After
centuries of suppression using animalistic force the Talibans are literally
cornered now by a teenager and her passion for education. The Hindu newpaper
reported it as below :
When
gun-toting men stopped their school wagon in Mingora last Tuesday around 12.45
p.m. asking for Malala Yousafzai, none of the three girls inside spoke. This,
despite the terrorists threatening to shoot all of them if they did not
identify Malala. Today, stirred by the braveheart, who dared to stand up to the
Taliban, and her friends, Shazia and Kainat, who refused to identify her even
under threat, girls across Pakistan are saying ‘I am Malala.’ This is happening
not just on the social media – which offers a degree of anonymity and security
– but also on television and on the streets; some with their faces uncovered.
‘I-am-Malala’ has been trending not just in Pakistan but also in Afghanistan
where girls’ education is equally at risk from the very same elements.
On
Saturday, the Afghanistan Education Ministry organised a nationwide prayer for
her at schools. She is being likened to ‘Malalai of Maiwand,’ the ‘Afghan Joan
of Arc’ who rallied the Pashtun army against the British in 1880.
In an echo of the Pakistan People’s Party pet
slogan kitne Bhutto maroge, har ghar se Bhutto niklega (how many Bhuttos will
you kill, every house will produce one), the refrain across the country is “how
many Malalas will you kill?’’ As daily vigils are being organised to pray for
the speedy recovery of Malala and her friends, girls were coming forward;
willing to stand up and be counted. Her classmate from the Khushal Public
School in Mingora, asserted: “Every girl in Swat is Malala. We will educate
ourselves. We will win. They can’t defeat us.’’ If anything, the fate of Malala
– who came to represent the ‘voice of the girls of Swat’ because of her blog,
written under the pseudonym Gul Makai, in which she advocated girls’ right to
education during the Taliban reign of terror over Swat – has made the media a
bit circumspect about exposing the girls too much for fear that the terrorists
might target them, too. Still, at vigils and demonstrations, children are
turning up in considerable numbers; a rare sight in Pakistan where crowds are
avoided given the impunity with which terrorists penetrate. Even in Peshawar –
where there are indications of various terrorist outfits regrouping and
mobilising after a brief lull – girls are coming out in support of Malala;
fearing that silence is no longer an option.
Interestingly,
The wave of protest is surging in this side of border too. The fresh protests
are seen in Bhopal (India) and other places. Victims and survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy have extended their support to
Pakistani teenager Malala Yousufzai who has stood up for women’s education.
“We salute the young lady and the brave front she put up against extremist
elements. We pray for her well-being and hope she recovers soon,” said Abdul
Jabbar, a gas victim and convener of the Sangathan.
(protests in Bhopal, India)
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