention. If Malala was that influential as she is
considered, couldn’t she pass on her ideologies and inspirations to
 her friends? How come she is the only girl in the village who is
considered an activist? What about the others?

 The fact that she gets selected and remains popular among the major
celebrities is also startling. I mean she is not the only activist on
earth, is she? Hundreds others have fallen into similar acts and few
who have survived never gets mentioned, just to begin with. Her
contribution to the education in Pakistan or even to the whole world is
yet to be determined, whereas there are others whose contributions
are seriously looked over.

Other than those over-hyped television interviews and UN speeches

(she looks down-to-earth though), she hasn’t done anything
remarkable to make lives better since the assassination attempt.
Sure, she did open up some primary schools and relief funds, but
compared to her media attention, the gravity of her works remain
insignificant.

 Considering the fact that she is from a nation who have had enough, -
enough from the so-called Talibans, enough from the corruptions,
from the economy, enough from the Bin Ladens, it should have been
her interest to serve the nation and interfere with all its challenges,
using the media attention she got.

But you rarely find her doing this. Her recent speeches mostly revolve
around education and related issues. Very few times did she actually
mention her country’s name. This could lead to the justification as to
why she is hated by many in her country.
“I am ready to tell the world that Pakistan is a safe place and teams should
go there and play cricket”- says the same person who doesn’t live in
Pakistan because it was deemed unsafe.
While thousands of peoples were blown up by the Talibans and American
drones, all you can see in the media is her face. She was made to occupy
the news room.
From speaking up against the Taliban to fighting them, from ideas about
girl’s education to opening an entire school, it is her dad who takes the
entire credit. How is she worthy of the Nobel or even the attention when all
she does is represent her father’s thoughts and works?
With nobles like Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa,
Kailash Satyarthi, I totally see Malala getting the Nobel Prize as either too
early or undeserving. She is still light years behind compared to the
contributions made by other Nobel literates.
For instance, Kailash Satyarthi, who got the Nobel Prize with her, gave up
his entire corporate career just for the sake of children working around as
laborers. Malala on the other hand claims that she is the voice of the
common and general girl of the valley, when all she does is live in
Birmingham, deliver speeches, right from there and earn money! Her
intention of returning to the country being a politician also rules out
everything else.
Looks like Nobel Peace prize is just an appealing tool for political use.
Winding up my thoughts, I ask the question again to myself- “Malala
Yousafzai- What great did you do?”
You were fighting for rights for a long time, because your dad told you to.
You received an education, because your dad wanted you to. You were not
the only girl to receive an education. Your dad fought the Talibans when
they attacked your school, not you. You were the target for Talibans not
because of being a girl, but because of being Mr. Ziauddin’s daughter. You
were brave enough to experience the war scenes. You were strong enough
to survive the war scene. You displayed the boldness which no girls of your
age could.
So, is she overrated? - Yes. Is she guilty of stealing the attention from more
deserving candidates? – Maybe No!
The western government line up their praise for Malala on one hand but
engages in violating the human rights and abuses on the other hand. They
do what best suits them and when it suits them. Malala can be considered
as a victim of Taliban but is also considered by many as a victim of
exploitation by the western governments for their own propaganda.
And as I continue to say, if the propaganda is all about spreading
awareness, if the propaganda is about making a positive change in this
world, if the agenda is about eradicating extremism, then we have got all
our reasons to support her, love and cherish her. We want that and always
hope for that.
What if the propaganda is something else? What if the plot goes something
beyond?
Well, then we have got nothing to do. Imagine it as another crafty CIA plan.
All we can do is think of her as a parading hypocrite and an insult to the
ideology of women empowerment itself. The only thing she will have been
destined for is being a joke and a bed-time story.
However, since she is one of the very few who have turned a personal
tragedy into a great opportunity, we would always love her use this
opportunity for the betterment of the world. Of all the evils of extremism, the
suppression of women through the denial of education is the worst of all.
Being a household name, she could be a source of inspiration for many.
So, instead of focusing on “what great did she do?”, we must now focus on
“what great will she do?”. Ignore the loud media coverage and focus on the
truly good causes.
Best of Luck Ms. Yousafzai! The world’s waiting!