THE MALALA FACTOR

Malala Yousafzai

I think it was a decade ago. I was watching a television show on a famous Pakistani news channel. They were talking about the prospect of female education in the country and the negative impact of the Taliban rule on the future of education in Swat Valley that was under the extremists' control back in 2012 CE. The anchorperson was sitting on some balcony. His guests composed of many aged and young analysts but one particular person struck me as odd. She was a girl, barely even 18 years old. She talked in a Pashtun accent but her discourse was full of wisdom. It was Malala, an activist famous for her open rebellion against the Taliban ban on female education. Her diaries and blogs had made her a vital opponent of barbarianism and a strong supporter of the women's right to go to school. She had become a real-life symbol of the power of pen against the power of sword. Malala used to be a celebrity in Pakistan before she was shot by a terrorist on October 9, 2012 CE. Then she turned into one of those heroes who are considered to be foreign agents working on behalf of the CIA. Like Fatima Jinnah - the sister of the guy who founded Pakistan - she was discriminated against in her own country for being a woman who speaks against fundamentalism.

Fatima challenged the dictator Ayub in 1965 presidential elections and was campaigned against by the religious parties who insisted that a woman couldn't become the President

Today's the 23rd birthday of Malala Yousafzai and I intend to write some decent words regarding this young woman who has won Pakistan its second Nobel Prize. The country of Pakistan was awarded Nobel only twice. Both recipients of this prestigious prize are hated by their countrymen. Dr. Salam was discriminated against and marginalized in his own country for being an Ahmadi. Ahmadi people are non-Muslims but they're loyal to Islam and consider themselves to be Mohammedans. Salam was enraged when Prime Minister Bhutto declared his people to be kuffar (infidels) in the '70s so he left the country. He was one of the leading physicists of Pakistan and can rightfully be called the Father of the Atomic Bomb. Unlike the pretender A.Q. Khan, Salam actually did contribute significantly to the newborn state's nuclear project. Malala had been writing anonymous blogs on BBC against the Taliban oppression since 2009 CE when she was only 12 years old. A 12 year old girl challenging the tyrannous regime (patriarchy of feminists?) of a barbarian cult (i.e. takfiri Muslims)! That's something we should all be proud of. She has appeared in Capital Talk - one of the most-watched shows in Pakistan, hosted by a senior journalist Hamid Mir (the guy who interviewed bin Laden) - in August, 2009 CE. With the help of her open-minded father who also ran the very school she studied in, Malala campaigned for the right of girls to receive education.

In 2011 CE, a year before the murder attempt, she was awarded the National Peace Award for Youth by Prime Minister Gilani. The murder attempt was condemned internationally and the Taliban had to face a bad reputation for allegedly trying to murder a 15 year old Pashtun girl. I was quite shocked to find that the terrorists had actually defended that attack and used Quran to justify killing children. They presented the incident of Moses and Khidr in which the two men encountered a little kid who was playing with his friends and Khidr - who knew the future by the grace of God - assassinated the poor soul. When confronted by Moses who was appalled by what seemed to be a cold-blooded murder, the holy man simply explained that he had special permission to act upon the knowledge he possessed of the future. Furthermore, the child was destined to become a misguided person and his pious parents were in danger of getting led astray from the path of righteousness; that's why Khidr decided to kill the boy. It was like Khidr murdered Hitler when he was a baby. The Taliban were simply inquired by the media: Do you possess the same knowledge as Khidr did?

Today, this brave girl turns 23 years old. She has fought terrorism and discrimination. But she still stands courageously in front of her critics with a graceful smile on her lips and the resolve in her breast to change the world. These aren't just poetic sentiments; Malala can literally be one of the most important human rights activists in the history of our country. She is the little girl who was born in the remote region of KPK, became a national celebrity at the of 12, was attacked by the terrorists when she was 15, became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Prize and is now the spokesperson for the girls' right to go to school. How much will she be able to accomplish when she enters her thirties? Will she create her own political party? Will she run for the office of Prime Minister? Will she come into power and bring some much-needed changes in our country's educational system? Will she eradicate illiteracy from Pakistan? Only God knows the answer to these questions. But we do hope a lot from Malala.

I don't know why people think Malala is presenting a bad image of Pakistan. You morons! By refusing to accept her as your national hero, you are presenting a bad image of your own country. You think her murder attempt was staged. You think Robert de Niro was hired to act as her would-be assassin. You think she faked her injuries. You think she is in cahoots with the CIA to undermine Islam. Curse of Allah be upon you! How can you hate someone who has literally done nothing to hurt you but who was harmed by your own enemies? How can you turn a blind eye to the crimes perpetrated by Mullah Fazlullah - the dajjal who used to utter swear words on radio shows - but think Malala is a threat to Islam? Hating Malala for defaming Pakistan is like hating MLK for defaming USA. The injustices of our society will be condemned and spoken against. Pakistan has some image problem not because of Malala but because of the ignorance that is widespread in this Godforsaken country. Malala simply points out these problems and, instead of rectifying your mistakes, y'all start screaming at her as if she's caused all this mess. The Taliban did bomb girls' schools. They did ban girls from attending classes. They did persecute innocent people while they were in power. I don't understand why the Taliban aren't the bad guys here. You think the terrorist Afia is the dukhtar (daughter) of Pakistan? She fled to Afghanistan and started making chemical weapons but she's still your hero. Malala spoke against oppression, campaigned for education and even got shot for her activism but she's an enemy in your eyes. Alas! You, my dear humdrum Pakistani, is as deluded AF.