Malala Yusufzai: An Icon
By: Muhammad Abdullah
Tags: Malala, Pakistan, Swat, Terrorism, Human Rights

So I decided to write again tonight, and if you know me at all, you know how lazy I am so this is quite a feat. The reason for this miracle is that soon a date is coming up that would make some of the stuff I’ll be writing come off in bad taste and I didn’t want that. You’re probably thinking what date, but this will make sense once you know a little more so let’s get into it.

Today I am going to write about a Pakistani icon and a hero for students, especially girls, around the world: Malala Yusufzai. I’m going to be considerate of all of our’s time and get straight to the point. Malala was shot in the head for struggling (read: Jihad) for education by TTP terrorists, who at the time controlled Swat and were raining down hell on its people. For some ununderstandable reason, the genius Pakistanis came to the conclusion that Malala, a 15-year-old girl shot in the head by terrorists, was a CIA agent planted to malign Pakistan.

First, let’s look at some of the arguments they present for this conspiracy theory that she is a foreign agent. One thing you’ll often find these people saying is that Malala wasn’t the only one shot, so why did she get the most attention? Well, first of all, she got the most attention because she was renowned for her activism BEFORE the attack happened and because the Taliban gunmen that committed this atrocity asked for her by name. And second, even if that wasn’t the case, how does that prove she is a CIA agent? The other person not getting enough attention is the fault of the media, and not some grand conspiracy against Pakistan organized by the whole world. Another thing she is criticized for and is presented as evidence for the whole “foreign agent” conspiracy is that why doesn’t she come back to Pakistan? Well, my friend, do you really feel ok asking this question? Do you not see the obvious? There are so many blatantly clear reasons for her to not come back that even someone like me can see. One, she is a student at Oxford University and her education is in progress, she can’t just leave and come back. And is everyone who goes abroad to study a foreign agent? Two, I don’t know if you have your eyes and ears closed, but an average Pakistani has nothing but antipathy for Malala. Would you be ok with your 23-year-old child living in a country where most people actively hate them? I wouldn’t, so I understand why she doesn’t come back to the land of the pure. And now for the part that forced me to write this early: a comparison to APS victims. I understand comparing victims of terrorist attacks is not right as they’re all horrific, but I believe this comparison is necessary because of its awful closeness to the issue at hand. I will be as vague as possible when bringing up APS kids on purpose as I don’t want to solidly compare victims. Some of the kids who were victims of the worst modern terrorist in Pakistan also went to the UK for medical treatment and some of them also chose to attend school there. Why do we not hear any charges of treason against them? Is it because of gender, ancestry, or something else? I would not like to push this any further as I believe my point has been made.

The simple reality is America doesn’t need Malala, a 15-year-old child, to do her bidding. Pakistani politicians, media, and even generals have been doing that for decades. General Zia-ul-Haq trained mujahideen for them; General Musharaf partook in their war on terror; Maulana Fazlur Rehman offered his services and promised to do better than “liberal” politicians, so yeah I don’t think Malala was really needed by the US. (Yes the generals had their reasons blah blah, but the point is the US can achieve its strategic objectives without going through the trouble of recruiting a 15-year-old, get her shot in the head, have the Pakistan army airlift her out, and treat her in the hospital for 4 days, then send her to the UK to get treatment and task the media of the entire world to speak about it, only so they can get an occasional statement out of her whose only objective is that it isn’t fully in line with Pakistan’s conservative values).

Now onto some of the other criticism Malala faces from her home country. One quote from her book that is often flung in her supporter’s faces is something like how men with beards scare her. This is taken as a criticism of Islam by many, but that is done out of pure ignorance. I’d like to paint a picture for you: Some bearded men with guns come into your village and start destroying your schools. They enter your home and destroy your TV. They threaten to kill you if you commit any of this “kuffar”. You’re an eleven-year-old child watching this brutal repression take place by men with long beards who claim to be disciples of Allah. This was a reality for Malala when the TTP came with their guns blazing and took over Swat. They destroyed everything in the so-called “jannat” on earth and induced such a fear that even military personal were scared to go there. Just imagine something like this happening in, let’s say Lahore. The TTP takes over and starts closing down your Beconhouses and LGSs and Johnny Jugnus and any other source of education or entertainment or just anything they declare haram, and if you refuse to abide by their baseless fatwas, they declare you kafir and behead you in the streets, all the while your eleven-year-old watches. What do you expect that child to grow up believing? I want to emphasize that none of this is far-fetched, this was the reality for the people of Swat who lived through hell under TTP so to crucify Malala for saying what she said is naive at best, and cruel at worst and I would argue makes you complicit by justifying those crimes.

Swat valley was one of the hardest fought battles for Pakistan. A professionally trained army lost 168 of its soldiers and over 400 were injured. Even the air force had to be used in this operation of taking back Swat. The Americans called it the Stalingrad of Hindu kush. Pakistani military pulled off one of the greatest military victories of the 21st century here, against the “bearded men”. I for one will never disrespect the ultimate sacrifice paid by many by justifying any of the murderous acts of the “bearded men”. No Pakistani should be offended when someone calls out the terrorists who wreaked havoc on our country.