Teenage peace activist Malala Yousufzai in a hospital bed in Birmingham, England after undergoing a second surgery on her skull where she was shot last October. PHOTO: REUTERS
Malala’s closest rivals are likely to be some Eastern European activists. It is known that members of the French, Norwegian and Canadian parliaments have voted for her. Nominations do not need to be kept secret. The award for Malala would, of course, come as a slap in the face of those who have concocted conspiracy theories regarding the attack on her by the Taliban and those who have termed her a US ‘plant’.
At present, the girl is still recovering from the wounds inflicted on her by that Taliban gunman in October 2012. The extensive, five-hour surgery she underwent at the Birmingham Hospital, which specialises in treating soldiers wounded in war, has been a success. A 0.66mm titanium plate has been used to reconstruct her skull, shattered from vibrations when the bullet pumped in above her left eyebrow, travelled down under the skin and exited at the shoulder. A cochlear implant in her brain has been placed in the hope that it will give her some sense of hearing in her left ear, the ear drum and small bones of which were destroyed by the bullet.
We wonder if the details of the severity of Malala’s injuries, with a 10-member surgical team completing the reconstruction required, will help silence the many conspiracy theories at home. But the fact is that these are not really based on rationality and as such the absurd talk of ‘plots’ and ‘pretence’ in the affair may not totally fade away given our culture of blind bias.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 6th, 2013.
COMMENTS (14)
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The media hype, talk shows about OBL, Terrorism, Al-Qaeda, Baitullah Mahsood, owning responsibility of every bomb blasts by Taliban, their mysterious calls (to Hamid Mir, Rahimullah Yousafzai, Salim Safi etc.) and event like Malala Attack, Swat Flogging Video, BB Murder, Marriot Blast and countless many had its time and place. It had its uses. But things have changed now…
Having escorted a thousands-year-old society into anarchy, those ruling (rather ruining) from Peshawar, Islamabad, Pindi, Lahore and Karachi will rape "indefinitely." They, in effect, means that Wazir will not be slaves only if the interests of those ruling from Peshawar, Islamabad, Pindi, Lahore and Karachi is ensured and guaranteed.
In other words, you can have free speech as long as you say what I want you to say.
@Billoo Bhaya: " I wish you had included Pakistani military doctors have won the praise of British doctors for saving Malala’s life by extracting the bullet lodged in her shoulder in time. " Those doctors did even better. They took the detached part of her skull and buried it in her tummy to preserve it. That was thoughtful and showed farsightedness. For some reasons, it was not used. Instead a titanium plate was fitted to close the opening.
@Khanlala: "She has been the puppet of US and so was representing them and their culture"
Look at her - she is just a kid. Nothing serious can come out of he rmouth at that age. People who think she was a danger to their faith are the "naali kay keeray". Their faith is so WEAK that they have to silence a little girl to feel secure.
And by the way, any comments about the Saudi preacher? I am sure you agree with what he did and the punishment he was handed down by the Saudi religious court? Religious nut jobs have a justification, no matter how weak, for all their wrongful actions and then there are people like you who look up to them and justify their actions. Shame on you.
Every female attained the age of puberty is responsible for her acts & words and so was Malala. She has been the puppet of US and so was representing them and their culture. We have lost thousands of Malala's in this war for US, but no award for them. Then why Malala?? Giving her Noble prize strengthens the idea of conspiracy behind the event.
We want Nobel prize for Imran Khan for initiating peace process with Talibans.....sincerely a Pti troll
Malala should get nobel prize, as it will make us aware the differrence between stone age mentality of terrorists and modern times. People never do evil so completely and so cheerfully as when they do it in the name of religion. Try to convince those who tried to kill this child and you will know what I mean by this deep rooted evil beliefs.
@Mohammed Abbasi: Peace will come by throwing out US from region and not by receiving political awards.
@Billoo Bhaya: How will ET ever mention that, being a biased publication itself.
I wish Malala gets the award, being a Pakistani. But the irony of the matter is that the Nobel committee has long since been pro-US. Consider for a fact that Barak Obama got the prize even though he's been relentlessly bombing innocent civilians with drones. If anything, her nomination only lends credence to the conspiracy that Malala is favored by the US. I will not go as far as saying that she is a US agent, though. She is a 14 year old girl with a mighty spirit.
nomination for nobel prize is indeed a great honour for malala as she deserve it. One critical point is that with the emergence of 'immature' media, our heroes are consistantly being criticized. Great nations always value their heroes. From last decade personalities like Dr A Q khan were under criticism.Malala was also named as US agent. Now CEC fakhruddin g ibrahim is ubeing criticized. These state of affairs will push us towards destruction. Sacrifices of these pakistanis need to be appreciated.
Great editorial. I wish you had included Pakistani military doctors have won the praise of British doctors for saving Malala's life by extracting the bullet lodged in her shoulder in time.
Inshallah peace will come to Pakistan - through education and justice for the people of Pakistan. Malala Yousafzai has woken up the people of Pakistan through her courage, may we understand that it is little girls like Malala that are the future for Pakistan and not Mullahsahibs...
Jai Ho, Malalai Yusufzai!