In sharp contrast, as Professor Emeritus Tahir Andrabi of Pomona College in a recent article in The Wall Street Journal points out, “when Malala accepted the Nobel Prize in Oslo, the accompanying pomp and press coverage helped rekindle a global fascination with the fearless young Pakistani activist”. The struggle and the commitment that she brings with her in promoting education worldwide are unparalleled for a girl of her age.
Malala’s message, along with that of joint Nobel Peace Prize awardee Kailash Satyarthi, goes even deeper by identifying some of the underlying causes that are distracting the two nations and particularly Pakistan from investing in education. The perpetual conflict between India and Pakistan is costing the two countries heavily in terms of forcing them to divert meagre resources to defence and depriving the most critical areas in education, health and development of physical infrastructure. At a time when Narendra Modi is stoking Hindu nationalism and Pakistan is bristling with multiple militant outfits and the Line of Control remains volatile, the sobering call of the young Malala and the seasoned Satyarthi are voices of sanity and calm.
The Taliban hate Malala because they are afraid of the message that she is giving to every child of arming themselves by going to school. The Taliban are clever enough to understand that an educated society would be their greatest enemy, especially so if girls are afforded equal opportunities. The enlightened and liberated mind of a girl will be more powerful than any weapon that the Taliban have in their armoury. It will break the walls of ignorance and prejudice and empower women to be equal partners in society.
It is the fundamental responsibility of every leader to promote quality education. One of the major reasons Pakistan lags behind the rest of the world is the denial of education to millions of children and its low quality. Pakistan’s full potential can only be actualised if the state is able to provide an easily accessible system of education that meets at least minimum global standards. After the promulgation of the Eighteenth Amendment, education has become a provincial subject. As provinces are the primary authority now, they should improve the performance of schools through better management and funding through local taxes and subsidies or through grants from the federal government. Public pressure should be built to ensure universal entitlement and improvement in standards. It is reprehensible that 43 per cent of children in Pakistan are in private schools compared with less than one per cent in some of the Scandinavian countries. Only when the system is fair will we be able to produce quality doctors, engineers, scientists, economists and professionals of other disciplines, generating wealth in the country.
The world is going through a revolution in education and spectacular progress has been made that has broken social barriers and provided equal opportunities to millions globally. Our leaders, being half-educated at best, are unable to comprehend the enormous transformational power of education. The PML-N’s project of providing financial resources to the poor so that they could earn a respectable living by starting small businesses or owning a taxi is a good one, but it should not end here as the real enabler that can transform society is education. Pakistan currently ranks 113 amongst 120 countries of the world, with only a 56 per cent literacy rate. According to the World Bank, Pakistan has seven million out-of-school children and two-thirds among them are girls. This is happening despite the fact that parliament, in 2010, passed a constitutional amendment making it mandatory for all children between the ages of five and 16 to attend school. Even by South Asian standards, which are one of the more deficient in the world, Pakistan is at the bottom. No country can bear the burden of such a large percentage of the population being unable to read or write in the present global setting. Pakistan remains exploited by the ruling classes that deny the majority of its population the economic opportunities that open up with education. Our leaders are afraid that if education spreads, then it could become an economic leveler and a precursor to a social evolution. The universalisation of education through a national curriculum that is commensurate with generally accepted standards can transform Pakistan. If Pakistan claims to be a democratic and just society, then it must ensure the spread of education to all tiers of society. This would also be the best way of complimenting Malala’s noble mission.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 17th, 2014.
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COMMENTS (11)
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@sara: And Malala's own blood,another Pakistani kid targeted by same brutes,and their apologists.
@Abid Khan I agree with you! As Malala is beyond their reach, they let off this savegery. All of us Indians are standing with you in your time of grief!
Game is over for the haters of Malala with the Peshawar school carnage! NS has done the right thing to go to Peshawar right away. He should visit the school site soon and while standing there tell the TTP that they will have nowhere to hide in Pakistan or outside. COAS deserves the full commendation for his clear stance and fight against TTP and his recent visit to Afghanistan to share the intelligence on school attack. Pakistan must take the lead to bring peace to Pakistan and Afghanistan and we are capable of doing that!
@K B Kale: "Alas, Talat sahab, but till now only TTP seems to have ‘listened’! And looking at the anarchy created by one of the strong supporters of TTP, Imran Khan, Chairman of PTI, I don’t think Pakistan can improve in near future."
The TTP had promised to kill Malala in the next round. They killed 132 Malalas in Peshawar.
the stage for malala is decorated with blooded body of our kids
@niat wali: your children will learn about Abu sena when they undertake university studies.
Rex Minor
General Sahib,
You have served in Pakistan Army with higher values. You are still harping Malala Tune and even wrote an article on this. Defence & Strategic Studies basic expert can tell you how Malala is being portrayed against us globally. Game is beyong Nobel prizes. General Sahib please have the courage to bring truth in articles. God bless you for rest of your life which is left.
Malala's question to the audience that, " Those who can make missiles and bombs, why can't they build schools?" is so clear for our nation especially. Our srategy to make ourselves safe by only focusing on our security and strategic assets, while neglecting the real saver of a nation "Education" has brought us to this point. The curriculum which we teach to our children is full of hatred and prejudices and is tilted towards religion rather than universalization. Our priority is to teach our children only as how brave were those Muslim soldiers who defeated the enemy with swords. Today, our children know much about Mohammed Bin Qasim and less about Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, know much about Khalid Bin Walid and less about Allama Mohammed Iqbal. I dont mean to say that we should forget our heroes like Mohammed Bin Qasim and Khalid Bin Waleed, but we must also teach our children about our glorious past where our Muslim scientists were second to none. My children today do not know about Bu Ali Seena, and other great muslim scientists of that time and even know very little about the Ali Gar Movement, Sir Aga Khan, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and other heroes of our nation. We should make "Education" our priority number one, not because other nations have that, but because for our own survival.
Alas, Talat sahab, but till now only TTP seems to have 'listened'! And looking at the anarchy created by one of the strong supporters of TTP, Imran Khan, Chairman of PTI, I don't think Pakistan can improve in near future.
Did TTP attempt to make a 'statement' of sorts to denounce the Nobel Prize awarded to Malala for her standing so courageously against TTP's attacks on her & other children? What sorts of animals are these suicide bombers? One can understand their anger against Army's campaign against them. But why attack innocent school children? They could have attacked the army headquarters or any other military installation, but school children? This sort of savagery is only associated with wild animals! Yuk!
I guess the much maligned Malala is back in vogue for now. Generally though, I am highly doubtful if the Pakistani establishment will take any lessons, introspect or change its perverse ways. Things will go back right where they were and the country will lerch from one calamity to the next.