Yet Another Honor for Malala
By RiazHaq
CA
Malala Yousufzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot by the Taliban in 2012 and survived to tell her story, has become a household name in the West. She and her family have found a new home in Birmingham, England.
She has been honored with some of the highest international awards including the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. Last week, Malala was named the youngest ever UN Messenger of Peace, with a special focus on girls' education.
Refugee Crisis
While Malala has been widely celebrated in Europe and America, the West has not been so generous to the refugee children from Syria and other war-torn nations who are suffering an ongoing tragedy. Very few have been accepted in the West and there's growing opposition to accepting any more. Meanwhile, the greatest burden of hosting refugees is being borne by those who can least afford it. As of the end of 2015, the top 6 countries hosting the largest number of refugees are all Muslim-majority nations: Jordan (2.7 million), Turkey (2.5 million), Pakistan (1.6 million), Lebanon (1.5 million) and Iran (979,400).
Underlying Causes of Terror
What is the reason for this indifference? Is it easier to make ourselves feel good by saving one girl without dealing with the underlying causes of terror that produce the Malalas and others like her?
US Berkeley's SmirtiJoneja answers this question well in a piece she wrote for the Daily Cal. Here's an except from her observations:
"Swallowing Malala’s story is much easier than casting a critical eye on the role the West has had in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Syria, which has contributed to a significant portion of the suffering that the people in those respective nations are undergoing. US policy supported the rise of the mujahedeen in Afghanistan, precursors to the Taliban, supporting radical jihadism and Islam as a retort against the Soviet Union and communist ideologies. Furthermore, US military operations in Pakistan have ended thousands of innocent lives — actions that have gone largely unpunished and relatively unnoticed while the victims and their families have been sadly forgotten. It is not just the Taliban that is committing crimes against humanity. Ifthe Western world wants to celebrate and take part in Malala’s advocacy for justice, it must first recognize all the different parties who have infringed on that justice, including its own policies — both historical and ongoing. Justice can’t be served selectively, for such justice really isn’t justice at all."
White Savior Complex
Assed Baig, a freelance journalist, has accused the West of "white savior complex" in describing how Malala has been co-opted by the white world since being shot in Pakistan. Here's what he wrote in an Op Ed in the Huffington Post:
"This is a story of a native girl being saved by the white man. Flown to the UK, the Western world can feel good about itself as they save the native woman from the savage men of her home nation. It is a historic racist narrative that has been institutionalized. Journalists and politicians were falling over themselves to report and comment on the case. The story of an innocent brown child that was shot by savages for demanding an education and along comes the knight in shining armor to save her."
Summary
It appears that the West has co-opted Malala rather than dealing with the underlying causes that produce Malalas. While recognizing that the West does suffer from the "White Man Savior Complex", I find such concerns overblown and fundamentally off the mark. I think Malala is a great ambassador for Pakistan doing a great service to Pakistan women who make up half the population of the country. My hope is that her celebrity position will help increase the focus on girls' education in Pakistan.
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