Assassination Attempt on Pakistani School Girl

On Tuesday a Taliban member shot an activists for women’s rights and education in the head. Malala Yousafzai at the mere age of 14 was the victim of this outrageous attack. The Taliban targeted Yousafzai for her active voice to promote women’s rights and education. She mainly spoke out on these issues in a blog under a pen name. But this didn’t stop the Taliban from tracking her down. When the Taliban exercised vast power before the war they banned education for women and severely limited women’s rights. The outcry by Yousafzai contradicted these values set in place by the Taliban. In response the Taliban threatened to shut down the women’s school in which Yousafzai attends and to eliminate her. Even with the threat in place, Yousafzai brave enough embraced for the worst and attended school. However, the Taliban was serious about their threat and they carried out the attack and shot Yousafzai in the head. After the attack, she was rushed to the hospital where she is currently listed as in critical condition. Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said, “She is a Western-minded girl and we will target anyone who speaks against the Taliban” (NY Daily News). Ehsan’s statement captures the essence of the seriousness for the Taliban to claim their dominance over the Pakistani people.  (BBC, BBC Video)

           

Yousuf Raza Gilani, Pakistan's prime minister, presents Malala
Yousafzai with a National Youth Peace Prize.

(TheGuardian) 

Yousafzai’s actions to defy the Taliban should be a message sent to the Pakistani people and to the rest of the world. The courageous acts of Yousafzai should be a signal to all people that the Taliban can be stopped. The Taliban is only one group of people and with the courage and strength of the Pakistani people and other intervening peoples they can be halted and shut down. They are not invincible. If Yousafzai, who is only 14-years-old, can stand up for what she believes in then there must be others out there who are willing to do the same thing. All that needs to happen is for all these activists and intervening people to collaborate one common plan of action. The Taliban can be stopped, it’s going to take the right mindset, but with actions like Yousafzai maybe this idea is not far out and could potentially occur within the near future.

            Now, it is important to point out the arguments Walzer makes in his book Just and Unjust Wars about intervention. Walzer’s claims for justified intervention are drawn up through the legalist paradigm. Walzer asserts that intervention is acceptable if it involves human rights and other humanitarian concerns. Now, according to the article Yousafzai was shot over her claims for women’s rights and education. Under Walzer’s justification, Yousafzai actions would fall under human rights. She has been oppressed by a terrorist group and is being denied rights in which all humans should be granted. Also the Taliban has shot a young woman and will continue to cause violent acts that will inflict upon humanitarian concerns. I now believe that after this specific attack, nations from around the world should open up their eyes to the violence that is happening. These nations under Walzer’s ideals have the justification to intervene within the conflict. The Pakistani people and other nations should be motivated to shut the Taliban down for good, to ensure humanitarian values.