Malala Yousafzai: Nobel Peace Prize winner says, Pakistan has changed but still much work to do
New Delhi, Jan 9: Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai says Pakistan has changed since she left the country nearly six years ago after being attacked by the Taliban and there is more peace but lot of work is left to be done.
Malala travelled the world and visited refugee camps - first as an internally displaced person when she was a young child in Pakistan, and then as an international activist who could travel anywhere in the world, except to the home she loved.
She chose to use the memories of that time in her life to connect with 68.5 million refugees and displaced persons around the world.
And now she has come out with a book to see them, to help them, to share their stories .
In We are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World , 21-year-old Malala not only explores her own story of adjusting to a new life while longing for home, but also shares the personal stories of some of the girls she has met on her various journeys - girls who have lost their community, relatives and often the only world they've ever known.
Malala was just 15 years old when she was shot by the Taliban on October 9, 2012 for speaking up for girls' education and peace.
Badly wounded, she was moved within Pakistan and then a week later, flown to Birmingham in the UK while still in an induced coma.
On March 31, 2018, she came back to Pakistan - to her home in the Swat Valley - for the first time after the attack.
Pakistan has changed since I left. Population growth has led to congestion in some areas. There are many more houses and people in Swat than there were in 2012. But there is also more peace, she writes in the book, published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson/Hachette India.
She says she stood on the side of a hill and looked across at the mountains where the Taliban once headquartered their forces in her area. Now there are only trees and green fields.
But Malala, who won the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Kailash Satyarthi "for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education", feels there is much work to do in her country.
Although I don't live there, it is still my country. It is never far from my thoughts or actions. My dream is to see all Pakistani children have access to 12 years of free, safe and quality education and working to build a great future for our country, she says.
In the book, Malala introduces some of the stories of displaced girls.
After her father was murdered in the civil conflict in Columbia, Maria had to escape in the middle of the night with her four siblings and her mother who did not dare tell them she feared they would be next.
Zaynab was out of school for two years as she fled war in Yemen before finally landing in the US. Her sister, Sabreen, survived a harrowing journey from Egypt to Italy.
Marie Claire was nine when her family escaped the violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They fled to Zambia but quickly discovered that the people there did not want them.
Malala is the co-founder of Malala Fund which is working for a world where all girls can learn and lead. Malala Fund advocates for resources and policy change needed to give all girls a secondary education, invests in developing country educators and activists and amplifies the voices of girls fighting for change.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
UDF leaders see local body poll trends as pointer to 2026 Assembly elections in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Buoyed by the strong performance of the Congress-led UDF in the local body polls, KPCC president Sunny Joseph said on Saturday that the front's results indicated the people had rejected the LDF government.
According to early trends, the UDF was leading in more grama panchayats, block panchayats, municipalities and corporations than the LDF.
The local body polls were held in two phases in the state earlier this week.
ALSO READ: Cong candidate who moved Kerala HC for name reinstatement in voter list, wins
Speaking to reporters here, Joseph said the people of Kerala had extended their support to the UDF.
"We could expose the LDF government’s anti-people stance and the people understood it. The LDF’s fake propaganda was rejected by the people. The UDF is moving towards a historic victory," he said.
He said a united effort, proper preparations, good candidate selection and hard work had resulted in the Congress and the UDF’s victory in the elections.
Asked about the prospects in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Joseph said the party was studying the matter and would comment later.
LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan said the results would be closely examined.
According to him, the government had done everything possible for the people.
"Why such a verdict happened will be examined at the micro level. People’s opinion will be considered and further steps will be taken," he said.
He added that decisions would be taken after analysing the results. "If any corrective measures are required, we will initiate them and move forward," he said.
AICC leader K C Venugopal said the results showed that people had begun ousting those who, he alleged, were responsible for the loss of gold at Lord Ayyappa’s temple.
"This trend will continue in the Assembly elections as well. It is an indication that the people are ready to bring down the LDF government," he said.
Venugopal said the UDF had registered victories even in CPI(M) and LDF strongholds.
"I congratulate all UDF workers for their hard work. Congress workers and leaders worked unitedly," he said.
Referring to remarks made by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan against the Congress on polling day, Venugopal said the voters had responded through the verdict.
"I do not know whether the chief minister understands that the people are against him. Otherwise, he does not know the sentiment of the people. The state government cannot move an inch further," he said.
He said the results indicated a strong comeback for the UDF in Kerala.
Asked whether the Sabarimala gold loss issue had affected the LDF in the local polls, Venugopal said the CM and the CPI(M) state secretary did not take the issue seriously.
"We took a strong stand on the matter. The BJP played a foul game in it," he alleged.
On the BJP's role in the local body elections, Venugopal alleged that the party operated with the CPI(M) 's tacit support.
"The CPI(M) supported the central government on issues such as PM-SHRI, labour codes and corruption in national highway construction. The CPI(M) is facing ideological decline, and the state government’s policies are against the party’s own decisions," he said.
Meanwhile, LDF ally Kerala Congress (M) leader Jose K Mani said the party could not win all the wards it had expected in the elections.
He congratulated winners from all parties and said the party would closely examine the losses and identify shortcomings. "Later, we will take corrective measures," he added.
Senior Congress leader and MP Rajmohan Unnithan said the trends in the local body elections indicated that the UDF would return to power in the 2026 Assembly elections.
"We will win 111 seats as in 1977 and return to power in 2026. The anti-government sentiment of the people is reflected in the elections," he said.
Unnithan said the people were disturbed and unhappy with the present government.
"The trend indicates the end of the LDF government," he added.
CPI(M) MLA M M Mani said the people had shown ingratitude towards the LDF despite benefiting from welfare schemes.
"After receiving all welfare schemes and living comfortably, people voted against us due to some temporary sentiments. Is that not ingratitude," he asked.
Mani said no such welfare initiatives had taken place in Kerala earlier.
"People are receiving pensions and have enough to eat. Even after getting all this, they voted against us. This is what can be called ingratitude," he said.
Muslim League state president Panakkad Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said the results were beyond expectations.
"The outcome points towards the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, indicating that a change of government is imminent. We are going to win the Assembly election," he said.
