By Shad Begum[1]
The women empowerment movement in Pakistan must be proud as
some of the world’s most prestigious awards: Oscar, Ammy, Nobel, Right
Livelihood Award, Democracy Award and including my own international women of
courage award are grabbed by Pakistani women recently. Amidst the troublesome
noise of terrorist incidents, Pakistan has genuine reasons to keep its head
high in the comity of nations for the spectacular achievements of her women.
Asma Jehangir has been jointly selected with other four human
rights defenders for the Swedish 2014 Right Livelihood Award, also known as
‘alternate Nobel Prize’. Asma is a
beacon of light for human rights activists and defenders through Pakistan and
beyond. She has been honored for “defending, protecting, and promoting human
rights in Pakistan and more widely, often in a very difficult and complex
situations and at great personal risk.” The Stockhom-based Livelihood Award
Foundation annually awards human rights defenders from around the world “to
honour and support those offering practical and exemplary answers the most
urgent challenges facing us today.” The Award will be formally handed over to
the recipients in the Swedish parliament on December 1, 2014. Congratulations
Asma Jehangir ! You really deserved this award, even more honours, for the
outstanding contributions to the human rights movement in Pakistan.
Malala Yousafzai has captured the imagination of a large
population of the planet by her innocent down-to-earth statements and
single-minded struggle to promote the rights of children to education even at a
very personal cost. Religious extremists, in their naivety, thought they can
silence a voice and strike terror in the hearts of others through a bullet but it
shook the conscience of the world when Malala was shot by a few misguided youth
in Swat. The people of Swat, indeed of entire Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pakistan,
are jubilant to see their dearest Malala getting on the international scene
once again for a coveted prize. She becomes the second Pakistani after Dr.
Abdus Salam to bring laurels to Pakistan – that too becoming the first-ever
teenager to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
Malala has become a symbol of children’s rights, especially of
their right to education, around the world. She represents the most
marginalized, unheard, and under-developed children of the third world
countries. She is a ray of hope for an entire generation of young people in
Pakistan and beyond.
The joint Nobel Peace Award by an Indian and Pakistani is an
added significance for the people of the nuclear-armed Pakistan and India, and
especially the two governments to pay special attention to peace efforts in the
face of un-resolved conflicts. We hope that
Nobel Peace Award for Malala and Kailash will strengthen the voices for peace
in the South Asian region, which is faced by daunting challenges in terms of
extreme poverty, under-nourishment, and over-population that threaten the
stability of the region and the entire world.
It is rather unfortunate that Malala, a proud Pakistani girl,
that brought many honours to Pakistan is made target by certain narrow-minded
bigots in Pakistan as if every Pakistani citizen has to get an a certificate of
patriotism and loyalty from a certain group of people who see conspiracy behind
the promotion of Malala and her recognition at the international scene. We
believe that despite these odd voices, the majority of Pakistanis feel proud of
her daughter Malala and stand behind her to counter every effort that
undermines the struggle of Malala Yousafzai. Long live Malala. Our heads stand
high because of your struggle. Keep it up our heroine.
[1] Shad Begum is a human rights
activist from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan and a recipient of international
women of courage awards.
