Our Girls Just Don’t Do That

About a year ago, Malala Yousafzai was almost 15, an outspoken child-advocate of education for girls and women in an ultra-conservative region of Swat, Pakistan. With a particularly strong Taliban presence in her hometown, her critical position, even the mere existence of schools teaching young girls how to read and write, were an affront to the extremist Sunni values embraced by that militant group. She paid for her stance with a Taliban bullet in her head. Pakistan was shocked and outraged. She was rushed to England for complex brain surgery. Malala became the poster-child for women’s education, but she also became a symbol in the West of everything that is wrong with Pakistan.

Lionized in the West, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize (which she did not win) but gifted with the European Union’s Sakharov Award, a top human rights achievement, and has released her autobiography – I Am Malala – in mid-October, Malala’s glitz and glitter has risen almost everywhere in the world, except in her native Swat… or even in Pakistan as a whole. Her media machine has mounted an effective marketing campaign, she is a cherished speaker before humanitarian groups around the world, she has addressed the United Nations and she is a star on the world stage. October 11^th was the “International Day of the Girl,” and Malawa’s presence was everywhere.

But in Pakistan, where debates about “good Taliban and bad Taliban” are part of daily conversation, there has been a backlash against a 16-year-old who has brought global focus to the injustices in her homeland. Viewed as harsh criticism from a girl, Malala’s luster is long gone among her own people. Killer U.S. drones are viewed as the true evil in this deeply traditional land.

“[I]n this deeply conservative part of Pakistan, where women are expected to stay at home and keep their views to themselves, many people view Malala's campaign with suspicion… In a nation thriving on conspiracy theories, some have even doubted the sincerity of her campaign, claiming it is part of her family's ploy to move to Britain or that she is just an attention seeker.

“Social media sites are brimming with insulting messages. ‘We hate Malala Yousafzai, a CIA agent,’ says one Facebook page… ‘Here, people have been unkind to her. They want to forget her. They think she is a drama queen. But what can you do?’ said Ahmad Shah, a childhood friend of Malala's father who help ed write her speech at the United Nations this year… ‘Here in Swat, we have seen the hell that is Taliban rule. And yet, some people still say they would much rather side with the Taliban than Malala. Sometimes people never learn.’ Huffington Post/Reuters, October 11^th. To many, having a female, particularly a girl, serve as a spokesperson for what is right and what is wrong is completely intolerable. Girls should sit quietly and keep their mouths’ shut, they believe. The Taliban have reinstated their death threats against Malala.

“The picturesque [Swat] valley was overran by the Taliban, who imposed strict Islamic laws and kept its people in fear, in 2007. It is now controlled by the Pakistani army. Mingora, a dusty town of windy roads surrounded by jagged hills, is festooned with billboards reading ‘Long live the Pakistan Army!’… There were no posters of Malala… ‘Malala is a talented girl, no doubt,’ said Zahid Khan, head of the Swat Peace Jirga, an anti-Taliban body who has survived three attempts on his life for his work… ‘I have been attacked. Shot. Almost killed. But no one is honouring me. The state hasn't given me a cent in compensation.’ [Pakistan paid for the medical attention that Malala received in the UK and picked up the tab for her further education there].

“‘She says she does not want to live like an illiterate person in a walled compound and deliver children,’ said Shahidullah Shahid, a Pakistani Taliban spokesman… ‘Her mother and grandmother used to live in walled compounds and deliver children, so by saying that she didn't even spare her mother.’… At Khushal Public School, a three-storey building where she studied, many avoided mentioning her name altogether.” Huffington Post/Reuters.

When it comes to deeply-held conservative cultural and religious values, the murderous attempt on a little girl’s life can be overlooked if the system is criticized and challenged. Religion and culture often trump cruelty, intolerance and extremist thoughts and deeds. It is and always has been the path of the world, and the more fundamentalist the society, the greater the resistance against such reformist efforts.

I’m Peter Dekom, and before we elect to cast stones upon such harsh behavior, we should look in our own backyard for evidence of similar trends.