Malala Yousafzai has become a celebrity by fighting back to life after the assassination attempt by the Taliban. This Pakistani schoolgirl was shot at by the Taliban, last October, as she wanted to promote education for girls. On 12th July, when she turned 16, she made her first major appearance in front of the public at the U.N. She bears the scars of the attack, which is visible by the disfigurement of her face on the left side. However, her resolve is still the same, as was proved by her powerful speech, which she delivered on her 16th birthday.
She put forward a simple appeal to the leaders of the world – that of providing free and compulsory education to the children. She said that she wanted to fight against terrorism and illiteracy without using any weapon. She added that the most powerful tools were pens and books. A child, a teacher, a book and a pen were enough to bring a change to the whole world. She received a tearful appreciation by her audience in the U.N hall as well as by those who watched her on television. Even former Prime Minister of UK, Gordon Brown praised her as “the most courageous girl in the world”.
However, the mood was not the same in Pakistan, her home. While some supported her, most of the reactions were not in favor of her. While the UN named her birthday as the Malala Day, the Pakistani government was not keen on recording this occasion. Some major TV channels showed the program live, but most of them did not. Many people criticized her speech and termed it as a drama.
The sentiment was positive when Malala was shot in October. She had extensive empathy at that time, but now the mood has shifted. Shocking theories are coming up for conspiring against her. While some are demeaning her as CIA agent, others claim she wasn’t shot at all and her wounds are fake. Some even have gone as far as stating that she had fled for getting a British passport.
However, conspiracies do not affect her and they stand no ground. Taliban militants themselves have boasted about the crime that they committed against her. Even the doctors in Pakistan, UAE and UK who have provided treatment to her are a proof of the incident. She has only been supporting the education of children and their right to get primary education.
