Sir, As a Pakistani expatriate settled in Malaysia, it makes me proud to witness the immense appreciation young Malay Muslim girls, adorning a Hijab, have for Malala Yusufzai. They associate with her and look upon her as a role model. She is amongst few girls of her age, like Greta Thunberg from Sweden, who can make their country proud, and project Pakistan as a tolerant Muslim country. Malala, at the age of 15 years, was a victim of a brutal attack for defying extremist Taliban, who consider female education a taboo, in a country where girls go to universities both within the country and even abroad. She is a recipient of the Nobel Prize for her role in promoting female literacy and her commitment, despite threats to her family. She has the distinction to address the UN, apart from being invited by Obama to White House. Few within Pakistan enjoy such credibility in a world, haunted by Islamophobia and bias. Perhaps her success invites a slanderous and malicious orchestrated campaign in Pakistan, following her appearance on the cover of Vogue magazine. One fails to understand the mindset of such individuals who have no issue when females from India win international acclaim, but go berserk when a Pakistani girl achieves this on her merit, given the opportunity that fate offered her. In the interview she rightly questions how Ehsanullah Ehsan who accepted responsibility managed to escape from detention with his family to a foreign safe haven. Maybe, that has precipitated the slander over the casual remarks of this 23 years old Oxford graduate about marriage, which she quickly elaborates that she was scolded for by her mother, just like any traditional family, and adds “I didn’t realize that you’re not the same person all the time”.
Salman M
Selengor
