Silencing ‘Gul Makai’

Who or what is ‘Gul Makai’? It is the pseudonym using which a young brave-heart, still only in her teens, decided to take on a powerful and ruthless group of religious fundamentalists.  Although, by the time her writings, mainly through her blog, became public, the power of the religious group had waned to an extent; they still managed to get at the school-going youngster by attempting to kill her in full daylight. Today, the world knows her by her real name - Malala Yousafzai - mostly due to her miraculous survival of the assassination attempt, even though in the process she suffered grievous injuries. The girl who had taken on one of the most fanatical religious outfits had survived to become a beacon of light illuminating one of the darkest periods of socio-economic and political turmoil in her native land.

Why did this particular religious group in the name of a supposedly ‘holy war’ decide to target a young girl? What had excited their fury or rather fervour so as to regard a mere teenager a threat to them? The answer lies in her writings. Through her blog she had spoken about how the group, during the time they held sway in the Swat valley of Pakistan, had not only torn down all secular and democratic ideals and institutions, but also blatantly impinged upon even the basic fundamental rights of the citizens such as right to life, property, education and freedom of speech and expression. Fearlessly and furiously advocating the right to education, especially for girls, ‘Gul Makai’ made it clear that this fundamental right was a necessity for survival for any girl growing up amidst the conservative and medieval mindset forced upon the people of the valley and the country at large by the religious extremists. The blog she used as a platform to voice her opinions became famous and along with it, it’s author too. However, fame also attracted the wrong kind of attention - that of the people who, though reduced in number and strength post America’s military campaign in Afghanistan, still possessed enough power to carry out their public threat of trying to kill the young author. In a daring and chilling daylight attack, they targeted her school bus on its way back from school. Entering the bus, they demanded her identity from the children inside. Two of the girls questioned refused to comply, at which the enraged fanatics opened indiscriminate fire at all present inside the bus. Shot in the head and neck, Malala was seriously injured with a bullet grazing past her brain. Two of her classmates - Shazia Rehman and Kainat Riaz - were wounded too. Grievously injured, all three were rushed to hospital. Over 24 hours as their condition stabilized, the other two were declared out of danger. Undergoing an emergency surgery because of her head injury, Malala fought a brave battle for her life. Showing slight improvement, her condition stabilized enough for her to be soon airlifted to London for better treatment and post-traumatic care. She remains in London, a hero to her country folk, especially women and girls, who pray for her speedy recovery and return to her homeland.

The dastardly attack on ‘Gul Makai’ had sparked global condemnation and nationwide protests in Pakistan with children, especially girls, stepping forward in large numbers to ask of her attackers “Kitni Malalayen maroge?” echoing similar protests in the past by the People’s Party of Pakistan upon  Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s killing asking, “Kitne Bhutto maroge? Har ghar se Bhutto niklega!”

“How many ‘Gul Makais’ will you kill”? This seems like the refrain of the times we live in. How many ‘Gul Makais’ will you silence? This seems to echo from every young girl’s lips, reverberating around the world, insistently asking the ones who attempt to gag every such voice that dares to expose the numerous injustices, crimes and inhuman acts committed against women every moment somewhere around the world. Starting from the denial of the right to life through the evil of female foeticide and infanticide, extending to undernourishment, denial of right to education, denial of employment, being married off early, facing marital abuse, sexual harassment and assaults that sometimes take the extreme form of molestation or rape. And even when employed, facing prejudices, unequal pay and harassment at the workplace - the ‘Crosses’ that a women has to bear during her lifetime are many, the solutions and support systems few and far between!

In any situation of conflict anywhere in the world, it is invariably women and children who form the core of the vulnerable group, who become ‘soft targets’ and unwitting victims caught up in games of power whether at the political, religious or socio-economic levels spelling strife and struggle.

Eventually, it seems but natural that the suppressed and subjugated find a voice of utterance at some point or other in time. Even if it be once, before some hand somewhere is raised to silence that voice, even if that voice is heard once, raised against the powers that be, then it might be enough to awaken perhaps another voice somewhere.