Malala has a dream

In societies that have been damaged by conflict, hatred, extremism and general corruption of the elite, it is not common to have dreamers like Malala Yousufzai. Her dream is that every girl in Pakistan can go to school and get an education. One cannot underestimate the power of this dream and the social energy and power that the realisation of this dream could one day create in Pakistan. Education is the key to human progress, both individual and collective. That has been the story of successful nations, progressive societies and great individuals. It is amazing that both the dream and the dreamer come from a part of the country, which the forces of violence, barbarity and darkness had captured for a while and ruled ruthlessly.

Pakistan, standing at a critical juncture, or in the defining moment of its history, will have to make key choices that may either lead us out of this current state of affairs or push us further down the ditch. Change is the key word. Those from the current ruling class and their defenders in the media, who advise us that something good will come out of what is currently going on, are just misleading the country. The first change that will lead Pakistan towards progress is education. Anybody who is sincere to the country will have to declare an educational emergency, which will mean that our best resources, efforts and manpower will have to be devoted to the national purpose of spreading education.

Prayers are important for Malala, but that is not the way to honour her. The best way to honour her is to work individually and collectively towards achieving her dream, i.e., education of girls. Malala’s father and family set up and ran a girls’ school in Swat; there are thousands of similar schools being run by philanthropists in the country. These efforts give us hope for Pakistan. It is the resilience of the Pakistani society that has kept it afloat in the rough times it has been through for the past many decades. But that is not enough. My basic argument has been that the private school systems in the country that mostly run for profit or those funded by charities cannot be a substitute for the public education system. Simply put, they cannot accomplish the goal of mass and universal education.

After having described education as a fundamental right in the Constitution, the ruling elite have forgotten about it. Never has education been a priority issue for any leader, party or government in the country. It should be understood why they have and continue to ignore this issue. Knowledge empowers, raises expectations and creates the capacity of questioning those in power. Our traditional ruling classes, with some very noble exceptions, do not want this to happen. Education of girls and education in general are fundamental issues that have determined the destiny of nations. Embracing education as an ideology of progress will enlighten our path to development and help in creating a society that has a purpose, meaning and is in harmony with itself. Neglecting education, the way we have, will keep the good part of society in darkness, making it vulnerable to the forces of extremism.

The best tribute we can pay to Malala is by refocusing our energy, political attention and resources on girls’ education by opening and funding more and better schools. Making education compulsory for all girls and boys must become a starting point in fulfilling the constitutional promise of providing education which has been described as one of the fundamental rights of citizens of the state.

Without real teeth and resources, this will remain just a good sentence on paper. Pakistan has a gigantic task in front of itself in order to recover and rehabilitate and become a normal state and society again. Education, the dream of Malala, will be the starting point to achieve this goal.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17^th, 2012.