On the morning of October 12, Malala Yousafzai had 70 percent chances of
recovery; amazing, considering she was shot at point-blank range only a
few days ago. Having successfully removed a bullet from her spinal
cord, doctors treating her at a military hospital in Rawalpindi
reportedly informed her family that her recovery in the following days
would be critical. So we wait patiently for news, preferably good, from
her bedside.
While Yousafzai rests, the world outside is in a
nervous tizzy. The Taliban is now threatening members of the Pakistani
media for their coverage, and strong stance, on this incident. According
to a BBC Urdu report, intelligence agencies have intercepted
conversations between Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Hakimullah
Mehsoud and his subordinates, in which he reportedly directed them to
take action against opponents in the media. The government is now
offering protection to any media organisation that seeks it.
Indeed,
this erstwhile blogger-for-the-BBC has been the headline to beat ever
since October 9. That's when her school bus was stopped by a Taliban
gunman in a town named Mingora, in Pakistan's restive Swat valley in the
North West. He demanded that she identify herself, then shot her
repeatedly. (Two of her schoolmates, both girls, were injured as well.)
The
unwarranted viciousness of the attack has spurred Pakistan's most
influential men into speaking out in protest, using strong words in
turn: "inhuman", "barbaric", "terrorist". Late night on October 12, The
Guardian reported that, taking an exceptionally critical stance, the
Sunni Ittehad Council has issued a fatwa denouncing the Taliban's
attempts to justify Yousafzai's shooting. October 12 was marked as a day
of prayers for Yousafzai and observed across Pakistani mosques.
In
the last week, public figures, including Army Chief General Ashfaq
Kayani, Chief Justice Ifthikar and Prime Minister Raja Parvez Ashraf,
have visited Yousafzai, while calling on the nation to stand united
against those who attacked her. President Asif Ali Zardari reportedly
reached out to Yousafzai's family. Interior Minister Rehman Malik termed
the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region a hub for terrorists, adding that the
government is seriously considering another offensive in the
north-western tribal agencies. Not to be left out, Imran Khan, viewed
off late as a serious political threat to Zardari's ruling Pakistan
People's Party (PPP), offered to foot the costs of her treatment.
However,
Khan has been criticised by some sections for turning the debate back
towards the unmanned drones that have killed thousands of Pakistanis.
Khan isn't the only one liable to make the same tenuous link between a
barbaric act and a foreign attack on Pakistani sovereignty.
Although
his is an important voice, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of the Jamiat
Ulema Islam-Fazal, used the opportunity to condemn Yousafzai's attackers
to also censure those who do not protest the bombing of a mosque by
drones as vociferously. It's this digression of the argument that Najam
Sethi, editor of the weekly The Friday Times, railed against in his
editorial: "To suggest that Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head
because of America's drones is not just lazy deduction; it is
disingenuous, even dangerous deflection from the real issue."
At
the very least, there is the common denominator of disgust at the TTP's
actions and rationalisations. But some chose to see a silver lining -
like Pakistan's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, who told the CNN
that Yousafzai's unfortunate case brings the promise of a "turning
point". This is signified by the rejection by many Pakistanis of the
justifications offered by the Taliban. The prayers being offered in
mosques and schools for her speedy recovery, demonstrations in the
streets, and strong statements made every day since October 9 -- all
serve as proof for those who are hope for the reintroduction of a
rational debate over religious devotion versus fanaticism. Indeed,
Yousafzai's case is being described as a watershed moment in Pakistan's
contemporary history.
More importantly, the attackers have
inadvertently glorified Yousafzai's role as an activist and articulate
critic of the Taliban. Having found fame (and infamy in some quarters)
through her diaries for BBC Urdu, Yousafzai had already won admirers,
even awards, for her outspokenness.
This week, as newshounds
tracked her every development, the world was reminded of the innocent
charm of this Anne Frank-like observer. Her diaries for the BBC,
recorded in 2009 when she was a mere 11-year-old, did more than just
detail the fear psychosis surrounding the Taliban. Her accounts
highlighted the sadness, frustration and fear of a girl child who craved
knowledge, as well as the company of others like her.
In January
2009 she recorded, "On my way from school to home I heard a man saying
'I will kill you'. I hastened my pace... to my utter relief he was
talking on his mobile and must have been threatening someone else over
the phone."
The Taliban continues to threaten Yousafzai. She will
need continued support and protection from Pakistani society if she is
to escape a repeat attempt.
(Gayathri Sreedharan is a researcher
who worked with the BBC's South Asia bureau in Delhi from 2008 to 2011.
She can be reached at sreedharan.gayathri@googlemail.com).