The Bravest Girl in the World

Time magazine’s special issue on the 100 most influential people in the world anno 2013 has reached Svendborg. The choice of cover girl is spot on: Malala Yousafzai, justly called the bravest girl in the world. Chelsea Clinton – no coward herself – wrote the magazine text & Malala is writing her memoirs, proving, says Chelsea, “She accepts that unasked-for responsibility as a synonym for courage & a champion for girls everywhere.”

When the Taliban shot Malala in the head last April, the bullet pierced a million hearts & ricocheted right back into the Taliban’s gut. The gunmen said they wanted to “teach a lesson” to anyone who dared stand up for education & girls’ right to same. Well, you’d have to say they succeeded. The lesson is, this time courage was rewarded & there will be no turning back, even though reform will not happen just this week or even this year, but …. Malala’s school now bears her name & that scared some students at first, but the decision stands. Malala is back in school in Britain & on the cover of Time, among others. Look into her big soft eyes that stare so directly at the camera & feel both admiration & relief. Maybe the world is not so hopeless after all. Malala made it back from near death & is just getting started.

Whenever I picture a Taliban fighter, I see a man with a long beard & a short cock. How else could they be so terrified of women? Of course that’s just an unfair stereotype. Some Taliban have nicely trimmed beards.

Den modigste pige i verden

Nyhedsbladet Time har udsendt årets særnummer om de 100 mest indflydelsesrige mennesker i verden. Forsidemodellen er lige sagen: Malala Yousafzai, med rette kaldt den modigste pige i verden. Chelsea Clinton – datter af Bill & Hilary – skriver i teksten at ”Malala har accepteret et ansvar hun ikke bad om, som symbol på mod og forkæmper for piger over hele verden.”

Da Taliban skød Malala i hovedet sidste april, rørte kuglen en million hjerter og slog tilbage i Talibans indvolde. Voldsmændene sagde, at de ville give alle der turde kæmpe for uddannelse og pigers ret til den en lærerstreg. Man må sige, at det lykkes. Læreren er, at denne gang blev mod belønnet og der er ingen vej tilbage, selvom reform kommer ikke i næste uge eller næste år, og dog … Malalas skole nu bærer hendes navn. Det skræmte enkelte elever i starten, men beslutningen består. Malala er tilbage i skole i England og på forsiden af Time, bl.a. Kig ind i de store bløde øjne der stirrer så direkte ind i kameraet og føl både beundring og lettelse. Måske er verden alligevel ikke så håbløs. Malala vendte tilbage fra døden og er lige ved at komme i gang.

Når jeg forestiller mig en Taliban soldat, ser jeg en mand med et langt skæg og et kort lem. Hvordan kan det ellers være, at de er så bange for kvinder? Men selvfølgelig er det bare en unfair stereotype. Nogle Talibanere har pænt trimmede skæg.