As we congratulate Malala on her birthday, we assure her that she is not alone, we all stand united with her.
JUBAIL, SAUDI ARABIA: It is great to see the whole world stand united with a courageous Pakistani teenage girl who not only challenged the evil forces of the Taliban under a volley of bullets but continued to defy their nefarious philosophy, which was to keep women confined to their homes.
The UN held a special Youth Assembly on July 12 to celebrate Malala Yousufzai’s 16th birthday. She was the keynote speaker at the assembly and spoke about the value of education to millions of children, especially girls, who are denied this fundamental right.
Evil and perverse minds will find all sorts of excuses in religion and custom to justify their hateful acts. Malala’s petition to the UN, already signed by hundreds of thousands across the globe, asks the world body to help all children, who are at present not in school, to be inside a classroom by 2015.
Well intentioned as it may be, this is a wishful target since we know children are suffering everywhere, especially in the conflict zones. In Pakistan alone, 995 schools and 35 colleges were bombed by the Taliban in the last few years. They have resorted to throwing acid and poisoning of water supplies to keep girls from schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
As we congratulate Malala on her birthday, we assure her that she is not alone, we all stand united with her, in her ambitious programme to promote girls’ education in Pakistan and elsewhere. She is an icon of girls’ education, determination and dedication; a pride for Pakistan.
Masood Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, July 14th, 2013.
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