While Malala Yousafzai received the Nobel Peace Prize for standing up for education and rights for girls, Nabila has been largely ignored by the Western media for questioning governmental action that has affected common public in different countries including Pakistan
We all know about Pakistan's braveheart Malala Yousafzai — the girl who defied Taliban and stood up for education and rights of girls in war ridden Pakistan. Recently, Malala received Nobel Peace Prize for her bravery alongwith Kailash Satyarthi and her 'AWorldAtSchool' campaign has received record number of petitions. But, do we know about Nabila Rehman — the girl who lost her grandmother due to a drone attack while her sisters were injured. Her only question to US senators being, 'What was our fault' which was largely ignored by most of the politicians.
According to a recent report by Al Jazeera's Murtaza Hussain who explained Nabila's situation,"On October 24, 2012 a Predator drone flying over North Waziristan came upon eight-year-old Nabila Rehman, her siblings, and their grandmother as they worked in a field beside their village home. Her grandmother, Momina Bibi, was teaching the children how to pick okra as the family prepared for the coming Eid holiday. However on this day the terrible event would occur that would forever alter the course of this family's life. In the sky the children suddenly heard the distinctive buzzing sound emitted by the CIA-operated drones - a familiar sound to those in the rural Pakistani villages which are stalked by them 24 hours a day - followed by two loud clicks. The unmanned aircraft released its deadly payload onto the Rehman family, and in an instant the lives of these children were transformed into a nightmare of pain, confusion and terror. Seven children were wounded, and Nabila's grandmother was killed before her eyes, an act for which no apology, explanation or justification has ever been given." Read the full report here
According to reports, Nabila travelled all the way to Washington DC with her schoolteacher father and brother to speak about her ordeal and seek answers about the drone attacks. Despite her travails to reach Washington DC, Nabila and her family were largely ignored at the congressional hearing where they gave their testimony about the incident.
Only five out of 430 representatives showed up and in the words of Nabila's father to those few who did attend: "My daughter does not have the face of a terrorist and neither did my mother. It just doesn't make sense to me, why this happened… as a teacher, I wanted to educate Americans and let them know my children have been injured."
The reportage further adds that the translator broke down in tears while recounting their story. But the government ignored the tragedy it had caused to them. Nabila's only question was, "What did my grandmother do wrong?," which was ignored by the US government.
This brings us towards a debate: When the Western media accepted Malala as a symbol of change for raising voice against Taliban and gave her recogntion, why is Nabila being ignored? Because she raises debate on policies of United States or other countries who do not find themselves answerable to her? While Malala provides a justification to the western countries about their line of action against extremists, Nabila questions the concept of 'collateral damage' that general masses have to suffer die to this war like situation.
While Malala has been epitomised as the crusader of women rights and education and hailed by Western media, Nabila puts them in an uncomfortable spot — that of questioning US policies, drone attacks and numerous families left homeless after the attacks. So, if Nabila has not gained the prominence that Malala could, it can be attributed strongly to media's selective myopia and disregard to issues that threaten their beliefs.
Here's the conclusion meted out by Murtaza:
But where does Nabila fit into this picture? If extrajudicial killings, drone strikes and torture are in fact all part of a just-cause associated with the liberation of the people of Pakistan, Afghanistan and elsewhere, where is the sympathy or even simple recognition for the devastation this war has caused to countless little girls such as her? The answer is clear: The only people to be recognized for their suffering in this conflict are those who fall victim to the enemy. Malala for her struggles was to be made the face of the American war effort - against her own will if necessary - while innumerable little girls such as Nabila will continue to be terrorized and murdered as part of this war without end. There will be no celebrity appearances or awards ceremonies for Nabila. At her testimony almost no one even bothered to attend.
But if they had attended, they would've heard a nine-year-old girl asking the questions which millions of other innocent people who have had their lives thrown into chaos over the past decade have been asking: "When I hear that they are going after people who have done wrong to America, then what have I done wrong to them? What did my grandmother do wrong to them? I didn't do anything wrong."
Here's what Washington Post's Max Fisher had to say:
Western fawning over Malala has become less about her efforts to improve conditions for girls in Pakistan, or certainly about the struggles of millions of girls in Pakistan, and more about our own desire to make ourselves feel warm and fuzzy with a celebrity and an easy message. It's a way of letting ourselves off the hook, convincing ourselves that it's simple matter of good guys vs bad guys, that we're on the right side and that everything is okay.
Also read: “Why I HATE Malala Yousafzai” ~ a guest post by Kunwar Khuldune Shahid
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