A few weeks ago, when #Malaladay
and #Malala were doing rounds on Internet, hashtag #Malaladrama was trending in
the Twitter feed of the teenage heroine’s home country, Pakistan. As the name
suggests, social media updates from Pakistan, denounced Malala's struggles in the
coldest way_by declaring her a fraud. While rest of the world was busy
applauding the Malala cause-education for all-with moist eyes,
EDUCATED Pakistani youth were busy creating a momentous backlash against
Malala on their smart phones. This backlash didn't go unnoticed in the wider
world as major news outlets, including Toronto Star, soon picked it up, as
Hamida Ghafour writes, "On social media the 16-year-old, who last
week made a passionate plea to world leaders at the UN to fund universal
primary education, has been described as a western stooge, a CIA spy and even a
prostitute." Bear with me but, to me, this backlash was not really
surprising.
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Malala Yousafzai addresses UN on Malala day. |
According to the Pakistani youth, Western media and politicians have hijacked the Malala cause, which they(the youth) so rigorously supported, yet were conveniently ignored and were never given credit for. They think that UN, which religiously practices gender inequality in its own ranks; and people like Gordon Brown, are just plain hypocrites who have cherry picked Malala Yousafzai to sustain their own Western saviour complex.
So which side are you on? Did you know about the hashtag #Malaladrama? Is Pakistani youth right in denouncing Malala, to vent out their own frustrations? Has the west really hijacked Malala cause? Do you want me to write more about this issue? Leave your valuable comments, suggestions and opinions below.
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