Being Malala -Part II

Part II

Things were becoming more threatening, the streets were deserted and silent. Only boy's schools were allowed to function, but only 10% of the students attended the school. It was 15^th February 2009, there were gunshots and firing on the streets of Mingora. Children were scared of hearing the loud noises of the firing. Zia told them that this fight is for peace, and soon everything will be peaceful. But, she was not satisfied with the answer. Later that night, Taliban announced the peace deal on their FM Radio station, with a strong round of firing. Just three days after this so-called peace deal, on 18^th of February, 2009 Malala spoke against the deed of Taliban on a national current affairs show ‘Capital Talk’,and within three days of the show, Taliban lifted the ban on women’s education till March for exams, but they had to wear burqa to their schools.

This little girl of 11 years is fighting for education when her life is at stake. In this threatening situation, she is more bothered about her exams, than life. What a brave soul, she is!  Children were now allowed to attend a school and they were having fun in the class. But their fun and peace were temporary, as the Taliban militants were still active in the area, looting and threatening local people. The usual life of the residents had become very difficult and horrifying.

Amidst all the tensions and the activities of the extremists, life had chosen this girl as the medium to express and reveal all the miss-happenings in the Swat region to the World. Her first battle of Swat as a blogger in BBC Urdu ended on 12^th March 2009. Later, Zia was approached by the NewYork Times reporter Adam Ellick for filming a documentary on their lives and struggles in the Swat.  In May 2009 Mingora was evacuated and the family was separated. The girl with her 2 brothers and mother moved to one of the relative's places, whereas Zia with three of his friends left for Peshawar, Pakistan to protest and lobby for support. Adam Ellick was recording everything for his documentary, their struggles, life away from Mingora, protests, and conferences, everything. Kids were missing their father and were worried too. The girl was not happy in that place and said that I am feeling very bored here, as there are no books to read. Meanwhile, Zia was getting death threats from Taliban for his protests and press conference. The little girl who wanted to become a doctor now had a new dream. She says that she now wanted to be a politician and not a doctor so that she could remove all the crisis from her country. She was deeply inspired by her father and his courage to fight, for their rights.

Zia and his three other friends protested for almost three months in Peshawar. They were living in a small room, in not a very good condition. They were feeling guilty when they saw, the thousands of Swat refugees, living in camps in sickening condition. Zia said that it would be better if they would have lived in those camps. They revolted and protested for peace in the Swat. On the other side, the little girl and her family were missing Ziauddin. It was her birthday, but her father was busy protesting and so forgot to wish his dear daughter. Zia and his friends badly missed their families. They were unaware of whether their properties and belongings in the Swat were safe or destroyed. They were worried, sad and depressed and were hoping for some positive support from their Pakistani government. By early July, the Prime Minister of Pakistan announced the most awaited words, that it is now safe to return back to the Swat valley as the Taliban militants have been pushed out of the cities. The family reunited on 24^th July 2009 and headed towards their home.  It was a very emotional moment for the family as they were meeting after so long and were all safe. Till now, they were not aware of the situation of their house and school, but they had a hope that it would be in a good condition. But before that, someone was waiting for them.  The US representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, met the activists, including Zia, who protested for the Taliban’s control in the Swat valley. This girl pleaded to Holbrooke to intervene in the situation and help them for their education. What an amazing soul, she is! So much crave for education in the adverse situation too.

Then finally they reached Mingora. It was no longer a vacation destination, but a barren land where dead bodies were lying here and there on the streets. It was silent. Not even a single alive human or animal could be seen on the streets.  Most of the places were blown up and damaged. This place was not her Mingora.The scene was very depressing. But they were still hopeful that might be their house is saved from the militants. They reached home and were shocked and happy to see that their house was safe, but their two little chickens were no more. The girl went straight to her room to see her bag and books, and she cried seeing them safe. The books meant a lot to her. Then they proceeded to their school. The lock was not opening from the keys, it must have been changed. One of his brothers climbed the wall and opened the small gate from inside. The place was not in good condition. It seemed that militants or the army were residing there. But whosoever they were, doesn’t seem very cultured as per the little girl. They have spoiled the classrooms, and the school was messy. But by god sake, nothing major damage has happened to their school.

#Malala #Pakistani #Taliban #righttoeducation #femaleeducation #nobelprizewinner

To be continued.......
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