A 14-year-old Pakistani rights activist, Malala Yousafzai, was shot and injured in the Swat Valley in Pakistan.
Malala rose to fame in 2009 for keeping a diary on BBC Urdu about life in the Swat Valley under Taliban rule. She was internationally recognised for criticising Taliban policies, especially the shutting of schools for girls, and was awarded the first National Peace Prize by the Pakistani government in 2011.
The BBC reports conflicting accounts of how the shooting, which happened on Malala’s way home from school, unfolded but she is now reportedly out of danger.
Ehsanullah Ehsan, speaking for the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack saying:
"[Malala] was pro-West, she was speaking against Taliban and she was calling President Obama her idol. She was young but she was promoting Western culture in Pashtun areas."
Pakistani Prime Minister, Raja Pervez Ashraf, said in a statement about the attack:
"We have to fight the mind-set that is involved in this. We have to condemn it... Malala is like my daughter and yours too. If that mind-set prevails, then whose daughter would be safe?"
See here for extracts from Malala’s diary.
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
