by B. R. GOWANI
Malala Yousufzai, a 14-year-old schoolgirl (in an undated photo) was shot by a masked gunman belonging to Taliban in Swat Valley northwest Pakistan on October 8, 2012. PHOTO/Stringer Pakistan Reuters/Reuters/Chicago Tribune
Malala Yousufzai, a fourteen year old outspoken supporter of female education and critic of Taliban cruelties, was shot in head and neck by a masked Taliban gunman after he and his men stopped a school bus on its way to drop children to their homes. One of her friends was also injured. She was taken to a military hospital and later transferred to another military hospital. Her condition is still critical and she is not out of danger, yet.
Ehsanullah Ehsan, the TTP Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan) spokesman, defended the attack thus: “She was pro-West, she was speaking against Taliban and she was calling President Obama her ideal leader.” Another charge against Malala is that she is “the symbol of the infidels and obscenity.”
Justifying the shooting of an innocent non-threatening teenager, the Taliban statement compared their action with the action of the mythical Khizr:
“If anyone argues about her young age, then the story of Hazrat Khizar in the Quran (states that) while traveling with Prophet Musa (AS), (he) killed a child. Arguing about the reason of his killing, he said that the parents of this child were pious and in the future he (the child) would cause a bad name for them.”
(Musa is Moses of the Old Testament or the Jewish Hebrew Bible, and is one of the many prophets mentioned in the Muslim scripture Qur’an.)
Religious scriptures are littered with violence, some justifiable and most unjustifiable. In the above instance, the killing of a child is absolutely abhorrent. Just because the child, as a grown-up, is going to use her/his mental faculty in a critical manner is no excuse for taking that person’s life. Besides, Malala’s parents are supporting her to get an education. Her father (himself a teacher who runs a school) also wants her to join politics when she grows up. She wanted to be a doctor but then she changed her mind and has expressed her desire to go into politics.
Malala is a passionate advocate of education. In 2009, when the US government’s special Af-Pak envoy late Richard Holbrooke was visiting Pakistan, Malala was also invited to the meeting. She urged Holbrooke: “Respected Ambassador, I will request you that if you can help us in our education, so please help us.” (11:50-12:00, in the following New York Times video.)
Holbrooke, replying Malala, said the US had pledged $1 billion in economic aid, but Pakistan “faces a lot of problems.” He did not mention the role US has played in the current mess, and in the past, by supporting corrupt military and civilian leaders to achieve its own geo-strategic goals.
On the other hand, Ehsan claims that Taliban are not against education. This is their stand on education:
“We are deadly against co-education and secular education systems, and Sharia orders us to be against it.”
In other words, they favor to keep on producing uneducated terrorists in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Sadly, the choice for Pakistanis is always limited: the bastards without, or the suckers within.
Pakistan is part of South Asia and not West Asia contrary to what the fanatics may think or claim. So, this Saudi funded and Sunni extremist-imposed Wahabi Islam has no room in Pakistan or in India or other South Asian countries. It is sheer terrorism, and the religious right wing hold on news media in Pakistan, which has scared the liberals and progressives from confronting the barbaric forces. But, the bravery of Malala and the attack on her has provided many people with new hope and voice. One can view it with skepticism, or, just turn out to be that genuine change lurking in the out wings is finally realized. After all, President Asif Zardari said that Malala was like his daughter, and the Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said:
“The cowards who attacked Malala and her fellow students have shown how low they can fall in their cruel ambition to impose their twisted ideology.”
The outpouring of grief and support, and protests for Malala has injected some hope in Pakistan that not all is lost.
Let us hope that the momentum thus gained keeps its pace and results in a Pakistan where religion is restricted to places of worship, and Sunni zealots are deported to Saudi Arabia.
Let’s hope that brave Malala defeats lurking death and comes back to fight the ignorant barbarians, although they have declared that they’ll attack her again.
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com