To truly understand the reason for the shooting of a young girl in Pakistan and the book “I am Malala” one must first look at the historical context.

The group that is in power in Mingora, a town in the Swat district of north-west in, Pakistan where Malala was born, is an Islamic extremist group called the Taliban, which gained regional control in the aftermath of the Cold War. During the Cold War, the government in Afghanistan was strongly influenced and backed by the Soviet Union between 1979-89. When the Cold war ended the Soviets left. Due to lack of support, the existing government easily lost control of the country. Eastern territories that border Pakistan were seized by the Mujahideen, a group of “holy warriors or freedom fighters,” of which the Taliban are a part(Hayes). Subsequently, “the Taliban emerged in the early 1990s in northern Pakistan”(Who Are the Taliban). For overview of the political rule of the Taliban see the timeline (Hayes)

The next step is to look at the ideals and rules that the Taliban follow, and to understand how their people live. After the Soviets left there was a lot of conflict in the region and the “Taliban‘s promise” to the people “in Pashtun areas straddling Pakistan and Afghanistan – was to restore peace and security and enforce their own austere version of Sharia, or Islamic law, once in power”(Who Are the Taliban). Restoring peace seems commendable, however “the implementation of sharia laws leads people to question the compatibility of Islam and human rights”(Ahmed). Islamic law “forbids girls to go to school” and prohibits them “from leaving their home without a male relative” (Hayes). These laws not only oppress women under Taliban control but leave them in fear, knowing that if they deviate they would be subject to “public executions and punishments”(Hayes).

“Malala was born on 12 July 1997”(The Malala Fund). Her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, was and still is an avid supporter of school education, and therefore became “an outspoken opponent of Taliban efforts to restrict education and stop girls from going to school”(The Malala Fund). Malala, following in the footsteps of her father, began to speak out against the Taliban at an early age. She did this by not only appearing on TV, but also starting an anonymous blog in which “she wrote about life in the Swat Valley under Taliban rule”(Malala Yousafzai – Biographical). As she and her father slowly became more visible in their society, they became more of a threat to the Taliban, which ultimately lead to her being shot and relocated to England where she continues her fight (Kettler)

There is little doubt that Malala’s story has gained worldwide attention and is heroic, but how can we evaluate her story’s effect? Will women living under sharia law be encouraged or discouraged to tell their stories based on what happened? Can we view Malala’s story as a true victory against the Taliban?

Sources

Ahmed, Houriya. “The Taliban’s Perversion of Sharia Law | Houriya Ahmed.” The Guardian.

Guardian News and Media, 2009. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.

Hayes, Laura, Borgna Brunner, and Beth Rowen. “Who Are the Taliban? Their History and

Their Resurgence.” Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2016.

Hayes, Laura, and Borgna Brunner. “Timeline: The Taliban Key Dates in the History of the

Taliban and Contemporary Afghanistan.” Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2016.

Kettler, Sara. “Malala Yousafzai Biography.” Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, 1 July 2016.

Web. 17 Sept. 2016.

“Malala Yousafzai – Biographical.” Nobelprize.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.

“The Malala Fund.” The Malala Fund. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.

“Who Are the Taliban?” BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.