Malala Yousafzei Respect

Written By: - Date published: 7:06 pm, July 13th, 2013 - 44 comments
Categories: afghanistan, International, war - Tags: , ,

Rosy commented this morning about the amazing speech that Malala Yousafzei has made to the United Nations.

Malala is the young woman who was shot in the head by the Taliban for campaigning for education for young women.  She had advocated publicly for the right of young women to receive an education and was shot by the Taliban in an attempt to silence her.  She has refused to be silenced and recently spoke to the United Nations about the importance of education.  She said:

“On the ninth of October 2012, the Taliban shot me on the left side of my forehead. They shot my friends too. They thought that the bullet would silence us. But they failed. And out of that silence came thousands of voices. The terrorists thought they would change my aims and stop my ambitions. But nothing changed in my life, except this. Weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born. I’m not against anyone, neither am I here to speak in terms of personal revenge against the Taliban or any other terrorist group. I’m here to speak up for the right of education of every child.”

Rosy’s comment was met with concern that the USA was publicising this to avert attention from drone attacks that the US is conducting on Afghanistan and on the social circumstances which contribute to the popularity of the Taliban.  While these should be condemned I think that we should celebrate the bravery of a young woman who will stand up no matter what the consequences are for the right of young women to receive an education.

Malala Yousafzei, respect.

44 comments on “Malala Yousafzei Respect ”

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  1. Brett Dale 1
    13 July 2013 at 7:44 pm

    Amazing young lady, what bravery, what else can one say.

    Hats off to her.

    • The Pink Postman 1.1
      16 July 2013 at 3:20 pm

      I agree B.Dale .A hero if ever there was one. Lets hope she will end up with a high position in the UN. \in the not to distant future . She is a bright light in a very sad and sick world.

  3. Saarbo 3
    13 July 2013 at 9:30 pm

    Yes Micky, it just shows what a major pack of fuckwits men can be. So many cultures world wide need a decent kick up the arse, the Teleban are not alone.

    Glad we in New Zealand lead the way by having 50/50 male/female representatives in Parliament….

    • mickysavage 3.1
      13 July 2013 at 11:29 pm

      Aye Saarbo.

      Makes you wonder if Labour should increase the goal for the proportion of women in caucus …

      • Colonial Viper 3.1.1
        13 July 2013 at 11:32 pm

        A token gesture. An extra 2 or 3 MPs in Parliament out of 120? If Labour is going to be serious, let’s see a serious proposal. My pick: enforcing income equality between genders in all lower paid service type jobs in the economy.

        • McFlock 3.1.1.1
          13 July 2013 at 11:54 pm

          Congratulations on actually making a suggestion. So what changes would that actually entail? Because we already have an Equal Pay Act…

      • The Pink Postman 3.1.2
        17 July 2013 at 3:01 pm

        Of course they should Micky

  4. Morrissey 4
    14 July 2013 at 6:18 am

    By all means, watch this young girl. If you are serious, you will already know about Malalai Joya….

    Noam Chomsky & Malalai Joya:
    The Case for Withdrawal from Afghanistan
    March 25, 2011 Memorial Church, Harvard University….

    • Bill 4.1
      14 July 2013 at 12:30 pm

      Thanks for the link Morrissey.

      So…indomitable human spirit survives a particularly nasty cluster fuck that has been and is being delivered courtesy of…well, the list is kind of long and includes every ‘side’ – ‘ours’, ‘theirs’, ‘who-evers’ stretching back a long way through time.

      That’s inspiring.

  5. UglyTruth 5
    14 July 2013 at 8:16 am

    With respect to Malala Yousafzei, the UN is the wrong place to go for a remedy. The abuse of women is in part a product of the progressive doctrine of gender equivalence promoted by the UN, and the solution involves understanding the fundamentally different roles of men and women within society.

    • One Anonymous Knucklehead 5.1
      14 July 2013 at 8:18 am

      Fuck off, Taliban apologist.

      • UglyTruth 5.1.1
        14 July 2013 at 8:29 am

        The Taliban arose in part from the actions of the Anglo-American empire, the same empire supported by NZ taxpayers. Eat shit and die, fuckwit.

        • One Anonymous Knucklehead 5.1.1.1
          14 July 2013 at 9:04 am

          You were blithering about the UN, you misogynist piece of shit. Whoosh! Watch those goalposts go!

          • UglyTruth 5.1.1.1.1
            14 July 2013 at 9:40 am

            Pretending that I moved the goalposts by responding to your accusation eh? Have another helping, cretin.

            1. I was responding to the the issue of the Taliban, the issue that you brought up.
            2. Recognizing that the differences between men and women are more than physical does not not make someone a misogynist.

            • One Anonymous Knucklehead 5.1.1.1.1.1
              14 July 2013 at 9:53 am

              “Recognising” that the UN promotes the abuse of women? Have a Tui, ignoramus.

              • UglyTruth …
                14 July 2013 at 10:04 am

                Yap yap yap. Please meet One Anonymous Knuckledragger, the forum’s very own attack poodle.

                [This is a post celebrating the bravery of a young woman standing up for the rights of other young women to receive an education. How about you address the post. I am wondering if you are just trying to disrupt – MS]

                • UglyTruth …
                  14 July 2013 at 12:00 pm

                  MS, celebrating her bravery has more meaning if it results in the promotion of her cause. Education involving the UN will likely be an expensive lesson IMO.

      • muzza 5.1.2
        14 July 2013 at 8:35 am

        Bit aggressive for the morning, Bloke!

        UT is correct, the UN is not going to provide the remedy, and abuses as a subversive control mechanism, one of the many tools in the filthy box!

        Take a breath, calm down, and get a cuppa.

        EDIT: UT – Don’t get dragged into it, OAK is not interested in how or why, only that the illusion of equality is in play!

        • UglyTruth 5.1.2.1
          14 July 2013 at 8:53 am

          Hi Muzza, you may find this to be of interest:

          http://the-tap.blogspot.co.nz/2013/07/believe-government-version-of-events.html

          Recent studies by psychologists and social scientists in the US and UK suggest that contrary to mainstream media stereotypes, those labeled “conspiracy theorists” appear to be saner than those who accept the official versions of contested events.

          • One Anonymous Knucklehead 5.1.2.1.1
            14 July 2013 at 9:05 am

            Self-diagnosis is your only hope.

          • muzza 5.1.2.1.2
            14 July 2013 at 9:21 am

            Unfortunately the world has been ruled by lies and deceit, nothing has changed.

            While it’s almost impossible to accurately understand many of the events throughout history, or arrive at a position of certainty, what is sure, is in the age of technological/scientific advancement, the lies, cover ups and deception, have had to amplify significantly, to keep the populace under control.

            It should be very obvious, to even the most ardent denier, that many of so call, conspiracy theories. are likely to be nearer the mark, than the the tales told by the media propaganda wings, of the global mafia cartels!

            Believe in Snowden, or not, its highlighted, in a major way, the weight of the machine, we all have to live under, and the bigger the machine becomes, the bigger the deception to support it!

            Which is why getting out, is a priority!

            • Te Reo Putake 5.1.2.1.2.1
              14 July 2013 at 10:16 am

              The important thing, is to put commas randomly, in comments! And overuse! exclamation points, whether, they are, neeeded! or not! Even better, if, you throw in concepts, like, mafia and global control! That way moronic, comments, will seem as if, they have some meaning!

              • UglyTruth …
                14 July 2013 at 10:37 am

                Oh my, a, punctuation troll !
                Someone call the, forum police !!

                • muzza …
                  14 July 2013 at 5:44 pm

                  Indeed, that is about all TRP has to offer!

                  With the NSA details, partially coming into the light, he is no doubt, very concerned about the fact those he see’s as , beneath him, may actually know a thing or two, and other topics, TRP so derides, could very well be the stuff of reality, also!

                  As such, all there is, is to pick apart things which, don’t matter a jot, not a bean. which actually raises TRP’s angst levels even further, as TRP puts such high value on, grammar, and comma placement, the pain it brings, knowing that its irrelevant, will hit hard!

                  Really serves to illustrate, just how low his self esteem, actually is!

                  Oh, and Voice, for the record, this , Malala situation, has got psy-op, written all over it!

                  • Te Reo Putake …
                    14 July 2013 at 6:33 pm

                    Ha, cheers, for backing, me, up!!

                    The point is that the overuse of punctuation is to disguise the vacuity of the comments.

      • locus 5.1.3
        14 July 2013 at 9:26 am

        One Anonymous Knucklehead – you managed to sum up in four words what the majority of decent human beings reading this blog will be thinking after reading the poisonous comment made by UT.

        – there are two ways of taking such foul statements. Either complete disbelief that any educated, mentally balanced person could actually mean what they wrote. Or, that this person did mean what they wrote, and so deserves either pity – for their lack of mental balance, or if not mentally damaged then our utter contempt, anger and opposition.

        UT says that promoting ‘gender equivalence’ is what’s causing the abuse of women, and that the “solution involves understanding the fundamentally different roles of men and women within society”

        In my view, UT’s kind of thinking and attitude tacitly supports the men who think that girls and women should not be educated, should know their place, and should do as they’re told.

        It also as you rightly commented OAK, provides tacit support for the Taleban’s views towards women, and also misogeny, discrimination and violence against women, rape culture……the list goes on.

        • Molly 5.1.3.1
          14 July 2013 at 9:39 am

          While not agreeing with UT on “progressive doctrine of gender equivalence promoted by the UN” since I don’t really understand what he is talking about, the UN is not entirely a match of practice with intent.

          I know that UN peacekeeping forces in countries have been associated with an increase in sexual abuse of locals (particularly women), and I must admit this incongruity came to mind when watching Malala’s superb speech.

          Unfortunately, at present I can’t think of an institution that deserves her, so the UN platform might be the best of what’s on offer.

          • locus 5.1.3.1.1
            14 July 2013 at 10:23 am

            Molly i think you may have missed UT’s point. He probably supports the right of men to do what they like, and would argue it is the promotion by the UN of gender equality that has encouraged the abuse.

            • Molly 5.1.3.1.1.1
              14 July 2013 at 10:40 am

              As mentioned, I couldn’t actually fathom his point…. so stayed away from that discussion

              Just relating a personal reaction to the use of the UN platform, given its detrimental impact on women and children in some of the countries it has “helped”.

              • UglyTruth …
                14 July 2013 at 11:41 am

                Molly, “progressive” is a name given to a political group similar to the liberals. The dark side of the progressive movement can be seen in Fabian socialism, which embodies the idea of incremental socialism. The socialist attack on the civil family focuses on the elimination of patria potesta in favour of the idea that children belong to the collective. This is done through via marriage by licence, which shifts power to the state, power which was lawfully held within the family by way of a de jure common law marriage (not de facto).

                http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13715/13715-h/13715-h.htm

                The new Basis proposed by the Special Committee declared that the Society sought to bring about “a reconstruction of the social organisation” by

                (a) promoting transfer of land and capital to the State,

                (b) “enforcing equal citizenship of men and women,

                (c) “substituting public for private authority in the education and support of the young.”

                • Molly …
                  14 July 2013 at 1:03 pm

                  UT, now that you have explained yourself fully – I am convinced that it has no relevance to the topic at hand.

                  I’m not of the belief that support of an idea equals support for a whole political idealogy. That smacks too much of religious dogma for me. Given that we all hold our own set of values, good ideas or solutions can come from a variety of sources. You seem to enjoy the sophistry of interminable detail.

                  It is disconcerting to limit discourse on the literal meaning of socialism and progressive, when the topic is one speech made at the UN.

                  The framing of your response would be best located in a post of it’s own, but it may be unlikely to attract serious commentators.

            • UglyTruth 5.1.3.1.1.2
              14 July 2013 at 10:56 am

              Men do not have the right to do what they like.
              What do you think my point was, locus?

        • UglyTruth 5.1.3.2
          14 July 2013 at 9:59 am

          Locus, human beings (as Cicero’s homo humanus) have an over-inflated sense of their own importance. This is due to their ignorance, a problem that which is also faced by Muslim society and one which Malala Yousafzei was attempting to address.

          Humans suffer from the marginalization of gender roles because of the gender equivalence of Etruscan society, which arguably was assimilated by Rome because they did not acknowledge the male role of protection of the family. For the human the state takes the role of protection, so the doctrine of gender equivalence is fundamentally tied to citizenship, i.e. the reliance on the state for protection. Also it is from the Etruscans that we have the word “person”. The Etruscans had a different word for a free man.

  6. Sable 6
    14 July 2013 at 2:38 pm

    Nice story but not sure the sleepy, toothless old UN stands for anything. I doubt they will make any meaningful contribution to this girl or her societies attitudes to education. Too busy vetoing one another and paying old Helen a tax free income.

  7. travellerev 7
    15 July 2013 at 3:43 pm

    I love a good uplifting story about a victim surviving an atrocious attack and living to tell the tale and speak up for other victims as anybody.

    I remember the picture of the naked Vietnamese girl burning with Napalm running down the road after her village was bombed. If there was any moment the US lost the war against the Vietnamese that was surely it. That was the moment they lost whatever moral high ground they were holding. I mean burning innocent little girls with napalm FFS!!!!

    Thing is I have a problem with the Malala story and here is why: This young woman who writes the most impressive speeches and sound bytes and captivates the global anti-Taliban spirit like no other seems to have come through the ordeal of having been shot in the brain from the top of her head down to the neck with one high velocity bullet at point blank range so very, very unscathed.

    I mean that is a lot of brain damage, right?

    Senator Gabrielle Gifford an American Senator suffered a similar head wound and she had to retire from public life in order to concentrate on recovering and when you watch her and listen to her you can see and hear she really has problems with the aftermath of a bullet traveling from the top to the bottom of her head.

    Not so with Malala. She shines and seems to have survived this heinous wound with ease and it has left her eloquent and an ideal spokes woman for all of us women who believe that women should have equal education and who are appalled that this should not be so in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

    But then we were also appalled with the fact that premature babies where <a href="chucked out of their incubators by Iragi soldiers as told to us by a Kuweity nurse in the first gulf war and that Soldier Lynch had to be liberated by heroic American soldiers from nasty Iraqis and that babies are once again being killed by the Syrian government and that young women are shot by the Iranian police when they are peacefully demonstrating for “democracy”.

    Never mind that all of those stories later turned out to be total fabrications and propaganda stunts.

    But I’m sure Malala is the exception to the rule and that her recovery is a miracle of modern science and that she is a true heroic survivor of Taliban brutality and that me mentioning these issues here is just a sign of me being a Taliban apologist.

    • Te Reo Putake 7.1
      15 July 2013 at 5:12 pm

      … just a sign of me being a Taliban apologist….

      No, more a sign of you being woefully short in the empathy department, Ev. They have google now, you could have looked her story up before maligning her. Malala was just very, very lucky. First surviving the initial attack, then getting appropriate triage domestically before being swiftly medivac’d to England for specialist care. But, fuck her story, y’know, it’s all about you.

      • travellerev 7.1.1
        16 July 2013 at 3:29 am

        Any idea what kind of wound a high powered gun shot at close range causes? Ask Gabrielle Gifford. Oh, that’s right, she can barely speak after they had to remove skull splinters from her brain and remove part of her skull to relieve the pressure on her swelling brain.

        Brains don’t repair themselves TRP, It takes years of recovery to ADAPT after the brain has been subjected to the kind of trauma Malala’s allegedly was subjected too. You should try some of the links I gave before you accuse me of not doing my research.

        Oh, and the empathy angle? Go fuck yourself. I safe mine for the real victims of the US imperial criminal wars. The thousands of innocent drone victims for example. The empire can keep their propaganda props.

        • One Anonymous Knucklehead 7.1.1.1
          16 July 2013 at 7:31 am

          She will be no imperialist poodle, you daft goose.

          You think she’s going to have no opinion on the daily murder of Muslims? Or platform to discuss it?

          Get a grip.

          Edit: I just followed one of your links, and saw the “quality” of your “evidence”. Never mind, carry on, everything you’ve ever heard is true.

          • travellerev 7.1.1.1.1
            16 July 2013 at 9:31 am

            Hahahahaha, Nope she will sell her dads charter schools allover the place like the obedient good girl she is. And with regards to my “evidence”, smearing it without actually addressing the issues raised is so Shill. but I’m sure whatever the media are telling you is true so carry on yourself why don’t you.

            • Te Reo Putake 7.1.1.1.1.1
              16 July 2013 at 10:06 am

              You didn’t put up any evidence, you just made some crap up about a Taliban victim and expected readers to accept it based on nothing but the credibility of the voices in your head. You should be ashamed.

              • travellerev …
                18 July 2013 at 3:55 am

                Um, I’m sure the people who do go to the links provided will have some interesting reading at hand which is again thoroughly linked through to other sites and more information.

                I’m sure there are plenty of real victims of real violence in Afghanistan and Pakistan and some of them may be victims of people who think that Islam should rule supreme and who think that women should not be educated.

                I think Malala is not one of them.

                I also think that there are many, many more victims of violence from Western military attacks on Afghan and Pakistan villages and towns and most of those are innocent people who just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

                Here is what a drone operator has to say about the 1600 or so people he killed with his remote control killing machine.

                Shame? Neh. Anger, yes a lot of anger and grief for the victims of these psychopaths. That I have and your cheap shots about shame won’t shut me up. In fact shame on you for even trying.

            • One Anonymous Knucklehead 7.1.1.1.1.2
              16 July 2013 at 11:59 am

              Smell the fragrant truthiness.

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