Malala’s rise has had no impact on school enrolments across Pakistan, said Zaidi, indicating the harsh reality that society overall and the state did not embrace the message that the young girl risked her life for.
 |
| All Pakistan Private School Federation recently observed an anti-Malala day entitled "I am not Malala" |
Source/Credit: Independent Online / Daily News
By SAPA | December 10 2014
Islamabad - Pakistani girls’ education campaigner Malala Yousafzai, is lauded abroad for her efforts. Back home her work is less appreciated.
Each day, Rozina Wali makes the long, steep climb between her home and school.
The 13-year-old girl from the remote town of Shangla in north-western Pakistan has been hiking up and down for two years, but her determination grows stronger. “I will continue seeking education, no matter how far the school is,” Rozina said on a chilly winter day in the town surrounded by snowy peaks.
She could have abandoned education like her elder sister after fifth grade, because there is no secondary school in the village. But she has a role model who helps her to keep going despite the hardship.
Malala, who was shot by Taliban extremists, is set to become the youngest recipient of the Nobel peace prize on Wednesday.
Rozina’s father had not planned to send his younger daughter to high school, but the example set by Malala in neighbouring Swat town convinced him to change his mind.
Zar Wali Khan said he now regrets shutting the doors of education to his eldest daughter, even though his only son graduated from an engineering university and ended up getting a job in the Gulf state of Oman.
The 17-year-old Malala is an inspiration for many girls in Pakistan seeking education and hoping for change in a radicalised Islamic society.
“She is great,” one of her former classmates said. “We all want to be like her.
“Her courage and confidence are truly inspiring,” added the girl, who did not wish to be named because she feared that public recognition could expose her to a Taliban attack.
Malala’s struggle for girls’ education seems to be bearing fruit, at least in her home town.
Official statistics show a steep rise in school enrolment in Swat valley.
A total of 140 000 girls enrolled at government schools in 2013-14, compared with 99 477 two years ago, said Shamim Akhtar, district education officer for women.
“Malala, her campaign and nomination for the Nobel are certainly the factors behind the rise,” Khan said.
Taliban militants blew up 119 girls’ schools in Swat when they controlled the valley during 2007-09.
Akhtar said about 70 percent of them had been rebuilt since the militants were largely driven out of the region by the armed forces.
But beyond her mountainous home town, the change is hardly visible.
According to the Alif Ailaan campaign for the promotion of education, nearly half of Pakistani children aged 5-16 are out of school.
“This is perhaps one of the highest ratios in the world,” said campaign director, Mosharraf Zaidi.
The number of children not going to school is as high as 25 million, Zaidi said, calling the situation alarming.
Malala’s rise has had no impact on school enrolments across Pakistan, said Zaidi, indicating the harsh reality that society overall and the state did not embrace the message that the young girl risked her life for.
“I’m not sure if the state and society did understand or properly appreciated Malala’s message,” Zaidi said.
“Her struggle should have been owned by Pakistan. Unfortunately, that did not happen.”
Zaidi’s comments highlighted a trend in the conservative Islamic society to reject anything that is associated with the West.
The Pakistani state and society did not embrace the country’s first Nobel laureate, Abdus Salam, because he belonged to the minority Ahmadiyya community that was declared non-Muslim in the 1970s.
Leading historian Mubarak Ali said because both Salam and Malala were appreciated and given awards by the West, there was a great deal of scepticism about their motives back home.
Activists of right-wing religious groups began a ruthless campaign on Facebook and Twitter to discredit Malala and the cause she fought for the day she was shot by the Taliban
“Their propaganda was somehow effective because most of the people in Pakistan have the same mentality as that of the Taliban,” Ali said.
He said only a few urban, liberal people had embraced Malala.
That lack of acceptance was evident in the refusal of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to attend the Nobel ceremony, despite a request from Malala.
His spokesman, Musaddiq Malik, sought to downplay Sharif's decision, which appeared to be motivated by a desire to appease his right-wing allies in his government.
Anthropologist, Samar Minallah, said Malala’s achievements were not being properly recognised in her own country.
“Pakistan does not appreciate her like the rest of the world does,” she said.
Some sceptics have even suggested that Malala was working towards an “anti-Islam” agenda engineered by foreigners.
Samia Raheel Qazi, a leader of Islamic Jamaat-i-Islami political party, said she had been hijacked by the West to “promote their evil designs”.
Sapa-dpa
http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/news/malala-legacy-causes-resentment-in-pakistan-1.1793236
Read original post here: Malala legacy causes resentment in Pakistan
This content-post is archived for backup and to keep archived records of any news Islam Ahmadiyya. The views expressed by the author and source of this news archive do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of Ahmadiyya Times.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comments. Any comments irrelevant to the post's subject matter, containing abuses, and/or vulgar language will not be approved.