Attack on Malala
By Dawar Naqvi
Yorba Linda, CA
Any group can be barbaric. But it requires a tremendous effort to remain civilized. A 14-year-old girl who was awarded Pakistan's first National Peace Prize for her online diary reporting on the Taliban's ban on education was shot and wounded on her way home from school on Tuesday.
Malala Yousufzai, a frequent target of death threats, was wounded when gunmen opened fire on her school van in Swat Valley. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack: Taliban spokesman Ihsnaullah Ishan told the CNN the shooting was a consequence of Malala's activism. "She wanted to make our women leave their homes for secular education, something the Taliban will never permit," Ishan said.
Fear of something is at the root of hate for others. Yousafzai is 14 years of age and has already earned international fame for raising her voice against Taliban oppression in Swat.
She was honored with a first ever National Peace Prize by the government and was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize by advocacy group KidsRights Foundation in 2011 for being an inspiration to her friends by standing up against repression as her namesake did in Afghanistan in the 19th century.
Malala became the voice of all the girls in Swat when she began maintaining a diary on the website of the BBC under the pen name of “Gul Makai.”
In an interview earlier this year, she described her motivation:
“I was scared enough to see pictures of bodies hanging in Swat. But the decision to ban girls from going to school was shocking for me and I decided to stand against the forces of backwardness,” she said, adding that she did not want any extra security and that she felt safe in Swat.
The shooting has shocked Pakistan, a nation long hardened to sickening acts of violence.
This was a shocking act of violence against a 14-year girl who had been bravely fighting for her right to education.
The Taliban and their backers bear the responsibility for the consequences of this outrageous act. This attack highlights the extremely dangerous conditions human rights activists’ face in Pakistan.
I humbly request our political leaders to please review their strategy. The Army should act with promptitude.
