When Taliban militants unleashed brutality on the residents of Swat in 2009, Malala Yousafzai, now 14, was left in a state of shock and terror, but it was when they banned female education that the adolescent overcame her fear and raised her voice against the act. Voice against backwardness: Speaking at her residence in Mingora, Swat, Malala Yousafzai said, “When I saw pictures of bodies hanging in Green Chowk of Swat I was scared but when the militants decided to ban girls from going to school I decided to take a stand against the forces of backwardness.”
She said, “When I and my classmates heard that our school might be closed we were very sad. Even though I was student in grade 5 in 2009, I decided I will voice the concern of female students and the people of Swat to the outer world. When I spoke of my desire, my father guided me to contribute dairies to BBC under the pen name of `Gul Makai’.” “I would regularly contribute to BBC and tried to depict the sentiments of my terrorized class mates, relatives and neighbours,” she said. “One of my class fellows once wept in sorrow during the reign of terror unleashed by militants,” Malala recalled, “when I wrote about it in a number of newspapers, it got acknowledged by people.” Malala contributed dairies to BBC for around four months starting January 2009. She also told the tale of the suffering of displaced people after migrating to Shangla when the government launched a military operation to purge Swat from militants.
Fame was a surprise:
“I never thought that by contributing diaries on the brutalities of the Taliban would earn me fame and people will call me a ‘voice against tyranny’,” said Malala, “My intent was to inform people of the suffering of the people of Swat at the hands of Taliban in the name of our sacred religion.”
The determination of young Malala to raise her voice and risk her life was recognized when she was nominated for an International Children Peace award by Dutch organization, Kids’ Right. Malala and four other nominees beat 93 contestants from 42 countries to be selected finalists. “When the news about the nomination for the international peace award came it was a great source of excitement for me and my family, since I earned my country a good name,” she added. While the Kids Right ultimately went to disabled South African Michaela Mycroft, 17, the Pakistan government awarded Malala the `National Peace Prize of Pakistan’, making her the first child to be honoured with the prize. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani announced a cash prize of Rs1,000,000 to Malala and issued directives that a similar award be given to deserving children on an annul basis. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh governments also honoured the brave girl and announced cash prizes of Rs 500,000 each. The support of the international community and people of Pakistan had given Malala courage, who has decided to set up the Malala Education Foundation to aid children’s education. Malala vowed, “About 400 schools were completely destroyed in Swat by the Taliban and I like will work to rehabilitee the damaged schools so that students can be provided education opportunities.”
Will become politician: Malala plans to play active role in politics after completing her education. “I want to become an honest, committed and hard-working politician as our country has a dire need for honest political leaders,” she said. To a question, Malala said she was impressed by Benazir Bhutto’s charisma and Bacha Khan’s politics and wanted to follow both of them. When asked about security concerns, Malala said she does not want security. “I am feeling secure in my city and do not want to be noticed because of security staff around me,” she replied.
Malala’s proud father Ziauddin Yousafzai said, “I never thought my little daughter would receive such prominence.” Ziauddin, who runs a private school, said he fully supported Malala and never prohibited her from writing against the Taliban on security grounds. “I chosen the name Malala for my daughter after being inspired from Malala of Maiwand (Afghanistan) who was a brave lady and famous for her poetry in which she urged her countrymen to fight against intruders (the British) till death and not give up the struggle for freedom,” he said. “My daughter fulfilled my dream and played the role played by Malala of Maiwand.” Ziauddin said. “Now she is not just my daughter, but the daughter of the nation,” he added. Malala has two brothers Khushal, 12, and Atal Khan, 8.
Malala Yousafzai: voice against tyranny
