Malala Yuosafzai

This post is about Malala Yuosafzai, the 14 year old Palestinian Muslim girl, who was shot in the head for her activism. At 13 she won the Youth Peace Prize. At 14 she lay in a coma in Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England.

What courage this beautiful, young,  brown-eyed girl must have, to make such a stand against the fundamentalist Taliban. She was fighting for the right of women to receive an education. On the one hand, this is no surprise, as her father Ziauddin, runs the school she attends and is also an activist…so bravery runs deep in this Muslim family as they take the enormous risk to fight for women’s rights….rights suppressed and withdrawn by the Taliban regime.

By comparison, how cowardly are the Taliban to open fire on a bus load of innocent school children . What shame they bring to to their already unworthy cause. Fundamentalism is a poisonous practice in any faith. Faith means a belief in a God or Gods. It is a belief in what cannot be seen. How does this translate to rules, punishment, atrocities, suppression of rights, murder of innocent children.

“The bullet, which grazed her brain and came within centimetres of killing her, travelled through her head and neck before lodging in her left shoulder.

It will take weeks to months for Malala to defeat an infection in the bullet track and recover her strength enough to face surgery.

Her skull will need reconstructing either by reinserting bone or using a titanium plate….

The Taliban have threatened to again attack the teen, this time killing her, for criticising them and promoting what they claim are Western views.”SBS World News Australia……

Photo is from SBS World News

This story just broke my heart and I know it harmed the Muslim cause, which is a shame because your every day Muslim, many of whom I have been lucky enough to be in contact with in Australia, via a program I once ran, were just like you and I and would abhor this and find it shameful. So, while we abhor and speak against this action, please let us not begin to blame and shame all Muslims. The Muslim people of faith who love like us and connect like us and believe in their God, should not be judged by the actions of a hate-filled few. That is always the problem with evil…evil begets more ‘evil’ and so this action should not be allowed to begin a hatred or judgement or rejection of Muslims, who simply want to believe in their God and practice their faith and not interfere with others who want to do the same. Having said that, the people who did this, should be punished for their terrible crime. These people should be prevented from another attempt on her life as they have threatened. It is up to the leaders of her country to enforce her protection and that of her family. God bless you Malala.

Let us all hope and pray that this little girl does recuperate and one day does become the Leader of her country….as is her dream.

Below is some of an article from The Guardian, which demonstrates the power of this young woman’s courage, she may have begun a movement for the global education of women:

“Malala Yousafzai’s courage can start new movement for global education

Solidarity with Taliban victim Malala Yousafzai could show leaders they must deliver on pledge of education for girls

The Taliban attack on Malala Yousafzai has highlighted the issue of education for girls around the world. Photograph: Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images

Less than two weeks after being left for dead by the Taliban, Malala Yousafzai is standing up on her own two feet.

Her remarkable progress, reported by doctors at the specialist unit of a brilliant hospital that I know well – Queen Elizabeth, in Selly Oak, Birmingham – reveals yet another dimension of the courage and resilience of the world’s most famous 14-year-old girl.

Today, signatures on the Malala petition – led by the UN education envoy site, Avaaz, Women of the World and others, and reached on iammalala.org – are approaching 1m. The petition calls for action to ensure every girl has a place at school in Pakistan and around the world. It is directed to Pakistan’s president, Asif Ali Zardari, and to the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon.

I will present the petition to the president during a trip to Pakistan on 10 November, a month after Malala’s shooting. This day has been designated as a global day of action for Malala – and I’m calling on you to make your voice heard in support of this amazing young woman and in support of the cause that she championed.

Malala’s story, portrayed in a film on educationenvoy.org, is being told around the world. Footage of her in tears explaining that she wants to be a doctor but is unable to go to school has understandably captured the imagination of girls everywhere.

Not just the British people, who are offering the best specialist medical care, but the whole world is wishing Malala well. Determined to ensure that their message is heard at the highest levels of the Pakistani government, the campaign is being supported by friends of Malala, who are wearing “I am Malala” T-shirts across Asia and in the west. For more information go to Gordon Brown’s website.

Gordon Brown is UN special envoy for global education. On 10 November, he will present the petition to Pakistan’s President Zardari. You can add your signature at educationenvoy.org

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Gordon Brown for IPS, part of the Guardian development network

Gordon Brown is UN special envoy for global education. On 10 November, he will present the petition to Pakistan’s President Zardari. You can add your signature at educationenvoy.org