Why Girls Education is not about politics.

I am not here to repeat the narrative that has been beaten to death by by my personal Facebook/Twitter feeds, mainstream media and a whole lot of tiny blogs in the Interverse. My purpose is simple — to share my opinion -as egotistically wrapped that may sound.

When she was first shot — I was shocked. But not as shocked as I should have been. Living in Pakistan you get used to these sort of things, especially post 9/11 it becomes a fact: People die. Everyday. Out in the streets. But shooting a young girl in a school bus was a horrific and more deliberate then a suicide bomber in a crowded bazaar street seeking maximum collateral damage.

Women are not exactly living in privilege in Pakistan. But before you start thinking oppressed women scenario’s in Pakistan, let me clarify — yes they are oppressed but they don't need to be liberated by an outside force or invading army. Rather both men and women need to be educated. Your gender does not dictate your place in society. Your gender does not make you weak. You being a woman demand more respect then males do in alot of contexts. Men tend to be very protective of their women (sisters, wives, mothers) and if you can call out to a man’s brotherly instinct, he will go out of his way to make sure you get home okay. Pakistan is a land of dichotomy. We have the liberals and the conservatives. We have the super rich and super poor. We have imported cars and tall buildings and men beating their wives.

Post shooting by Taliban incident, Malala was in a hospital in Pakistan and then flown to the U.K for treatment by the Pakistani government; who ironically have never taken a strong stance against the Taliban in the first place except for turning the other cheek to the Pakistan Army bombing Swat and other areas.

The world turned its attention the brave girl who dared to stand up against the Taliban — even the then Pakistani PM went to visit her. People from all over the world and Pakistan were praying for her to get better. It was truly one of those moments which restores my faith in humanity. Except for cricket, the earthquakes and cursing Asif Ali Zardari (President of Pakistan) I have rarely ever seen the people of Pakistan coming together in love or hate.

But soon after her speech to the UN General Assembly the tides turned. While I watched her speech at work, trying not to cry (because that would be hard to explain) I felt proud. Proud as a Pashtun and a Muslim and Pakistani that this girl stood for something great. Her tragedy had not gone unnoticed as that of many before her. Too many women have suffered for their basic rights like education and independence in a chauvinist society like ours. This girl of 16 had defied the odds, fought in the face of death and stood defiant. Her words were eloquent and her parents proud. I remember a shot of her parents, her mom dressed in a chaddar (thick cloth to cover the head) crying. Reminding me of my own sweet mother, I thought to myself — perhaps her mom doesn't even speak or understand English but she feels immensely proud. It was surreal.

Overwhelmed and emotional I quickly sent the link to some close friends and family over email. Why email? Because email gets attention and its more personal and private then posting it on Facebook and tagging the living Jesus out of people. I was riding my emotional high untill a close friend who I respect and consider a non-conformist sent this note as a reply:

I saw it. I didn't like it. She was talking out of her hat most of the time.

I was disappointed. But everyone is entitled to their opinion so I didn’t engage in a torrent of arguments trying to make the case of being proud of what she had achieved.

And then I opened my Facebook and Twitter — all through my news feeds was postings like “Malala is a western agent”, “She was never shot, its a CIA/Mossad/Jewish conspiracy”. Lets not forget the picture of Edhi — a great humanitarian and great man (He would be a saint if he was Christian) and Malala side by side comparing them. The argument being — Edhi has not received the Nobel Peace Prize and Malala is being nominate for it. Thats not fair.

Really?

I have read Edhi’s biography and he probably the most selfless man alive. He is great. He is a saint. But comparing him to Malala is apples and oranges. They both stand for completely different ideals. Please don't insult Edhi or Malala by comparing them to each other. They both have my utmost respect. But I am sorry, your argument is invalid.

Then a couple of weeks ago, a letter by a Taliban commander to Malala made waves on the internet — following that was a whole fury of news and Op-eds talking about the White Man’s Burden, Brown Man’s Burden and all sorts of colored skins burden. Between the mud slinging and politicization of the cause of education for girls was a little sarcastic humor of Muhammad Hanif the acclaimed Pakistani novelist even took a crack at writing an open letter to the Taliban. The sarcasm has some hard nerve hitting points.

The debate will probably never end. A majority of the Pakistani population fear that Malala will become the puppet of the western powers to be to brain wash and justify their actions in the War against Terror. Re enforcing the stereotype of the uncouth and uncultured barbarians in the Middle East and used as justification to bomb the sh*t out of Afghanistan,Northwestern Pakistan and Iraq — with Iran being close to next. Now I am not a political analyst nor a policy expert on America and UK’s foreign policy but these fears are well deserved. The States and U.K does have a bad habit of bombing the sh*t out of my home country and killing innocents in the process. Collateral damage they call it. With Gordon Brown being central in Malala’s speech to the U.N these theories are not completely pulled out of thin air. But the brainwashing propaganda being pushed by our conservative friends and politicians knows no rational bounds.

So what? My point is simple — Don’t make Malala and her bravery and courage about politics. This message goes to both my home country and people there and the western politicians who are just looking for an excuse to bomb the sh*t out of some poor mans home town with cluster bombs while he struggles to feed is growing family. She is a brave girl and she stands for a great cause. We all need to listen to her message about education for girls and not mire or distort her innocence and courage with the lens of our political ideology and ambitions. Malala is a brave girl and she has fought the Taliban, a bullet to the head and the conspiracy theorist to get where she is. Let us show her the respect she deserves. She stands for a cause — educate girls and the culture will change. It starts with books, not bombs. Leave the invading armies at home and let us focus on our problems, own them and then do our little bit to change them. Too often Pakistanis blame everything of western intelligence agencies, their fear or disdain for Islam and just the hunger for more oil to keep their industrial machinery going. Too often the West stereotypes us as barbarians and wife beaters, with no sense of morality or society but alot of oil and open markets.

Change must start from us and Malala and Edhi are great examples to look up-to. Everyone is a critic but no one is a realist. It’s the least we can do.