Joan d'Arc of Our Decade

Words cannot describe the horror of what happened to Malala Yousufzaii, and as a female living in the US being handed my education, it's given me a lot to think about...

Last night, however, as I was reading different articles about the event, I noticed two things:

1. The power of the phrase "Daughter of the Nation"
2. Westernized word choice

The first article that I stumbled upon, described the new name that was created for Malala, "Daughter of the Nation." Despite the brutal context of the event, I think there's some romantic aspect to the name. From spurring demonstrations by the tens of thousands to becoming the rallying cry for the heroine, the use of this phrase has done something for Pakistan that hasn't been achieved in a long time. Unity.

Now, knowing a little a bit about Pakistan might help to see just the extent of the unifying power of this rallying cry. For the longest time, Pakistan has been a country torn among different religious groups all under the larger umbrella of Islam.

Different religious groups in Pakistan

 
And even up until Malala, protests against violence against women striving for an education have been small and negligible. Yet, both this phrase and Malala have brought together Pakistanis of all different stripes.

"So what is it about the phrase that could make it so powerful?" I asked myself.


I saw that in the phrase, "Daughter of the Nation," the use of the word nation implies a representation of Pakistan as a whole. Rather than, for example, "Daughter of not Taliban or Freedom or Education," which would alienate Malala from the people. Instead, this phrase gives the Pakistanis an idea that they can identify themselves with. At the same time, it's also an identity that they're sharing with the world, albeit a different one. For a while, other countries have viewed Pakistan solely through a religious lens or even as "the place where the Taliban are located," but this time Pakistanis are rallying behind someone who represents the larger idea of rights as a human being, which is something almost everyone can agree with.

At the same time, I've been wondering, is this phrase appealing to other countries because it can be seen as very westernized word choice?

Speaking of westernized word choice, did you know Malala was Christian? Yes. Nor did I. But a better question to ask might be, does it matter? And if it were added what would it bring/not bring to the conversation?

I'll give you a couple seconds to ponder that...
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Well?

I guess for myself, I saw this event larger than religion, which was precisely why I thought it transcended the discontinuity among religious ideologies. Yet, the second article I happened by took me by surprise. Unlike the title of the first article, which was "Pakistani teen shot by Taliban becomes 'daughter of the nation', the title of the second article was, "Christian girl hailed as 'daughter of nation' by senior Pakistani cleric."

Yes... both titles include the phrase "Daughter of the Nation," however, one describes the teen as Pakistani and the other as Christian. Although, both are exactly 9 letters, they imply and add very different ideas to the conversation. Associating Malala as Pakistani, reestablishes the intent of the phrase, using her as a mascot of representation of what the Pakistani people believe in, which is the idea that it's wrong to have bullets settle disputes. On the other hand, describing Malala as Christian, who comes from a country where Islam is the major religion, could be possibly detrimental and beneficial. For instance, by adding that she's Christian, it provides the opportunity for people to compare Islam and Christianity. Perhaps, even to the extent of saying Christianity is better than Islam because Malala was Christian, and look she was standing up for ideals championed by Western societies: education and rights, while the attackers are based on an extremist form of Islam. 

A less pessimistic take on that might be that defining Malala as Christian actually allows others to relate to the cause and to Malala. Since, some of us won't necessarily understand having to fight for our education or risking our life to simply have the chance to learn.     

But at the same time, comparing the two articles, is there really a significance in mentioning her religion? Wouldn't that create more of a separation between Islam and Christianity in the minds of readers?


My heart goes out to Malala and her family, and wish her a swift recovery~