Narinder Pal Sing
She took up the gauntlets and with her strength of conviction decided to go to school and wear her school uniform and this act of her bravery to preserve the dignity of school going girls provoked the ire of the Talibanis. She was held responsible for inciting and making the people of Swat rebellious against their long held doctrine of suppression and oppression. She didn’t get at all afraid that the path she had chosen is full of thorns, difficulties and enormous struggle.
The more the Taliban kept threatening and brandishing her with the dire consequences to her family and her life the more she raised the frequency and the tone of her rebellious voice and the day was not too far when she got placed on the pedestal of national laudation and universal acclaim and thus winning the hearts and souls of everybody who came to know about her, whether it either be a labourer working on a road or a president of any country. Being unintimidated and unafraid and by taking a hard-nosed approach towards the terrorisation and militarisation of her Swat, she kept the lamp of her fighting eternally burning for the posterity.
Everybody who saw her video over the internet couldn’t help singing song of praises for her and thereby becoming fan of her. Her voice against the Taliban doesn’t give any single impression of innocence and childfulness instead, it feels that a woman of dignified stature is speaking from a stage.
Fear and cowardness was long way from her dignified personality, and that is the reason the luminescence of her thoughts didn’t get dimmed even in the darkness of Talbani culture and she steadfastly maintained her stance of rebellion and progressive revolution against them. And thus, seeing her strength of character and ideology personified in her inspirational writing the whole of the Talibanis got meek and weak at their knees. It was only her moral courage, fearless approach and love for humanity that she has now become the paragon of indomitable strength and one’s rights.
“The day will come when we have to die then why should we live in constant fear of the Talibanis and so let us add a dignified meaning to our lives by raising our voices against them.” This was the line which she used to inspire and motivate the parents and the children of Swat.
She has become the symbol of human struggle, voice against dogmatic ideology and progressive revolution. Her age didn’t hinder her from taking such grand scale struggle. Malalaha’s voice has infused a spirit of bravery into the shrunken hearts and souls of those girls around the globe who still feel entrapped and confined within the walls of oppression and male dominance.
Adam Alik,a famous Holywood director got so much inspired and motivated after knowing about the heroic deeds of Malalah that he made a classic documentary ‘Class Dismissed’ in collaboration with New York Times. She got such social and political mileage that she also started taking part in the project ‘Open Minds’ of ‘Institute for war and peace reporting’, a mission started to instill writing skills in the students from 42 schools. Not only this she also spoke at Geo Tv. in their talk show ‘A Morning with Farah.’
Her popularity gained such unbelievable height and universal acceptance that the Talibanis felt a great threat to their dominance. They started thinking that if she kept her spree of rebellious and dare-devil activities continue others too would follow suit and nobody would feel afraid of them. Thus, after keeping a regular watch on her they finally made an evil plan to assassinate her in such a manner that no girl from the valley could again raise her voice against them.
The fateful day was 9th October 2012, Malalah was, as usually, returning from her school in a school bus when she was pounced on by the sharp shooters of the Taliban who fired continuous shots on her and she got grievously injured.
She was immediately taken to Peshaawar Military Hospital where she was operated upon and at last a bullet which had gone deep into her backbone was pulled out. But still her condition was so precarious and critical that the Pakistani Government didn’t want to take any risk so eventually it was decided that Malalah should be shifted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, London on 15th October 2012.
As the bullet had inflicted her grievously, grazing her brain, she remained in comatose position from 16th October to 17th October 2012 but as it would have it, Malalah, who was just 14 yrs old at that time, with her strong willpower and with the blessings of her wellwishers came out of coma.
In how many girls such desire and passion to get their rights could be present? Seeing her one could say that it is not one’s age that drive one towards one’s goal but it is one’s staying power of determination and indomitable courage that really fire one’s emotions.
Amir Ahmad Khan, Chief of the BBC Urdu, while giving interview to the Time Magazine got so emotional seeing the pathetic medical condition of Malalah, said that hadn’t he discovered her she would have been saved.
The news of such virulent and inglorious attack on just a 14 year old girl spread like a wild fire and it caught the attention of the whole global community who immensely criticised it by labeling such attack on the part of the Taliban shameful and disgusting. Pakistaani’s President Asif Ali Zardaari too went to see her at London and he also put his signature on the appeal duly signed by lacks of people meant for the education of those helpless children who can’t even get a two squares meal leave alone going to school.
Gordon Brown, the Ambassador for ‘Global Education Programme’ of United Nations, out of sympathy for Malalah, registered an application on behalf of her for global education for children on 15th October 2012.
‘Get well soon’ notes started pouring in through the different corners of the world and she got discharged on 20th March 2013. She was extremely ebullient at the time of her discharge and was hopefully optimistic to join her school very soon.
Desmond Tutu, a great leader of South Africa and also a Noble Prize winner nominated Malalah’s name for the ‘International Childrens Peace Prize’ in October 2013 in the list of 90 nominees.
Pakistan bestowed on her the ‘National Youth Peace Prize’, on 19th December 2013, and surprisingly she was also its first recipient. She got Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice. Keeping her great struggle for peace and humanity in view she was awarded ‘Rome Prize’.
Sakhorav Prize, Simone de Beauvoir Prize, Honorary Canadian Citizenship, Sitaara -e- Shuzaat Award, Clinton Global Citizen Award, Skoll Global Treasure Award are all the awards which she received for her humanitarian and social crusade.
And breaking her previous record of awards, she recently was bestowed with highly covetous Nobel Peace Prize which she naturally deserves, for her human rights advocacy for education and women.
Malalah Yusafzai started a mission to light that corner of the world where the doors to the schools had been closed forever, schools had been entirely demolished. She struggled hard for education, came out in an open sky, demonstrated her spirit of courage and confidence in front of the hardlined elements of Pakistan and ultimately like proverbial phoenix rose from her own ash and infused new life and hope into the waning courage of all those girls who aren’t lucky enough to go to school and experience the freedom of thought and expression. She provided each and every school going girl and those who too are desirous of going to school with fresh ideas, gave them a new insight into the contemporary situation and influenced their thoughts.
(Concluded)