Malala yousafzai - modern hero

[ahinton]

You're not wrong Boilk, but in any case, she is an utterly remarkable young woman and incredibly brave.

I think that boilk may well be proved wrong, actually, but I can only agree totally with you about the rest of what you write; she is indeed just as you portray her and we would all do well to wish her the very best of success in her courageous and determined endeavours.

[jayne lee wilson]

Her appearance at the UN is a huge propaganda coup as far as the US is concerned, and that's mostly why it has come about at all ... I'm simply adding context. Let's hope it does make a difference somewhere, though sadly I don't think anyone in Washington or the CIA has genuine concerns about women's rights in Afghanistan/Pakistan.

But you're just repeating yourself here - how can it be a "huge propaganda coup for the US", when so many of us (surely you too) believe almost nothing they have to say about human rights anymore!? Guantanamo, Ed Snowden (yes, still in Moscow Airport), Bradley Manning, Wikileaks? You remember those journalists and politicians that disowned Assange (still in the Ecuadorian Embassy), after the accusations (not charges) of sexual assault, ridiculing him for worrying about extradition to the USA from Sweden. Would anyone be surprised, now, if they did apply for it? Of course not. They are a "rogue state", and if a young woman from Pakistan, dreadfully injured by Taliban Religious extremists, can use (from the age of 11!) the USA's power and presence on the international stage to bring about better lives for women in her, or any Muslim/Islamist country (after all the damage the USA has caused in those regions), that is a triumph for her and her people. It really doesn't matter if the men and women in Washington smile in self-deceiving self-satisfaction. God bless America!

[scottycelt]

Like others, I'm astonished at the sheer bravery and maturity of this young lady. Her speech at the UN was delivered like a seasoned veteran. When one considers the appalling trauma she has already suffered in her young life it was a truly humbling experience for the rest of us. I have a feeling Malala could well end up as leader of her country.

What this has got to do with the US I haven't the faintest idea. It is Malala's triumph and her's alone and, of course, great credit must go to the UK medical team for saving her life and being responsible for her remarkable recovery.

God Bless Malala!

[Pabmusic]

Like others, I'm astonished at the sheer bravery and maturity of this young lady. Her speech at the UN was delivered like a seasoned veteran. When one considers the appalling trauma she has already suffered in her young life it was a truly humbling experience for the rest of us. I have a feeling Malala could well end up as leader of her country.

What this has got to do with the US I haven't the faintest idea. It is Malala's triumph and her's alone and, of course, great credit must go to the UK medical team for saving her life and being responsible for her remarkable recovery.

God Bless Malala!

Can I say I agree wholeheartedly. The US is not all that enamoured of the UN anyway.

[ahinton]

But you're just repeating yourself here - how can it be a "huge propaganda coup for the US", when so many of us (surely you too) believe almost nothing they have to say about human rights anymore!? Guantanamo, Ed Snowden (yes, still in Moscow Airport), Bradley Manning, Wikileaks? You remember those journalists and politicians that disowned Assange (still in the Ecuadorian Embassy), after the accusations (not charges) of sexual assault, ridiculing him for worrying about extradition to the USA from Sweden. Would anyone be surprised, now, if they did apply for it? Of course not. They are a "rogue state", and if a young woman from Pakistan, dreadfully injured by Taliban Religious extremists, can use (from the age of 11!) the USA's power and presence on the international stage to bring about better lives for women in her, or any Muslim/Islamist country (after all the damage the USA has caused in those regions), that is a triumph for her and her people. It really doesn't matter if the men and women in Washington smile in self-deceiving self-satisfaction. God bless America!

Hear, hear!

[ahinton]

Like others, I'm astonished at the sheer bravery and maturity of this young lady. Her speech at the UN was delivered like a seasoned veteran. When one considers the appalling trauma she has already suffered in her young life it was a truly humbling experience for the rest of us. I have a feeling Malala could well end up as leader of her country.

What this has got to do with the US I haven't the faintest idea. It is Malala's triumph and her's alone and, of course, great credit must go to the UK medical team for saving her life and being responsible for her remarkable recovery.

God Bless Malala!

What this has to do with US is and can only be that it might well turn into quite an embarrassment for it, but that's the US's problem rather than what actually matters to the rest of us; otherwise, I agree wholeheartedly with you and the occasional comment from elsewhere that seeks to imply that her stance and expressions represent some kind of politically manipulative outcome as though she were a mere pawn in someone else's game is surely as distasteful as it is nonsensical!

[Frances_iom]

Islam as we are continually told is a 'religion of peace' - that 'personal letter' could easily have been written by a young thug who shot some one for 'dissing him' but also a criminal organisation attempting to silence any opponents - for a religion not to be able to argue against a 14 year old girl other than shooting her in the head indicates to me that there is much fundamentally wrong with the belief system - however you only have to see how Islam requires apostates be treated that the problem is not just with a bunch of backward thugs but is inherent in the religion itself.

[Pabmusic]

Islam as we are continually told is a 'religion of peace' - that 'personal letter' could easily have been written by a young thug who shot some one for 'dissing him' but also a criminal organisation attempting to silence any opponents - for a religion not to be able to argue against a 14 year old girl other than shooting her in the head indicates to me that there is much fundamentally wrong with the belief system - however you only have to see how Islam requires apostates be treated that the problem is not just with a bunch of backward thugs but is inherent in the religion itself.

How I agree with you. Yet there will be those of us who seek to excuse this as anything but religiously motivated hatred. That letter might (just might) have done a service. Utterly shameful.

[jean]

...that 'personal letter' could easily have been written by a young thug who shot some one for 'dissing him'...

I don't think it could.

The section I find most interesting is this:

'...I want to draw your attention to an extract from the minute written by Sir T.B. Macaulay to British parliament dated 2nd February 1835 about what type of education system is required in Indian sub-continent to replace the Muslim education system. He stated

“We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern, -- a class of persons Indian in blood and color, but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals and in intellect."...'

I do not believe we should assume along with the writer that Malala's magnificent appearance at the UN is nothing more than a continuance of the project Macaulay makes no secret of here.

For one thing, the writer manages to forget himself that not all Indians received a Muslim education.

But neither should we ignore te fact that that people have long memories.

[scottycelt]

What this has to do with US is and can only be that it might well turn into quite an embarrassment for it, but that's the US's problem rather than what actually matters to the rest of us; ...

Sorry, I still don't see where the connection is with the US, apart from the fact that the UN building happens to be situated in New York.

The UK has played a far bigger role in the wake of the Malala atrocity , including the much-maligned Gordon Brown at the UN.

So why would the US take credit for, or find itself 'embarrassed', by any of this?

[Pabmusic]

...I do not believe we should assume along with the writer that Malala's magnificent appearance at the UN is nothing more than a continuance of the project Macaulay makes no secret of here.

For one thing, the writer manages to forget himself that not all Indians received a Muslim education.

But neither should we ignore te fact that that people have long memories.

Yes, but... For one thing, I doubt that the attack on this poor girl had anything at all to do with colonial history. For another, although I am no lover of colonialism, it has to be said that the suppression of suttee and thuggee (at the same time that Macaulay was penning his views about education) was a Good Thing, although it could be argued that it was interference with another group's culture! There is often a wider picture to be considered and people's memories, however long, are also very often deliberately selective.

[amateur51]

We also need to acknowledge that from an Islamic fundamentalist's point of view (the point of view expressed in the letter to Malala) America's sustained attacks on Muslim counties post-9/11 (and before) are the acts of a Christian country, indeed when started by Bush 43 a fundamentalist Christian country. Most Christians and most Muslims that I speak to tell me that their religions are peace-loving, indeed peace-promoters.

The attempted assassination of Malala was an act of terrorism, which appears to have back-fired: but then so too was the assassination of bin Laden.

[ahinton]

Sorry, I still don't see where the connection is with the US, apart from the fact that the UN building happens to be situated in New York.

If you read between the lines of what I wrote about that, you should be able to see that I agree that there is indeed no such connection other than one of US's own making and which is a matter for its own conscience if it has one!

So why would the US take credit for, or find itself 'embarrassed', by any of this?

I did not and do not suggest that US can take - or even is seeking to take - any credit for this but, when one considers for a moment how some of the consequences of the manner in which and the extent to which the invasive aggressor tactics that US has adopted in parts of the Middle East have aggravated already tense and difficult situations, it certainly ought to be embarrassed by this even if it isn't.

That said, I repeat that I agree otherwise with what you write here.

[ahinton]

We also need to acknowledge that from an Islamic fundamentalist's point of view (the point of view expressed in the letter to Malala) America's sustained attacks on Muslim counties post-9/11 (and before) are the acts of a Christian country, indeed when started by Bush 43 a fundamentalist Christian country.

Indeed; this is rather the kind of thing that I was trying to put across to scotty.

What is nevertheless so intesnsely gratifying in all of this is that Malala's continuing acts of courage and determination in the face of the gravest risk to herself attract almost no dissenters anywhere other, perhaps, than within a hopefully now diminishing sector of the community that allowed and condoned her attempted assassination.

[Pabmusic]

...The attempted assassination of Malala was an act of terrorism, which appears to have back-fired: but then so too was the assassination of bin Laden.

I don't think the attempted murder of a 14-year-old schoolgirl for writing a blog about women's education in Pakistan can be - or should be - compared with the killing of Osama bin Laden. This is not a Christian country -vs- Muslim country thing, nor has it been exploited as one, as far as I can see. And of course Malala is not the only one:

http://beta.dawn.com/news/769636/defy-the-odds-mehzar