A current social injustice issue that has appeared in the media recently is that of Malala Yousafzai. 15-year-old Malala of Pakistan was maliciously shot in the head and neck by the Pakistan’s Taliban for being outspoken about Islamic extremists and women’s right to an education. The child activist was targeted in an assassination attempt by a Taliban gunmen while traveling home from school on a bus. Yousafzai is commonly known for her education and women’s rights activism in the Swat Valley of Pakistan, where the Taliban have at times banned girls from attending school.
Malala Yousafzai is such a courageous young activist, who deserves the right to be heard. The actions of the Taliban were completely and utterly relentless and inhumane and the gunman deserves the harshest of punishments. Ehsanullah Ehsan, chief spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, suggesting that “Yousafzai is the symbol of the infidels and obscenity” and adds that if she survives, they will shoot her again. It is unbelievable how this kind of behavior is acceptable. Every child deserves to live in safety, and SHOULD have the right to an education. These Middle Eastern countries desperately need to enforce child rights, just as western countries have.
Malala is currently recovering from her attack in a UK hospital, but will be flown back to Pakistan after a full recovery. I can only imagine how frightened this young girl must be to return to the place where she was almost assassinated. So many of the women and girls of Swat Valley will now live in even greater fear for their safety after this attack of Malala, and this cruel act of the Taliban has now affected all of them. In Western civilization, women have just as much of a right to their voice as men, and this same justice needs to be brought to the Middle East.
Discrimination Against Muslim Women & Girls 