Shooting of Malala Yousafzai

On October 9th 2012, during a regular Monday morning, 14-year-old student and children’s activist Malala Yousafzai was severely wounded when an un-identified man ordered students to point out Malala and when they did, the man open fired on her causing bullets to penetrate her skull and neck. The attempted assassination, which was later identified to be the work of Taliban members, has sparked an outrage inside Pakistan and around the world. Malala being recently and internationally known for going on CNN and addressing her rights to a proper education, speech, and happiness. She is also recognized as a hero for children’s education, specifically woman’s education in Pakistan, having the past honor of being nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize and winning Pakistan’s first National Youth Peace Prize. Malala first gained international recognition in 2009, where she decided to publish an online blog for the BBC stating the current situation of her home in Swat Valley where there is frequent militant activity, and difficulty of obtaining a proper education under constant death threats by the Taliban and the Islamic extremists.

After the attack, Malala was immediately rushed to the hospital and treated by Pakistani doctors who had no choice but to remove the bullet lodged in her neck and head. An arrangement made by the United Arab Emirates decided that she be airlifted to a hospital in Birmingham, England, to be further treated by neurosurgeon specialists who say that her recovery could take months. Like her father who operates one of the few schools that defies Taliban ideologies and keeps their doors open to women, Malala’s survival has resulted in an online petition and support pages rallying for Malala and her fight for girl’s education. Online petitions started to rally, one of the two already having 10,000 signatures by mid-day urging authorities to arrest Malala’s attackers and end the government ties with the extremists. The second petition called, “I Am Malala” petition has been signed by celebrities and leaders and will later be presented to Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. But shortly after the attack, Taliban members made it clear that if she does survive and continue to preach about her “Western thinking”, that they will be back to finish the job.

Legal issues:

Some legal issues I found that arose from the article I read was:

* Should the Government cut its ties with Islamic extremism? * Should the treatment of woman in Pakistan be changed?

Opinion:
In my opinion, I see that it would be most beneficial to cut out ties between the Government and the idea of Islamic extremism. It would pose as a beacon of freedom for a lot of Pakistani citizens, more so for the woman. If and when the government decides to finally abolish the idea, which they should, in turn will result in the end of militant groups such as the Taliban and their brand of Islamic fundamentalism and allow the Government’s army to take full offense and cut networks of growing extremists. if the Government utilizes Malala’s story to its full potential, they will, without a doubt, bring about the stabilization of Pakistan and Afghanistan allowing the end of the Taliban’s and limitations of potential citizens possess.

Which leads me to my next point on why woman in Pakistan are treated very poorly, and should a change occur. It can be said that Pakistani woman are treated poorly because of religious oppressions, which is true: It has been reported that over 1,000 women are murdered in “Honor killings” and that every year over 90 % suffer from domestic violence. But there is also the fact that Pakistani women, for the most part, are uneducated and struggle to even maintain their basic rights, recognition, and respect. They are forced to live in a culture that defines them by the male figures in their lives and often times, these women are the breadwinners for their family. There are often cases in villages where girl’s are raped, murdered and then buried. The irony is that, if a woman should speak up about sexual or physical abuse, the woman will be seen as having lost her family’s dignity. I strongly believe that woman in Pakistan have the right to be treated equally. First starting with the legal rights of woman. And in my opinion, and in the many opinions of the woman living in Pakistan, education, equality, and rights should be entitled and given to woman as they are freely given to men.

Conclusion:
In conclusion, the mentality of how a woman is viewed and treated should be changed so that woman will be given their proper rights and that the only way of doing so, is if the abolishment of Islamic extremism and all its growing networks along with the fall of the Taliban, will ultimately change Pakistan and Afghanistan, and draw them closer to a more modernized society.