Malala Yousafzai is a 14 year old activist from Pakistan who became a target of the Taliban when she posted online about her frustrations regarding the Taliban’s restrictions on women, particularly their banning women from going to school. Last November her online writing earned Malala Pakistan’s first National Peace Award.
On Tuesday, gunmen stopped the school bus Malala was going home in, asked for her by name and opened fire once she was identified. Doctors removed removed the bullet from her neck following a three hour surgery, but they cannot yet determine if she will make a full recovery. She remains in very critical condition and is too fragile to fly to a more specialized facility at this time, but a jet remains on standby.
Malala’s father has stated that the family will not flee their home and that his daughter’s activism efforts need not be stopped by the incident. The Yousafzai family has received multiple threats but will not be moved by fear—their philosophy is of peace and they believe that as they continue to speak their minds the Taliban will not silence their voices with violence.
There is growing concern within Pakistan around the enormity of this event. An extremist attack on a 14-year-old coming home from school proves to be a great shock for silence to withstand.The world’s citizens, press and diplomats alike express outrage at this occurrence. Many are concerned for how extremists are shaping the country from within, and also how events like this shape how the country is depicted internationally and in the press.
As Women’s History Month dawns in Canada, there is anxious talk of what women here are to conquer next, the inequities that still exist and how to approach them. Perhaps between conversations of safety and wage inequities we must pause and gaze outside our own nation. We must recognize the efforts of women like Malala Yousafzai and understand the true significance of our position within our own societies today.