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| Why I'll be marking Malala Day | Why I'll be marking Malala Day |
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| In his role as UN special envoy for global education, Gordon Brown has declared this coming Saturday 10 November 10th a 'global day of action' in support of Malala Yousafzai, a month to the day that the 15-year-old Pakistani schoolgirl was attacked by the Taliban, simply for insisting that she go to school. | In his role as UN special envoy for global education, Gordon Brown has declared this coming Saturday 10 November 10th a 'global day of action' in support of Malala Yousafzai, a month to the day that the 15-year-old Pakistani schoolgirl was attacked by the Taliban, simply for insisting that she go to school. |
| As she recovers in a Birmingham hospital, Brown has urged people to support the estimated 32 million girls worldwide who are denied the right to go to school every day, by marking Malala Day. The tribute will coincide with his trip to Pakistan to deliver a petition containing more than a million signatures, to President Asif Ali Zardari, urging him to make education a reality for all Pakistani children, irrespective of gender. | As she recovers in a Birmingham hospital, Brown has urged people to support the estimated 32 million girls worldwide who are denied the right to go to school every day, by marking Malala Day. The tribute will coincide with his trip to Pakistan to deliver a petition containing more than a million signatures, to President Asif Ali Zardari, urging him to make education a reality for all Pakistani children, irrespective of gender. |
| The plans for Malala Day reminded me of the girls that I grew up with, who were also denied their right to learn; the irony is that it happened right here, in the backstreets of inner-city Bradford. Some of these girls I know well since they are my first cousins, British-born Pakistanis just like me. My cousin Aisha comes to mind immediately, since she was around the age that Malala is today when she was permanently removed from school during the early 1980s. She had just reached puberty, you see, which posed a threat to her father, just as Malala's adolescence was a menace to the Taliban. | The plans for Malala Day reminded me of the girls that I grew up with, who were also denied their right to learn; the irony is that it happened right here, in the backstreets of inner-city Bradford. Some of these girls I know well since they are my first cousins, British-born Pakistanis just like me. My cousin Aisha comes to mind immediately, since she was around the age that Malala is today when she was permanently removed from school during the early 1980s. She had just reached puberty, you see, which posed a threat to her father, just as Malala's adolescence was a menace to the Taliban. |
| Aisha's father and mine both hail from a village in the Chach region of Pakistan, which borders Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where the Swat Valley is located; the valley which is home to Malala and her family. People from the Chach make up the second largest community of Pakistanis in Britain with sizeable populations in Birmingham and Bradford; people with origins in the Mirpur region in Pakistani Kashmir make up around 70%. | Aisha's father and mine both hail from a village in the Chach region of Pakistan, which borders Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where the Swat Valley is located; the valley which is home to Malala and her family. People from the Chach make up the second largest community of Pakistanis in Britain with sizeable populations in Birmingham and Bradford; people with origins in the Mirpur region in Pakistani Kashmir make up around 70%. |
| Although the Chach region is free from Taliban rule, it still follows the stringently patriarchal Pakhtunwali code of conduct which is essentially obsessed with controlling women's behaviour. You see, the Chach people hold their honour very dear; and honour for the Chach or Chachis is inextricably linked to a woman's virginity, so the slightest irregularity in a woman's behaviour threatens the reputation of the clan – men as well as women. And when a community's value system is based on honour, a blemish could have long lasting repercussions. Since female virginity is deemed to be such a liability, it follows that women's behaviour and movements must be strictly controlled. | Although the Chach region is free from Taliban rule, it still follows the stringently patriarchal Pakhtunwali code of conduct which is essentially obsessed with controlling women's behaviour. You see, the Chach people hold their honour very dear; and honour for the Chach or Chachis is inextricably linked to a woman's virginity, so the slightest irregularity in a woman's behaviour threatens the reputation of the clan – men as well as women. And when a community's value system is based on honour, a blemish could have long lasting repercussions. Since female virginity is deemed to be such a liability, it follows that women's behaviour and movements must be strictly controlled. |
| This is why educating girls is deemed to be destructive for this community. Not only would schooling broaden a girl's mind, it might also provoke her to rebel against the system, thereby also dishonouring the clan. I have heard uncles say: | This is why educating girls is deemed to be destructive for this community. Not only would schooling broaden a girl's mind, it might also provoke her to rebel against the system, thereby also dishonouring the clan. I have heard uncles say: |
| Why would I want to teach my daughter how to write? So she can write love letters? | Why would I want to teach my daughter how to write? So she can write love letters? |
Aisha's father was unable to appreciate the value of schooling his daughter so he chose to terminate her compulsory education. He was also deeply uncomfortable about his 14 year old daughter coming into contact with the opposite sex in the classroom. | Aisha's father was unable to appreciate the value of schooling his daughter so he chose to terminate her compulsory education. He was also deeply uncomfortable about his 14 year old daughter coming into contact with the opposite sex in the classroom. |
| The common method for fooling the education authorities during the 1980s was to buy a plane ticket – one way of course - purely for the purpose of presenting it as evidence that the schoolgirl was being sent to Pakistan for good. The ticket was then returned to the travel agent for a nominal fee. | The common method for fooling the education authorities during the 1980s was to buy a plane ticket – one way of course - purely for the purpose of presenting it as evidence that the schoolgirl was being sent to Pakistan for good. The ticket was then returned to the travel agent for a nominal fee. |
| Meanwhile, Aisha stayed in inner city Bradford, swapping school for an intensive course of domesticity, to prepare her for imminent marriage. Since the family lived in a rear house, in a back-to-back Victorian terrace, Aisha could easily venture out into the yard without being seen from the street. And if she needed to go any further, then she was draped in a black bhurka from head to foot, with matching face veil – which she still wears today. | Meanwhile, Aisha stayed in inner city Bradford, swapping school for an intensive course of domesticity, to prepare her for imminent marriage. Since the family lived in a rear house, in a back-to-back Victorian terrace, Aisha could easily venture out into the yard without being seen from the street. And if she needed to go any further, then she was draped in a black bhurka from head to foot, with matching face veil – which she still wears today. |
| After a year or so, Aisha's father feared the authorities were on to him so he swiftly sent her to Pakistan. I met my cousin a few years later, when she returned with her Pakistani husband, a child in her arms and another on the way. With her husband's level of education even poorer than hers, and with Aisha relying on him to run her errands, it made tricky work of the simplest tasks. The first time she sent him out to buy a tin of tomatoes, he returned with baked beans. Not only did family life make it impossible for Aisha to take up her studies where they'd been interrupted, she perpetuated the cycle by marrying off her own daughter at a young age too – although Aisha did allow her the concession of completing her compulsory years in school. | After a year or so, Aisha's father feared the authorities were on to him so he swiftly sent her to Pakistan. I met my cousin a few years later, when she returned with her Pakistani husband, a child in her arms and another on the way. With her husband's level of education even poorer than hers, and with Aisha relying on him to run her errands, it made tricky work of the simplest tasks. The first time she sent him out to buy a tin of tomatoes, he returned with baked beans. Not only did family life make it impossible for Aisha to take up her studies where they'd been interrupted, she perpetuated the cycle by marrying off her own daughter at a young age too – although Aisha did allow her the concession of completing her compulsory years in school. |
| Today, Aisha is barely 40 years old and she is already a grandmother. I am acutely aware that my life might have been very different had my father played a greater role in my upbringing. Moreover, I could never understand how someone as independent and educated as my mother could marry into my father's conservative family in the first place. The mystery was finally unravelled in the course of my current research about Muslim women's experiences of love and marriage. I decided to include my mum among the three generations of Pakistani women I interviewed in Bradford and Kirklees. | Today, Aisha is barely 40 years old and she is already a grandmother. I am acutely aware that my life might have been very different had my father played a greater role in my upbringing. Moreover, I could never understand how someone as independent and educated as my mother could marry into my father's conservative family in the first place. The mystery was finally unravelled in the course of my current research about Muslim women's experiences of love and marriage. I decided to include my mum among the three generations of Pakistani women I interviewed in Bradford and Kirklees. |
| Mum explained that her parents had originally planned for her to marry one of her cousins from their ancestral village in the Punjab. The system secured family ties and offered some guarantees about the suitor's character and standing, since he was already known to the bride's parents. But the plan changed after mum was deemed to be too overqualified to marry from among the pool of cousins that had been lined up. Like Malala's father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, my grandfather was also committed to educating his daughters. So much so that villagers mocked him for selling land to pay for school fees. They taunted: | Mum explained that her parents had originally planned for her to marry one of her cousins from their ancestral village in the Punjab. The system secured family ties and offered some guarantees about the suitor's character and standing, since he was already known to the bride's parents. But the plan changed after mum was deemed to be too overqualified to marry from among the pool of cousins that had been lined up. Like Malala's father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, my grandfather was also committed to educating his daughters. So much so that villagers mocked him for selling land to pay for school fees. They taunted: |
| You're flogging the most valuable commodity you have, and you're squandering it on your daughters! What's the point of educating them? And besides, where will you find men to marry your girls? | You're flogging the most valuable commodity you have, and you're squandering it on your daughters! What's the point of educating them? And besides, where will you find men to marry your girls? |
My grandfather eventually left the village for Rawalpindi so he could offer his daughters the same educational opportunities as his son. | My grandfather eventually left the village for Rawalpindi so he could offer his daughters the same educational opportunities as his son. |
| Meanwhile, my father was a family associate settled in Britain. He wrote to my grandfather asking for his daughter's hand. With the concept of courtship completely non-existent, mum's acceptance was based on a handful of letters that were exchanged between her father and the suitor. Although my grandfather had reservations about the suitor's notoriously conservative family background, he reasoned that someone who'd been living in England for almost ten years must be well educated and westernised. You see, the suitor had left Pakistan whilst he was mid school, in his early teens during the 1950s. | Meanwhile, my father was a family associate settled in Britain. He wrote to my grandfather asking for his daughter's hand. With the concept of courtship completely non-existent, mum's acceptance was based on a handful of letters that were exchanged between her father and the suitor. Although my grandfather had reservations about the suitor's notoriously conservative family background, he reasoned that someone who'd been living in England for almost ten years must be well educated and westernised. You see, the suitor had left Pakistan whilst he was mid school, in his early teens during the 1950s. |
| Mum told me: | Mum told me: |
| I could see that my father preferred the idea of me leading a married life in England where I could fit in better, rather than in our village. Because that was pretty much the alternative. | I could see that my father preferred the idea of me leading a married life in England where I could fit in better, rather than in our village. Because that was pretty much the alternative. |
Little did she know that as soon as her husband arrived in England, he headed straight for the textile mills of Bradford where a willingness to graft was all that was needed. Work was plentiful, well-paid, and didn't require much English, nor any skills or qualifications. | Little did she know that as soon as her husband arrived in England, he headed straight for the textile mills of Bradford where a willingness to graft was all that was needed. Work was plentiful, well-paid, and didn't require much English, nor any skills or qualifications. |
| In fact, it was mum's qualifications which proved to be our saving grace when she found herself left in Bradford with three children to raise by herself, several years later. My mum echoed Malala's words as she reflected: | In fact, it was mum's qualifications which proved to be our saving grace when she found herself left in Bradford with three children to raise by herself, several years later. My mum echoed Malala's words as she reflected: |
| By giving me an education, my father gave me the means to stand on my own feet. | By giving me an education, my father gave me the means to stand on my own feet. |
She also told me that when the villagers had mocked her father for selling the family land, he had replied: | She also told me that when the villagers had mocked her father for selling the family land, he had replied: |
| A daughter's education is more durable than a dowry. | A daughter's education is more durable than a dowry. |
As I mark Malala Day on November 10th, I'll be thanking men like my grandfather as well as men like Ziauddin Yousafzai for their wisdom in understanding the value of educating their daughters. I'll also be thinking about my cousin Aisha as well as the 32 million girls around the world who are denied the basic freedom to learn every day. | As I mark Malala Day on November 10th, I'll be thanking men like my grandfather as well as men like Ziauddin Yousafzai for their wisdom in understanding the value of educating their daughters. I'll also be thinking about my cousin Aisha as well as the 32 million girls around the world who are denied the basic freedom to learn every day. |
| Irna Qureshi is an anthropologist and writer on British Asian culture. She blogs about being British, Muslim and female in Bradford. Her latest work, Cartographies of Love, is a live performance based on intimate conversations about love with three generations of Muslim women in and around Bradford and Kirklees. | Irna Qureshi is an anthropologist and writer on British Asian culture. She blogs about being British, Muslim and female in Bradford. Her latest work, Cartographies of Love, is a live performance based on intimate conversations about love with three generations of Muslim women in and around Bradford and Kirklees. |
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