Is Malala Yousafzai Caught in a Web Like Many Young Women Activists?

 I have not heard much about Pakistani activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai since she graduated from Oxford University in 2020. At 24, she got married in 2021 to a Pakistani man. She announcedthe news on Twitter, sharing photos of the Islamic marriage ceremony known as the nikkah. One would have thought, now, at 27, Malala would be at the forefront to give a lead to the possible ongoing fights that women with limited to no education in Mingora, Swat Valley (where she comes from) are not able to fight. Were not the girls waiting for Oxford educated Malala’s grand return to her native village to change their fate somehow? Was she not supposed to show the way to the Pashto speaking younger generation of girls about how to fight effectively for their right for education, and to have a firm standing in the society as strong young women? In the last ten years, since Malala’s leaving, how much change had taken place in Mingora?           

   Malala knows an uneducated woman is easy to control. It takes superhuman effort to go against cultural conditioning. They have to stand alone until these changes, and if the culture harms you while attempting to do it, you do it anyway. For that to materialize a community needs a vanguard who fights for change. Let me rewind to 2012…Malala Yusafzai got shot by a Pakistani Taliban militant in the head inside her school bus when she was returning home after an exam. It was not only to stop her from getting an education, but also a retaliation against her father Ziauddin Yousafzai (a primary school teacher and an activist for girl’s education) for running a girl’s school in Mingora.

   After her repatriation to the United Kingdom, gutsy 15-year-old Malala beat the odds and continued on with her education. Malala was able to get that Oxford degree because she was airlifted to the UK, she survived the brutal attack. She and her family were given political asylum in the UK, and the family settled in Birmingham (an immigrant enclave with South Asian people from diverse backgrounds.)

   In 2014, at age 17, Malala was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize alongside the Indian children’s rights activist Kailash Satyarthi who was 60 years old.

   I had read a while back that Malala Yusufzai set up a Foundation Malala Fund  in the fashion of Western billionaires such as Melinda French (Gates), and gave $20 million for schools to be built in the remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is not clear as to why Malala is following the footsteps of the Westerners.

   In the West, a privileged woman like Melinda Gates has to feel really bad about a situation to offer her philanthropic dollars. They have to be either moved by a person, or have to see people in a dire situation in impoverished places on the globe to allocate their millions through their foundations. They consider this as doing a good deed for a good cause because they see it falls under the category of “helping the humanity.” Melinda supposedly was once motivated by a woman in India, an outcast, because she had either Aids or was afflicted with leprosy. Reportedly, Melinda embraced her to break the stigma against this disease. From 1995 onwards, Gates has been going to different conferences to promote “human rights is women’s right.” She once went to an Indian remote village to meet with mothers who had lost one or more babies to childbirth.

    I brought up Melinda French Gates in the above paragraph to ask a necessary question as to what Malala is doing in that regard i.e. in helping the needy, and vulnerable? In her speeches Malala often used to say her idols are Barack Obama and Angelina Jolie (an odd pair to be mentoring anyone!). She also looks up to the legacy of Benazir Bhutto (Who had multiple corruption charges against her. Went to jail a few times, lived in exile, and came back to be the PM of Pakistan and finally to die in the hands of a suicide bomber). What does Malala, the campaigner for girl’s education see in them to make them her heroes? What does she really have in common with them? In a recent interview in London, Malala was boastful in saying howAngelina Jolie has been mentoring her for the last ten years. Why would an education for girl’s activist be looking for guidance from a Hollywood movie star?  In all fairness to Jolie — I can only think of her serving as the UN Goodwill Ambassador for about ten years. Later she acted as a Special Envoy for another ten years in support for the refugees.

   Did Malala not experience firsthand, how badly girls and women are treated in underdeveloped regions in Pakistan for demanding their basic rights like the right to a decent education? Did she not witness her mother Toor Pekai could not read or write until she was 50 years old (early on she told the New York Times in an interview)? While in Birmingham, Toor Pekai enrolled in English classes with other non-English speaking women.

     Since Malala Yousafzai is the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel, many in Pakistan and abroad from the get go have raised the question whether she was being used as a propaganda tool for the West. Others say it was a premature decision considering her age, and lack of experience about the ways of the world.

    For argument’s sake let’s say that a girl who suffered a gunshot in the head and came back alive deserves everything in life. Many will tend to disagree with me here.

   I think the Nobel award is symbolic; it isn’t exactly about Malala as a person, her accomplishments, or for her service to humanity. Over the years, I have seen the Nobel Committee pass on the most deserving nominee for someone whose work is not known to the rest of the world. (US president Barack Obama was given the Nobel Peace Prize within months after assuming office is a ludicrous example. What did he really do so early on in his presidency or post presidency to have won the prestigious Nobel)? Such recognition should be bequeathed upon someone who has worked most of his/her life in making a difference and by setting an example for the rest of the world as a visionary for change. Unless one plays a positive role in changing the lives of millions of people, why would that person be worthy of such a significant prize?

    While deciding on the prize to give Malala, was the committee aware of another brave 8-year-old girl named Nabeela Rehman in North Waziristan, Pakistan? To refresh your memory – Nabeela’s family home was targeted with a predator Drone attack during the Obama presidency under suspicion that they had a link to Taliban, and therefore, considered a “potential threat” (which turned out to be false). On that fateful day, Nabeela along with her siblings and Grandmother Momina Bibi were preparing for the celebration of the upcoming Eid. In the attack, 7 children in the house were injured, and Momina Bibi died on the spot. A year later, 9 –year-old Nabeela traveled to Washington DC with her father to testify in front of a joint session of Congress to tell them to stop drone attacks in Pakistan, and to let them know her family’s story. Out of 430 Congressional Members, only 5 showed up to the hearing. Well, Nabeela was not the “poster girl” – Nabeela was not Malala. So one should not be surprised that people are skeptical about Malala winning the Nobel.

      I think Malala Yousafzai surviving the brutal attack is the win and the prize means more than a lifetime of peace work. The symbolic weight does more for the public because symbols matter too.

  Many have openly expressed their anger about giving the Nobel to Malala. Was it the Western world’s twisted plan to use her as their publicity by manipulating her traumatic experience? They had grabbed the opportunity as soon as she was on her way to the UK in an air ambulance. Through Malala, a “poster girl” of indomitable spirit, the West and its various political groups were able to weave a narrative of victimization of women in Pakistan. Naturally, the Brits came to her rescue to “save her.” They used Malala further to fulfill their agenda by showing Islam and its practices in a bad light.

   There is no denying that in conservative and patriarchal Pakistani society women are subjected to discrimination, and their basic rights to safeguard their health and education is not doled out to them without asking. If they are in a position then they fight for their rights, and in a lot of instances they are simply silenced by the male members in their families, schools, and neighborhoods. They are forced to bow down to male dominance. Malala was shown as a potential victim had she stayed in Pakistan (though her father wanted her to go to school to get an education). But the Western world ignored that fact and seized the opportunity to “save” her. Save they did, by making it possible for her to go to Oxford. Needless to say, that it worked to their advantage as they can now parade Malala around as a champion of education. The main point is or was — Malala Yousafzai has been exploited all along by the Westerners in fulfilling their agenda in Pakistan and Afghanistan in regard to the oppressed women under Taliban.

   I had read that Malala’s book “I am Malala” was heavily edited by its Western publisher to promote the West and embarrass the East and its values. Essentially, Malala’s story was sold to promote her as an “exceptional” girl. She was not portrayed as a girl who could be an ambassador to rural girls’ education in Pakistan, Afghanistan, or wherever in the world girls are fighting to get equal opportunity in getting an education.

      I had a vision in mind when Malala got out of college by completing the Philosophy, Politics and Economy degree (PPE, one of Oxford’s most prestigious degrees), that she will return to Swat Valley permanently. Instead, she got married, and now settled in London away from her parents and two brothers in Birmingham. She now graces the cover pages of entertainment magazines such as Variety (New York based) wearing a trendy outfit with designer cowgirl boots while her purple dupatta flies in the air. She frequently flies to the US to deliver speeches at the UN, and she has other projects there as well.  

   After some basic research on Malala’s recent activities, I was stunned to learn that Yousafzai has for the past three years broken into Hollywood. A Pashtun woman breaking into Hollywood would be unthinkable had she stayed in Swat Valley of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. She has been mingling and collaborating with Hollywood’s A-listers, celebrities, and shooting documentaries with the likes of Academy Award winner Jennifer Lawrence.

   According to UK based Sky News, Malala has been pretty busy “reinventing” herself with her Hollywood debut by producing a feature film titled The Last of the Sea Women. She has founded her production house called the Extracurricular in collaboration with Apple TV because she feels Muslim women are “underrepresented” in Hollywood. The film is about a bunch of daredevil grandmothers in South Korea who dive at the bottom of the ocean. They are considered real life mermaids. Education activist Malala Yousafzai now is interested in telling her stories to the world through her films about the “incredible” women. Next idea is to produce a film about her attempted assassination.

      Why would Malala Yousafzai opt for a low-key cushy Hollywood celebrity career as a film producer? I can somewhat understand when Jennifer Lawrence shares in an interview that she was inspired to produce a film on the Afghan women because she had no idea as to how much they are suffering! Just from watching ONE film she came to that realization. What is Malala’s rationale? Back in the day wasn’t she one of these “oppressed” women in Pakistan?

   Malala since her Hollywood debut has been calling herself “an activist and a storyteller,” as she does not believe activism should be done only through NGOs only. In the near future, Malala has plans to make inspiring films to motivate others to rise and do something meaningful to “bring voices of women of color,” into focus who are stripped of their civil liberties.

   Malala has also been hard at work producing a couple of films about women in Afghanistan. What a noble thing to do! As if these women under Taliban Watch have access to modern amenities such as satellite TV, Netflix, or Apple TV to watch and be influenced by Hollywood celebrity filmmakers. Without such films being made as if they are not aware that they are considered “oppressed.” Their everyday survival in Taliban ruled Afghanistan is a stark reminder of that.     

   Western women tend to underestimate the Eastern women about their intellect, and self-worth. They always want to educate them about their rights, or how badly they are being treated in society, or by men. Little do they know that educated Eastern women think of them as gullible Westerners. It is rather sad that Malala seems to be suffering from an identity crisis like Priyanka Chopra. I never took Malala Yousafzai as the type or a wannabe like Priyanka Chopra. Chopra does not want to be full Indian or all American. How are we to rate Yousafzai?

   In 2024, Malala Yousafzai and Jennifer Lawrence joined hands to co- produce a film Bread and Roses about how Afghan women are fighting back since the Taliban took control and put heavy restrictions on them. The film has been streaming on Apple TV since September. Jennifer was compelled to start this project with Malala as co-producer. Afghan filmmaker Sahra Mani went to collect footage from inside Afghanistan since Taliban took control.

   The documentary recorded how Afghan Taliban since coming to power again in 2021 seriously restricts women’s rights by imposing Sharia law. “Jennifer’s role is Important because we need to share solidarity with Afghan women, globally. And it’s a message that women all around the world are standing united with Afghan women and girls in their fight against the Taliban’s oppression,” Yousafzai tells PEOPLE of the “Need for high-profile Americans to participate in spreading awareness.”

    Malala also has hinted in interviews since getting coverage for her films that she might join politics one day. She has no immediate plans to join British politics. She is also not ruling out the idea of becoming a future Prime Minister. Does her inspiration come from Benazir Bhutto?

   Malala divides her time between London and California because of her movie projects. She is completely curving a different path for herself especially since she got married. Where do the school aged girls in Swat Valley fit into her schedule? Malala gets security detail when she travels, and as an internationally known figure, traveling to Pakistan should not be a major security concern. How many trips has she made in the recent years to go and see for herself whether schools are really being built with her donated money or not? Better yet, whether girls are allowed to go to school without fear of getting shot since she left Swat Valley? All these years she has lived in relative comfort in a nice house in Birmingham.  

   Tracing back to 2012 — it is commendable that Malala’s father wanted his daughter to be educated in a society where girls’ education was not a priority. It was a very noble step that he took by establishing a school where Malala could learn about science, math, social studies, English and so forth. It would have been nice to see in this journey Malala’s mother also had played a dominant role prior to her getting shot. But unfortunately, Malala’s mother was illiterate.

   It baffles me as to why Malala’s father did not encourage his wife to learn to read and write when they were living in Swat Valley. Was the English lessons taken by Toor Pekai out of embarrassment that in the English speaking world one of Malala’s parents (mother) must not be marked as “illiterate,” especially when her daughter is an advocate for girls’ education? In Wikipedia, they do not have Malala’s mother’s name listed, only her father and husband’s designations are.

   Isn’t the West using Malala to show the “civilized” world about how “uncouth” the remote areas of the subcontinent are in dealing with women? They rescued Malala from all the repression, ugliness, and child marriage etc. so that she can be a true champion for girls’ education. When the Nobel Committee had decided to award Malala with the prize did they even consider what a big responsibility they are putting on her shoulder to live up to the fulfillment of her duties? Was it the right decision to put such a burden on her so early in her life? At such a young age, did she even understand the implication, and the weight such an award carries? Malala getting the Nobel does not necessarily help a girl in remote Swat Valley in Pakistan to ensure a decent education.

   There are times when I think the West is simply using Malala as a prop to show how uneducated the rest of the world’s young girls and women are in countries with conservative ideas. Watching Malala’s Hollywood films, and documentaries how are they going to change their lives? The oppressed girls, and women in many countries know that they are “oppressed.” What lessons are they going to learn from these films except feeling more dismayed than ever?  

   Yes, life in remote Pakistan for Pashtuns is not a bed of roses but Malala has the name recognition, and the platforms available to her to do really constructive things to lift out her fellow Pashtun sisters out of the grasp of patriarchy. Women there still are subjected to abuse, neglect, and remain illiterate.

      Is Malala Yusuzai caught in a web like many young women activists under the umbrella of Western civilization? Perhaps that is why she still does not know what her defined role should be as an activist for the disadvantaged women. Her frequent trips to the UN to deliver speeches every time she gets invited serves whose interests? Do these deprived women even know who Malala is, or whether she is fighting for them at all? Why isn’t Malala personally spearheading this fight in showing the way?

   To raise more money to add to her foundation, Malala could build a media platform, and that could be effective too in reaching millions. Afghan women need resources and financial independence, and a new government. They do not have the luxury to sit around and watch Western films, and documentaries about their lives. When Malala is older, I hope she sees the glaring reality on the ground, including the man-woman divide, and helps to change things for the better. Only time will tell if she will make her own unique identity, and find her voice to lead others. That is very important for establishing her self-identity.

Zeenat Khan writes from Maryland, USA