Malala Yousafzai's Powerful UN Speech

Excerpts from Malala Yousafzai's powerful UN speech given on Malala Day, July 12. Hard to believe she only just turned 16 that day. Such grace, intelligence, and understanding from such a young one.

There are hundreds of Human rights activists and social workers who are not only speaking for human rights, but who are struggling to achieve their goals of education, peace and equality. Thousands of people have been killed by the terrorists and millions have been injured. I am just one of them.
So here I stand.... one girl among many.
...
Dear friends, on the 9th of October 2012, the Taliban shot me on the left side of my forehead. They shot my friends too. They thought that the bullet would silence us. But they failed. And out of that silence came thousands of voices. The terrorists thought that they would change my aims and stop my ambitions but nothing changed in my life except this: Weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born.  

 ..“The pen is mightier than sword” was true. The extremists were and they are afraid of books and pens. The power of education frightens them. They are afraid of women. The power of the voice of women frightens them. And that is why they killed 14 innocent (medical) students in the recent attack in Quetta. And that is why they killed many female teachers and polio workers in Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa. That is why they are blasting schools every day. Because they were and they are afraid of change, afraid of  equality that we will bring into our society.

...

I remember that there was a boy in our school who was asked by a journalist, “Why are the Taliban against education?” He answered very simply. By pointing to his book he said, “A Talib doesn’t know what is written inside this book.” They think that God is a tiny, little conservative being who would send girls to the hell just because of going to school. 

...
Dear fellows, today I am focusing on women’s rights and girls’ education because they are suffering the most. There was a time when women social activists asked men to stand up for their rights. But, this time, we will do it by ourselves. I am not telling men to step away from speaking for women’s rights, rather I am focusing on women to be independent to fight for themselves.
...
And if we want to achieve our goal, then let us empower ourselves with the weapon of knowledge, and let us shield ourselves with unity and togetherness.
...
and let us pick up our books and our pens. They are our most powerful weapons.
One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world.

This young girl, if she survives those who want her dead, will do great things.

Video of the whole speech.

Time Person of The Year- Obama- Again?

Time had a slew of worthy contenders for the 2012 Person of The Year and they chose Barack Obama, again?  Why?  Not that being named Person of the Year is necessarily an indication of the goodness or greatness achieved by that individual, after all there have been many unsavory characters that have won including Adolf Hitler in 1939, Josef Stalin in 1939 and 1942, and Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979. Not that I'm comparing Obama to Hitler, let's get that straight. Time Magazine's criteria has more to do with who most influenced the news of the year, good or bad.

I was rooting for Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani girl who was shot and left for dead by the Taliban for fighting for education rights for women, who some are trying to get nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. She was runner up, but what an impact that would have made on all those who are trying so hard to keep women from getting an education had she won.  What did Obama do to merit it this time around? Good or bad? 

Time gave readers the chance to vote for their favorite influencer of the year (and I could have sworn I posted about that, but  can't seem to find it on my blog now), and North Korea's new 'dear leader' Kim Jong Un came out on top with the most votes, followed by, of all people, Jon Stewart. Here are the results of the poll, if you care to see who was nominated and how each one fared.

Scared Pakistani Girls Protest Naming College After Malala

While the world is embracing young Malala Yousafzai, praising her courage (in spite of death threats) to fight for education for females in a region that frowns on it, with some even campaigning to get her nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, girls are still running scared in Pakistan.  After all, Malala was shot and left for dead by the Taliban for her role in bringing their savagery to light through a blog sponsored by the BBC.

In honor of Malala's efforts, the Government Girls Degree College in the northern city of Saidu Sharif (smack dab in the restive Swat Valley, home to the Taliban)  decided to rename the school after Malala. But that did not sit well with some of the young women at the college, for obvious reasons:

On December 12, some 150 students tore down the picture of Malala and boycotted classes, demanding the government revoke the renaming of Government Girls Degree College in Saidu Sharif, the main city in the northern Swat Valley.

The students fear that the new name will make their institution a target for Taliban extremists.

The students postponed their demonstration after local officials assured them they would convey their demands to the provincial government.

How sad to live in fear.

Hate Preacher Anjem Choudary To Issue Fatwa Against Girl Shot By Taliban

What is Anjem Choudary still doing in England?  Yes, I know he was born there, but why is he allowed to freely roam the streets of London preaching hate and promulgating Shariah for England?  His Islam4UK website was eventually banned (although he does have his own website now), and there have been various Shariah4 sites that popped up thereafter, including Shariah4Holland.com, Shariah4Pakistan.com, Shariah4Belgium.com and Shariah4America.com, though it seems the only two still alive and running are the Pakistan and Holland ones.

Now Choudary and Shariah4Pakistan have targeted  Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani education activist teen who was shot in the head by the Taliban who then vowed to finish the job if she survived. Which she has.  Choudary is about to issue a fatwa against Malala for apostasy. It's scheduled to be announced at the Red Mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan, at an event on November 30. As we all know, the sentence for apostasy in Islam is death. Though Choudary claims he is not calling for her death, he might as well have, since the Taliban have already promised as much.

He told The Daily Star: "If someone apostatises like this woman did by allying with the Americans and saying her favourite person is (Barack) Obama and that she does not want the Sharia or hijab and wants to live under a secular state, she has put herself in a very precarious situation.

“It is no surprise what happened to her in Pakistan. Malala is mature Islamically, she is not immature, she has reached that period we say is adulthood.”


Featuring a video address from al-Muhajiroun's co-founder Omar Bakri, it is titled: "Declaration of Fatwa on Malala Yousafzai."

Bakri told the paper: "The only solution is the implementation of the Sharia. She (Malala) should face justice in an Islamic court.

“We are going to renew the Fatwa against the man-made law and systems in Pakistan – this is why women like this young girl are rejecting Islam. The system is not being implemented properly.”

Of course, Choudary is saying that it wasn't simply her fight for education rights for girls that caused her to be a Taliban target, it was the fact that she was a spy for the U.S. Yes, they actually believe that. According to Shariah4Pakistan:

It has also been reported that the Taliban had evidence of espionage by Malala and so targeted her as a tactical military operation,

“For this espionage, infidels gave her awards and rewards. And Islam orders killing of those who are spying for enemies,” the Taliban said in a statement.

“She used to propagate against mujahideen (holy warriors) to defame (the) Taliban. The Quran says that people propagating against Islam and Islamic forces would be killed.

“We targeted her because she would speak against the Taliban while sitting with shameless strangers and idealised the biggest enemy of Islam, Barack Obama.”

They also said,

“We did not attack her for raising voice for education. We targeted her for opposing mujahideen and their war,” said the Taliban.

So, it's totally cool to kill someone because they don't agree with your extremist violent ways. And, of course, she must be a spy since she loves Obama.  Idiots that they are, they fail to realize that Obama is one of the most Muslim-friendly presidents they could ever get.  Oh, and it's not just Malala they're condemning for apostasy, Choudary wants to make it perfectly clear that it's the whole darn Pakistani leadership. That's why they've created Shariah4Pakistan, because they want the glory days of Islamic repression under Shariah to return to the fatherland.

Recovering at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, Malala has many trying to get her nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Source: HuffpoUK

Tarek Fatah- Get Malala Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize

Tarek Fatah, Pakistani/Canadian writer and secular, anti-Islamist Muslim voice of reason, has created a petition to get Malala Yousafzai (sometimes spelled Yusufzai) nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. She was the 15-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot in the head by the Taliban because of her rights activism.

Fatah lays out why he believes she deserves to be nominated, on the petition site change.org:

Malala's bravery has sparked a global movement and we believe she deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for her courageous work.

The first step in this process is to get Malala nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Only certain people, like a Member of Parliament, are allowed put forward nominations. To make a major statement and to show that Canadians believe in Malala's work, we need all Canadian federal party leaders to unanimously nominate Malala for the Nobel Peace Prize for her incredible work and bravery.

On Monday Liberal Leader Bob Rae backed the petition and on Tuesday Immigration Minister Jason Kenney voiced his support. We just need to get three more party leaders to endorse the campaign.

A Nobel Peace Prize for Malala will send a clear message that the world is watching and will support those who stand up for gender equality and universal human rights that includes the right of education for girls.

To sign the petition click here.  They need more signatures.

Thankfully, Malala is doing much better in a hospital in England.

Taliban Says It Will Finish The Job If Young Rights Activist Malala Survives

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The Taliban has vowed to finish the job on Malala Yousafzai- the 14-year-old education rights activist who was shot in the head- if she actually survives.  I still want to know where the global Muslim outrage is over the shooting of an innocent young Pakistani schoolgirl.  Yes, some are outraged, but where are all the massive protests, like the ones for the Mohammed cartoons, or the anti-Islam film "Innocence of Muslims"? A stupid video posted on YouTube, or cartoons printed on a piece of paper outweighs, in importance, a human life?

Although the police have arrested some suspects, but that won't stop the continued violence. And though the world seems to think that the Taliban isn't as much of a threat as it was in the past, that simply isn't true.  CBS journalist Lara Logan claims they are stronger than ever. And the fact that they were able to target a young girl in broad daylight is evidence of that fact.

"The Taliban is clearly asserting themselves, saying A, we have not been eliminated, B, we can still target what we consider symbolic targets, and the message is that the government is not in control of the area," said Frederic Grare, South Asia Program director the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a nonprofit organization promoting international cooperation.

"Whether this is true or not is a different matter," Grare said. "But that's the message that they are trying to convey."

Analysts said that regardless of the revulsion over the attack, it won't lessen Taliban support in the short run.

"The news their supporters get is probably filtered through the Taliban sources so in some sense this girl may have been made out to be a monster or a sort of a Western agent," said S. Athar Hussain, director of the Asia Research Center at the London School of Economics. "At the same time, it was a show of force (by the Taliban) to say they can control people and for even a small disagreement with them, they can take revenge. It was demonstrating to the government and the public how powerful they are." 

"Unfortunately, they are quite powerful right now," he added. "The fact that they can walk in and shoot the girl with impunity serves notice to everyone else that if you disagree you might meet the same treatment."

Malala, in an interview this past August said:

 "When I see the current situation here, I thank God for the peace that prevails and that girls can attend school," she said. "My purpose is to serve humanity and fight for their rights."

But there will be no peace as long as the Taliban exists.  The Pakistani government needs to make a concerted effort to rid this world of these roaches, but that doesn't seem likely.

Taliban Shoots 14-Year-Old Rights Activist In Head

Young 14-year-old rights activist Malala Yousafzai is struggling to stay alive in a Peshawar hospital after the Pakistani Taliban shot her, point blank, in the head. All Malala wanted to do was go to school, while the Taliban want to keep their women barefoot, pregnant and ignorant- the better to control them. She is now suffering the consequences.

A team of senior doctors late Tuesday completed her medical examination in a combined military hospital (CMH) and described her condition as critical.

“We have thoroughly examined her, she is in critical condition. The bullet travelled from her head and then lodged in the back shoulder, near the neck,” a doctor in the CMH told AFP, requesting anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to the media.

“She is in the intensive care unit and semi-conscious, although not on the ventilator,” he said, adding that the next three to four days would be crucial.

Earlier another doctor in Saidu Sharif Medical Complex in Swat’s main town of Mingora had said the bullet penetrated her skull but missed her brain, leaving her out of danger.

Seeking revenge for her activism, Taliban militants targeted her while on her school bus. Two other girls were also wounded, though not critically. And they threatened anyone who might dare to criticize their actions.

I don't recall Malala's story, but apparently three years ago she partnered with the BBC to write a blog about the horrific things the Taliban were doing in the Swat region of Pakistan. That was when girls' schools were being torched at the behest of cleric Maulana Fazlullah.

In 2011 she received several accolades including the

.. first-ever national peace award from the Pakistani government last year, and was nominated for the International Children's Peace Prize by advocacy group KidsRights Foundation in 2011.

What shocks and frightens many Pakistanis is that this happened during the day in an area where the army was supposed to have flushed out the Taliban- three years ago.

As happens, stories regarding the attack on Malala changed over the course of the day.

Initially, an officer told AFP Malala was shot as she was getting on the bus, then later that a gunman had flagged down the vehicle some distance away.

“One of them, who had a small beard, went inside and asked the children which was Malala,” Shah told AFP.

“He fired three shots. One bullet hit Malala’s head. The second hit the shoulder of her school friend and the third inflicted a minor leg injury to another girl on the bus,” the policeman added.

Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told AFP the Islamist group carried out the attack after repeatedly warning Malala to stop speaking out against them.
“She is a Western-minded girl. She always speaks against us. We will target anyone who speaks against the Taliban,” he said by telephone from an undisclosed location.

“We warned her several times to stop speaking against the Taliban and to stop supporting Western NGOs, and to come to the path of Islam.”

Yes, that's the way civilized people deal with opposition and criticism- just shoot 'em dead. Even children.

Of course there were the useless and obligatory condemnations from the usual suspects including Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardaro, who said they would continue to fight Islamist militants. Right, this from a country that harbored (knowingly or not) the world's most wanted man (Bin Laden) for so many years. Then the U.S. State Department's Victoria Nuland said:

“Directing violence at children is barbaric, it’s cowardly, and our hearts go out to her and the others who were wounded, as well as their families.” 

You think?

Amnesty International piped in with:

“This attack highlights the extremely dangerous climate human rights activists face in northwestern Pakistan, where particularly female activists live under constant threats from the Taliban and other militant groups.” 

As though any of that will make one iota of difference in how the Taliban militants deal with what they consider infidels.  And everyone thinks they are becoming a more moderate, gentler, kinder Taliban, as Lara Logan put it.  What a joke. They're as vicious and stronger as ever.