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Unbeknownst to young Malala, she was picked up, groomed and her sincere intentions exploited by the worlds most notorious intelligence agency.
As I write this column, local media here in Pakistan is broadcasting prayer and vigil gatherings from across the country over the brutal terrorist attack which severely injured young Malala Yusufzai and her classfellows inside their school bus.
And why shouldnt these be done? Seeing my fellow countrymens sense of unified care and humanity has reminded me not all people here have hearts that have gone rigid (Thank God for that!)
Who is Malala Yusufzai? Like many other motivated whiz kids from Pakistan determined to prove their talents and exercise them further for societys collective prosperity, young Malala from the once besieged mountain city of Swat is a 15-year old student who studies in the ninth class, just a level blow the Class 10 (Matriculation) duration, qualifying after which she will officially be a high school graduate (pre-collegiate studies).
In major regions of Pakistan, especially the under-developed zones, girls who study beyond Class 5 are rare sights. And for those who know the value of education, supporting such girls is a social obligation.
Hence, we have seen that over the past decade, there has been a remarkable increase in the female literacy rate across Pakistan now that the modern era of Information Technology has cast many a charm on aspiring students who wish to be something, make their parents proud and be well educated, disciplined citizens of the state.
Since long, children with extraordinary talent have been granted special endowments and support by various governmental organizations and NGOs alike. This is part of the politico-socio-academic framework here in Pakistan so that bright role models for other students could be propped up.
My foreign friends might remember the name of the late Arfa Karim Randhawa, once the Youngest Microsoft Certified Professional; another such achiever who was given much encouragement by Bill Gates himself. Arfa passed away earlier this year.
Malala was fortunate enough to have a father inclined towards necessary education for girls. Her father Ziauddin Yusufzai runs a network of schools in the KPK province.
Young Malala was a fine student indeed and regularly held top positions in her school. In early 2009, a BBC reporter Abdul Hai Kakkar approached Ziauddin Yusufzai asking him if he knew of any bold school going girl willing to share her experiences of the threats to female education under the TTP.
Basharat Peer of The New Yorker notes (sharing selected extracts here):
Later on, Malala was picked up and moulded by various NGOs (dastardly as most of them always are). This led to a growing mass projection on print and electronic media. And as feared, she now became highly endangered as heretics had set their eyes on her.
Let us pause here for a minute: There are scores of extraordinary Pakistani kids who blog online, write diaries in publications and appear on TV. Then why was Malala the only selected candidate? There are several reasons for this. Most importantly, Malala had gradually been groomed into an icon of young, female resistance against tyranny and oppression in her fight for the right to education.
Secondly, she garnered great influence as she was routinely invited by a variety of senior government, military, diplomatic and HR officials especially the US...... continued
Read Complete Article here goo.gl/7BiKl (copy and paste in browser to open)
Let me know what do you think about Malala Yousufzai ?
As I write this column, local media here in Pakistan is broadcasting prayer and vigil gatherings from across the country over the brutal terrorist attack which severely injured young Malala Yusufzai and her classfellows inside their school bus.
And why shouldnt these be done? Seeing my fellow countrymens sense of unified care and humanity has reminded me not all people here have hearts that have gone rigid (Thank God for that!)
Who is Malala Yusufzai? Like many other motivated whiz kids from Pakistan determined to prove their talents and exercise them further for societys collective prosperity, young Malala from the once besieged mountain city of Swat is a 15-year old student who studies in the ninth class, just a level blow the Class 10 (Matriculation) duration, qualifying after which she will officially be a high school graduate (pre-collegiate studies).
In major regions of Pakistan, especially the under-developed zones, girls who study beyond Class 5 are rare sights. And for those who know the value of education, supporting such girls is a social obligation.
Hence, we have seen that over the past decade, there has been a remarkable increase in the female literacy rate across Pakistan now that the modern era of Information Technology has cast many a charm on aspiring students who wish to be something, make their parents proud and be well educated, disciplined citizens of the state.
Since long, children with extraordinary talent have been granted special endowments and support by various governmental organizations and NGOs alike. This is part of the politico-socio-academic framework here in Pakistan so that bright role models for other students could be propped up.
My foreign friends might remember the name of the late Arfa Karim Randhawa, once the Youngest Microsoft Certified Professional; another such achiever who was given much encouragement by Bill Gates himself. Arfa passed away earlier this year.
Malala was fortunate enough to have a father inclined towards necessary education for girls. Her father Ziauddin Yusufzai runs a network of schools in the KPK province.
Young Malala was a fine student indeed and regularly held top positions in her school. In early 2009, a BBC reporter Abdul Hai Kakkar approached Ziauddin Yusufzai asking him if he knew of any bold school going girl willing to share her experiences of the threats to female education under the TTP.
Basharat Peer of The New Yorker notes (sharing selected extracts here):
She was just the girl who wanted to go to school, Mirza Waheed, the former editor of the Urdu Web site of BBC World Service, told me. One foggy winter afternoon in early 2009, when Mirza was working out of the BBC World Services Bush House offices in London, he got a proposal from one of his reporters in Pakistan, who was covering the takeover of Swat Valley by the Taliban militants led by Maulana Fazlullah, or FM Mullah.
We unanimously decided to publish the diary, but her safety was of utmost concern to us and we decided to use a pseudonym, Mirza said. The Diary of a Pakistani School Girl, written by Malala Yousafzai, was published under the byline Gul Makki.
The Taliban had blown up more than a hundred girls schools. A video feature by the Times, published in 2009, describing the life of Malalas family, shows her in her school, a girl with a fair, round face, hazel eyes, carrying a satchel with a Harry Potter picture on it.
She would be featured in two Times videos, which brought her considerable attention, but Malala became a celebrity in Pakistan in October, 2011, when Desmond Tutu announced her nomination for an international childrens prize. It seems to have been the first time that her identity as the writer of the BBC diary became known to the broader public; the citation for her nomination mentioned her use of international media to let the world know girls should also have the right to go to school.
Her public profile rose further after the Pakistan government awarded her the first National Peace Prize, in December 2011. In a situation where a lifelong school break was being imposed upon us by the terrorists, rising up against that became very important, essential, she told a Pakistani television network.
When the interviewer asked her about fear and danger, Malala, speaking in a clear, forceful voice, said that her father, who worked for womens education and fully supported his daughter, had inspired her, and that her mother had told her to speak up for her rights. And then, in a rather prophetic moment, she envisioned a confrontation with the Taliban.
I think of it often and imagine the scene clearly. Even if they come to kill me, I will tell them what they are trying to do is wrong, that education is our basic right.The growing fame and her determination to speak out for girls education put her on the Taliban radar.
Later on, Malala was picked up and moulded by various NGOs (dastardly as most of them always are). This led to a growing mass projection on print and electronic media. And as feared, she now became highly endangered as heretics had set their eyes on her.
Let us pause here for a minute: There are scores of extraordinary Pakistani kids who blog online, write diaries in publications and appear on TV. Then why was Malala the only selected candidate? There are several reasons for this. Most importantly, Malala had gradually been groomed into an icon of young, female resistance against tyranny and oppression in her fight for the right to education.
Secondly, she garnered great influence as she was routinely invited by a variety of senior government, military, diplomatic and HR officials especially the US...... continued
Read Complete Article here goo.gl/7BiKl (copy and paste in browser to open)
Let me know what do you think about Malala Yousufzai ?