Malala Yousafzai: A Case Study

Malala Yousafzai is making a gradual recovery at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Britain, where she is under treatment for a brain injury that she sustained after the Taliban shot her in the head for many reasons, all of which are unacceptable. This is indeed great news to see this 15 year old making a recovery and miraculously surviving a close up gun shot to the head by the cowardly Taliban. Malala has been an open activist especially for the role of female education in Pakistan, she lived in the Swat valley and lived in daily fear with her father – knowing that the Taliban were always within close reach in their battle to overtake the region with their draconian laws.

Within the last 2 years Malalas open commitment to protecting the rights of women in Pakistan and their rights to education has encouraged western media to infiltrate her region and get to know her and her father who is supportive of his daughters stern warning that she will “never stop“. Yet to me Malala is being torn from every direction, as the “hero’s” and “villains” run around her in circles whilst she lay in a fragile condition in a British hospital, i feel it is time for us to maintain an honest narrative on what happened to her and why- not to mention why it is important that her mission continues.

Malala recovering in hospital (20/10/12)

First thing is first. Malala was not shot because she supports education, at least not according to the Taliban. They had sent official warnings to her family saying that their lives were in danger if they were to continue their glorification of their Western Enemies and their culture. The Taliban hated Malala because she was the epitome of a “modern movement” in the backwaters of Pakistan, a place where people are used to standing down and being overrun by militants who silence the majority of its dwellers. They hated that she gave the world an insight into a day in the life of a Pakistani girl and the fear instigated by the Taliban. They hated that she accepted fragments of the west whilst retaining what is acceptable of her own culture, a mixture of both Eastern and Western thinking is “corrupt” in the eyes of the Taliban– who after the third warning decided to act upon their threats by sending men to the school bus she was traveling in, summoning her by name until he friends pointed her out, before she could speak she was shot- so was the girl that “reported” her- in case it was a ploy. Sick? Beyond words.! There is no strong evidence to suggest that the Taliban shot her strictly for supporting education of any sort, though that may be one of many reasons, it is surely not the sole purpose that the Media is trying to portray.

One of the most impressive things to me was that once Malala was shot, the outcry from the general Pakistani population was huge, regardless of their creed or location- they stood up for this young girl, praying for her recovery, cursing her attempted assassins and with fists in their air promising to never let her legacy die, whether she lives or dies. Day after day the Pakistani people gathered in many sized crowds- both men and women to support Malala and worldwide the outcry was huge, so much so that it’d make the Taliban scurry back to their caves from fear.  These images gave me so much hope, and it squashed the rumors that “typically” people are silent about the extremists within their own faith and region, hence they too are part of the problem. The fact is the majority of every day people in Pakistan contest to the Taliban, just like every day westerners do. Even more promising was the fact that a Fatwa was issued against the Taliban by over 50 Muslim clerics within the region to condemn the Taliban and their actions.

20-40,000 people protest in Karachi, Pakistan over Malalas shooting by the Taliban.

Clerics on Friday declared the attempt on her life, made by Pakistani Taliban gunmen while the 14-year-old girl was on her way home from school in the Swat valley, to be “un-Islamic”.The joint fatwa, or religious edict, was issued by at least 50 scholars associated with the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), and appealed to worshippers to observe a “day of condemnation” on Friday.

“Islam holds the killing of one innocent person as killing the entirety of humanity” said Hamid Saeed Kazmi, a former religious affairs minister in Pakistan, told reporters.

In light of all this, some people and governments have allowed this event and the suffering of the Pakistanis under the rule of the Taliban to support the use of drone attacks in the region, which to me is an ugly guise at allowing further innocents to die. There is no justification to drone attacks, such attacks that do not differentiate between innocent civilians and militants, whilst the sad fact remains that the media always somehow claims that drones “kill militants” whilst they are absolutely silent about the innocent lives that are taken in the interim. A new study from Columbia Law School’s Human Rights Institute finds that the number of Pakistani civilians killed in drone strikes are “significantly and consistently underestimated” by tracking organizations which are trying to take the place of government estimates on casualties. In fact latest studies note that the ratio of civilians killed to militants in these drone attacks are 50:1.

Hence when people cheer for nations to nuke Pakistan with further drone strikes- essentially they are supporting the death of civilians; men,women and children– who knows how many other Malalas have had to die in such a way. So no, do not take advantage of this situation to further support the concept of drone strikes, a terrifying and terrible use of force by unmanned aircraft that cause major turmoil on the ground.

Members of the EDL (English Defense League) call Malala a “Piece Of Shit” for recovering in Britain.

Another ugly side that has emerged from the case of Malala is the thriving racism in the United Kingdom by the EDL (English Defence League). A “Party” that ensure it must keep and fight for Britains identity- an identity that is being stolen and taken over by immigrants and Muslims who want to impose “Shariah Law”. These people have been well known to cause havoc, violent protests and grotesque threats- nothing short but a menace to a society they claim to “protect”. When members of the EDL heard that Malala who was 14 at the time and had just been shot in the head in defiance to the Taliban mind you- was going to get medical treatment in the UK they went absolutely ape about it and vocalized an intense hatred for this young girl, calling her the most hideous names including a “Piece of shit“– concluding that her and her family were “using their resources” and that they were spending their tax payers money on helping a “free loader“.

Funnily enough the Pakistani government were paying for her visit, treatment and recovery entirely. Hence these “extremists” are attacking a girl who openly fought the “extremists” – does that make sense to you? Of course not, they were the English Defect League.

Now comes the other side of the spectrum, some Muslims are trying to claim that Malala is simply a coverup and that she was not shot, or that she works for American Propaganda agents and that the Taliban do not attack children and would not do such a thing. Let us get one thing straight, if you deny that what happened to Malala was true; that she was in fact NOT shot by the Taliban then you are calling her entire narrative falsehood. You are basically implying that this young girl took a bullet to the head for no reason, her testimonies are false and the struggle of her people and their society under the grips of the Taliban are not true- technically you are calling Malala a liar. Which is ridiculous ; children are honest and Malala is honest in what her and her people must face, that these Taliban are militia-men who enforce rules upon people and who have OPENLY threatened Malala and her family, and continue to do so even when she was on her deathbed. The fact is by standing up for the Taliban, you are spitting on the face of the reality that Malala and her people face on a daily basis, you are calling her life story a lie and that all that she fought for and will Inshallah continue to fight for is nothing but mere fabrication– pathetic, to say the least.

Grief hits the heart of Malalas nation of Pakistan.

Finally there are the people that suddenly have the urge to insult Islam as a faith and somehow hold the Taliban to be a pedestal to Islamic teachings, one thing that is absolutely ironic about such criticism is that Malala herself IS a Muslim. So inform me oh bigots, why isn’t Malala the face of Islam? Instead you choose the Taliban? Cute. Not to mention when Malala was asked in an interview in 2011 how she would combat the Taliban she said she would speak to them first and ask them what do they desire and demand, then she said she’d show them the Qur’an and prove to them nowhere does it mention women cannot get educated.

Case closed. Stop using the tragic situation of Malala to promote your own agenda, take the story for what it is.

Peace, Salam Alaykum.