JUBAIL, SAUDI ARABIA:
Shooting a 15-year-old schoolgirl was the height of extremity that the Taliban could have committed as they cannot logically argue their case, therefore, they resort to violence. Then it was the world’s turn to respond to the Taliban, but with logic, reason and determination. It has now been announced that the Government of Pakistan will provide a cash stipend, with help from the World Bank and other donors, to around three million poor families to encourage them to send their children to primary schools. This was announced in the backdrop of the UN-sponsored Malala Day on November 10. Also, tens of thousands of people across the world have signed an online petition to nominate Malala Yousufzai for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Taliban need to understand that the world is uniting against violence, sectarian hatred, narrow interpretation of religion and the opposition to girls’ right to education and jobs. The Taliban cannot set the clock backwards in a bid to take Pakistan and Afghanistan into medieval times; it is time to move forward, to land on Mars and Venus, not to fight over whether a girl can attain education or step outside her home or not.
Masood Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, November 15th, 2012.
