Malala Yuousufzai: The face of courage

A couple of weeks ago a young girl was targeted by the Taliban for assassination. They shot her in the neck and head when thugs cornered her school bus. The whole act backfired. You see, she survived that senseless act. She is the bravest young lady in the world today.

She took on the most violent, vicious group of religious extremists armed with only the passion in her heart, her voice and a schoolbook. Her crime? Malala Yuousufzai, a 14-year-old girl from the Swat Valley in Pakistan, wanted an education. She stood up and gave voice to her passion. She did it very publicly on television and in various Internet news media. She did so with no fear of what might happen to her. She knew full well what the Taliban would do to her given the chance. Still, she chose not to allow her voice to be silenced.

The Taliban ruled her region for a time. Under its iron rule, women were only cattle. Literacy among females was a crime. So was listening to the radio. Even flying a kite could earn the wrath of the Taliban. The price paid was death. As stunning as this sounds to us here in America, it is sadly very true. The list of death penalties carried out by these thugs is long.

After the U.S and Pakistan removed the Taliban from power in neighboring Afghanistan and in Yuousufzai’s region of Pakistan, schools were rebuilt and girls began to see a ray of hope. But many paid a high price. As their schools were burned to the ground, students had acid thrown in their faces. Teachers were run off — or worse, killed — by members of this most extreme group of religious fanatics. Although these senseless acts enraged many, earned the condemnation from governments in the West and even some in the Middle East, it seems we have little hope of changing the medieval thinking that still prevails in sections of that region.

That is changing. The recent inclusion of women in the 2012 Olympics from countries like Saudi Arabia and other very conservative Islamic nations seems an indication that these countries are coming around to the modern world.

They may not have won medals. They won by just being there to receive the world’s applause and the respect of their peers.

If these Olympic athletes were a shimmer of light, then Yuousufzai is a bright beacon. Her words and her very survival have made her an icon in her country and beyond. As people gathered there by the thousands to hold prayer and candlelight vigils for her recovery, it seems this young girl has done more to change the hearts and minds of people than all the wars, bombs, arms, soldiers and governments combined. The attack has raised the anger of the Islamic world against the Taliban. The world seems united in its abhorrence for what amounts to a heinous act of extreme cowardice.

This may spell doom for the Taliban which has vowed publicly to complete its attack and kill Yuousufzai. Those in the Taliban are actually proud of what they have done. That vow alone has shocked many all over. I hope they never get the chance.

She was removed from Pakistan to the United Kingdom for her safety, treatment and recovery from her wounds. Based on the last reports, she is making progress and she will likely live to continue her fight for women’s rights in her homeland. Most of all, she will live to continue her own education. She is an icon for the right that all children in the world today have to an education no matter their gender, race or religion.

I mean nothing here as an attack on Islam; I try to respect all faiths. Rather, this article is about the shear guts of one young girl who only wanted what so many other children take for granted. The fact that she stood up and gave voice and a face to this issue could change an entire region plagued by the ghosts of the dark ages. The ghosts of the Taliban, an extremist group bent on ruling through fear, intimidation and death. Yuousufzai spat in its eye.

She has done so since the age of 11, writing a diary about her struggles, which was later published by the BBC. That act alone could have spelled her death if the Taliban had known. The BBC featured Yuousufzai in documentaries and interviews in the following years, until the time of her near-fatal attack.

Yuousufzai stood her ground. Armed not with a weapon, bomb or body armor, but with just a schoolbook and a deep desire to learn. A 14-year-old girl took on the Taliban. From the looks of things, she won.

Since this story broke, I have been reminded of the adage, “The pen is mightier than the sword.” Malala Yousufzai has made this old saying a modern-day reality. She shows more courage than a platoon of soldiers. You know what? I like that. I like that a great deal.

Wasilla resident Daniel D. Grota retired from the U.S. Army after more than 21 years of service.