Not even 12 hours in and apparently, finally honoring Malala Yousafzai with a Nobel Prize has become a tar-and-feathering of the girl, as the win is a conspiracy to: -Dishonor and embarrass Pakistan, by highlighting its problems (Really folks? Thats what Nobel laureates do.) -Delegitimize the Taliban (A good thing, a very good thing.) -Ignore drone strikes (Can folks for once view her independent of drones? She is a girl who, like so many, wants other girls not to face the despicable culture of brutal patriarchy dressed up in religious edicts. Malala is not, and never has been, a living drone strike.) -Legitimize Malala, clearly a dangerous CIA operative (Im going to note that while shes been out publicly working her mind off saying dangerous things like hey kids, go to school, other kids are taking school for granted, while sitting on the phone and online in secret away from their parents all afternoon. From the looks of it, whos more likely to be part of this dangerous CIA operation that you speak of?) -Deprive other Pakistani heroes of a prize (Because apparently, multiple heroes cannot exist at any given time, and all have to win awards so as to be validated.) -Put water on decades-old conflicts between Pakistan and India (Also a net positive, as perpetual war is never a good thing. Its a wonder they didnt choose folks advancing this theory for the prize.) The truth is that I am deeply, deeply proud of Malala, and I dont think that we have seen the best of her and those whom she will inspire in her lifetime - provided that she stays sincere to her own vision. I have several good friends here and abroad who have met her outside of the spotlight, and from all accounts, both her heart and mind are in the right place. And I love my Pakistanis, they know that deeply. But instead of arguing in these unbelievable circles - defending a teenage girl from Pakistan of whom all should be proud - Im just going to congratulate India on its win for Kailash Satyarthi, along with all of the others. It is frankly less exhausting.
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 21:03:09 +0000