“Young love! If you do not fall in the battle of Maiwand, By God, someone is saving you as a symbol of shame!” thundered Malalai of Maiwand of Pakistan who reminisces us of Rani Laxmi of Jhansi. Malalai is a national folk hero of Afghanistan who rallied the Pashtun army against the British troops at the 1880 Battle of Maiwand. “If the new generation is not given pens, they will be given guns by the terrorists… If ever I face the Taliban chief, I will tell him that what they are doing is wrong even if that costs me my life.

Education is every girl’s right,” asserted 15 year old Malala Yousufzai of Swat Valley. Two Malalas - separated by 130 years, almost of same age - share this strikingly similar attitude – to look in the face of the adversary for upholding their right to freedom.

The 21st century Malala, named after the Afghan braveheart of 19th century, was shot at and seriously injured by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on 9th October in Mingora town. Malala was returning from school when the terrorists opened fire at the vehicle in which she was travelling. The young Yousufzai had been under the shell of threatening calls from the Taliban for speaking out against terrorism and advocating education for girls.

Adversity tests the character of humans just as fire tests the genuinity of the gold. A mindboggling, heart-rending, soul - stirring,  one-chilling, Goosebumps-creating intrepidity has made Malala an international icon that she is today. It all began in 2007 when the Taliban entered Swat valley.

Swat valley – ‘the Switzerland of Pakistan’ and a honeymoon destination - dotted with high snowy mountains, green meadows  and clear lakes was popular among tourists for its scenic beauty and tranquil environs. Swat was a well known haven for Buddhism and later Hinduism before the conquest of it by the Muhammad of Ghazni in 1063. The region later became predominantly Muslim due to missionary Sufi saints whose dargahs dot the landscape of Swat.
Yusufzais are the dominant tribe of the Valley. The capital of Swat is Saidu Sharif, but the main town in the Swat valley is Mingora. Malala’s family hails from this town.

The image of Swat as an attractive, peaceful region got the dent with the advent of Taliban domination over the region. Taliban militants led by Mullah Fazlullah seized Swat in 2007. The Taliban imposed their version of Sharia law in the valley that included preventing women’s education, death penalty for barbers, music shop owners and thieves along with an anti Poliovaccination campaign. The see-saw battle between the Pakistan Army and the extremists left the Swat valley and its people in complete turmoil with millions fleeing the region.

It was at this time BBC Urdu approached Ziauddin Yousafzai - an educationist and social activist - asking him to make one of his students write for the portal. It wanted to capture the impact the conflict was having on the pupils involved - their thoughts about their future, and how they were dealing with their day-to-day life. None dared to come forward and in cases where students willed their parents prevented them. Ziauddin who runs the Khushal Public School asked Malala – his 11 year old daughter – to write for BBC. And thus the rest of the world came to know about the travails of Swat through the pen of Malala under the pseudonym Gul Makai.

The diary gave an account of strife ridden Swat through the eyes of Malala. More than that, it revealed the passion and will of the girl for education. Her sensitive yet observant remarks expose how much the little children dreaded the Taliban but continued to pursue their dreams.

“I had a terrible dream yesterday with military helicopters and the Taleban. I have had such dreams since the launch of the military operation in Swat. My mother made me breakfast and I went off to school. I was afraid going to school because the Taleban had issued an edict banning all girls from attending schools,” writes Malala on 3rd January 2009. She continues saying, “…on my way from school to home I heard a man saying ‘I will kill you’. I hastened my pace and after a while I looked back if the man was still coming behind me. But to my utter relief he was talking on his mobile and must have been threatening someone else over the phone.”

The next day she writes, “…before the launch of the military operation we all used to go to Marghazar, Fiza Ghat and Kanju for picnics on Sundays. But now the situation is such that we have not been out on picnic for over a year and a half.

We also used to go for a walk after dinner but now we return home before sunset... my heart was beating fast - as I have to go to school tomorrow.” Taliban banned education for girls after the fourth  standard. So Malala and her like used to go school wearing civil clothes as uniform may invite suspicion from the terrorists. So they used to wear ‘colourful’ dresses. But Taliban had objection to girls wearing colourful dresses too! It was cynical labyrinth that the Swat girls were trapped in! “…In the evening I switched on the TV and heard that curfew had been lifted from Shakardra after 15 days. I was happy to hear that because our English teacher lived in the area and she might be coming to school now,” writes Malala.

Malala’s longing for peace in Swat and Pakistan is evident and quite uncharacteristic for an 11 year old girl. She says, “...we discussed the rumours about the death of Maulana Shah Dauran, who used to give speeches on FM radio. He was the one who announced the ban on girls attending school... I switched on the TV in the evening and heard about the blasts in Lahore. I said to myself ‘why do these blasts keep happening in Pakistan?’”

In a moving account of 14th January, 2009 Malala writes, “…The principal announced the vacations but did not mention the date the school was to reopen. This was the first time this has happened… my guess was that the Taleban had announced a ban on girls’ education from 15 January.

This time round, the girls were not too excited about winter vacations because they knew if the Taleban implemented their edict they would not be able to come to school again… Since today was the last day of our school, we decided to play a bit longer. I am of the view that the school will one day reopen but while leaving I looked at the building as if I would not come here again.”

On the 15th of January, the last day before the Taliban edict comes into force, Malala wrote, “...my father said that some days ago someone brought the printout of this diary [BBC portal] saying how wonderful it was. My father said that he smiled but could not even say that it was written by his daughter.”

She was only 11 then but her heart-rending accounts caught international attention and she was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize by the Amsterdam-based group KidsRights in 2011. Though she did not win the Prize eventually, the diary made her appear on world media.

In 2009, Adam B. Ellick profiled Malala Yousafzai in the documentary titled ‘Class Dismissed’. In the very beginning of the 32 minute documentary Malala says, “I want to get my education and become a doctor.” She stops abruptly and weeps inconsolably. That expression was a result of a myriad of emotions invoked in her - fear,  helplessness, uncertainty, dreams and hope. It was the testament to the pitiable condition that the Swat people were thrown in.

Malala beams remarkable composure a few years later. Her career goal too changed along with emotional balance. The maturity, clarity, humility and propriety are all evident in her charming face. She now wants to become a politician! And why? She wants to ensure women like her to become Doctors without the pain and anxiety she had been undergoing.

And at what level? At the highest level. “I will change the policies of Pakistan. We want to make friendship with India and solve the problems between us. After all, good leaders are the need of every country; I want to be a good leader in future.”

Did she ever fear Taliban’s backlash? “I had the support of my father and mother, so I did not fear. Moreover, I had never let fear overtake my ambition to pursue education. I suppressed the fear.” But the evil forces had other ideas. They wanted to nip this open defiance in the bud. They wanted to crush the dreams of girls to have education, to be free and independent. So, on 9th October, 2012, masked Taliban gunmen fired indiscriminately at the bus she was travelling in when the fellow students refused to identify Malala even when they were threatened with guns at point blank. In the process two other students also got injured. However, the teenager escaped certain death by a matter of centimetres with the bullet grazing the edge of her brain.

The bullet had hit her left brow, but instead of penetrating her skull it travelled beneath the skin down the left side of her head. This heinous act of terrorists spurred indignation in the people of Pakistan. Many peace rallies were held in support of Malala. Girl students came out in large numbers, often without veils to express solidarity and to wish her speedy recovery. They carried ‘I am Malala’ placards and banners with the slogans ‘how many Malalas will you kill?’

On 15th October, Malala was shifted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, UK for a ‘prolonged care.’ The Queen Elizabeth hospital is home to the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, the primary receiving unit for military casualties returned from overseas. The Hospital informed on 2nd November that Malala Yousafzai was making good progress and remains in a stable condition. Her father expressed hope that she would recover quicker and continue her fight against the wrongdoers.

She herself at the age of 13 or so said, “It is important that we say no to wrong. We must have the courage and confidence to raise our voice when things go wrong.” Given the tenacity this girl possesses, one can be rest assured that the fight for the girls’ right to education will reach its logical conclusion. Let’s all pray God to bless this braveheart with good health and long life!