Pakistani child takes on the Taliban, and receives threats for it

navid83 · February 19, 2009, 8:24pm

Pakistan: Child poet takes on the Taliban - Adnkronos Culture And Media

Islamabad, 19 Feb. (AKI) - Tuba Sahaab is taking on the Taliban. But the 11-year-old Pakistani girl is no militant and her weapons are simply her words. She lives on the outskirts of Islamabad and writes poems about the pain and suffering of children in her country despite personal threats from hardline Islamic militants.

“If they kill me, do not worry,” she says. “I want everyone in Pakistan to be equal.”

The young poet has been interviewed by US network, CNN, and now regularly appears in the media. She is not afraid to express her views and is famous in Pakistan.

“I want to give peace to my nation,” she tells CNN (photo). “I will fight for it.”

Tuba is strongly opposed to hardliners who have tried to restrict girls from going to school in certain parts of the country.

Before a peace agreement announced in the volatile Swat Valley in the country’s northwest on Monday, the Taliban was forcing girls out of the classroom and destroying schools.

“This is very shocking to hear that girls can’t go to school, they are taking us back to the Stone Age,” Tuba says.

For the past 18 months, militants have beheaded opponents and burned scores of girls’ schools in Swat, which lies next to Pakistan’s tribal regions close to the Afghan border.

Monday’s peace deal allows for the imposition of Islamic Sharia law in the former tourist region and surrounding districts in exchange for an end to the Taliban insurgency which has killed hundreds and forced hundreds of thousands to flee.

Tuba refuses to remain silent despite threats on her life - by letter and telephone. “Stop it or we will kill you,” they say.

Tuba’s parents are proud of their daughter and say they are not afraid even when she speaks out publicly against the Taliban.Her mother says she is “worth more than seven sons and seven daughters.”

Tuba is inspired by US president Barack Obama and his recent election. She tells CNN she prayed for his election and dreams of meeting him Obama one day.

“I want to go the White House and show him my poems, show him what is happening and ask him to come to Pakistan and control it because he is a super power.”

In her playground at school, Tuba dances and laughs with her friends. She loves writing her short stories and has already published a book.

Tuba also has a personal dream to be an astronaut and one day lead her country.

“I will do anything, if my life goes I don’t worry, I just want to do something,” she says.

Mashallah, the Taliban claim to hold the tenets of the Islamic faith by threatening a young girl. :rolleyes:

wine · February 19, 2009, 8:44pm

Re: Pakistani child takes on the Taliban, and receives threats for it

Feels like next holocaust will happened in Pakistan by muslims to muslims.. Reminds me of Jew Girl trap in a house with her family when Germans Soldiers was looking for them !..

History does repeat itself, i hope it will not be repeated in my country .. !

JaanBaazz · February 19, 2009, 10:41pm

No pious Muslim can threaten a girl. This has to be the work of CIA Mossad or RAW agents disguised as fake Talibans. No Talib can do this. This is all a conspiracy…

bitter_reality · February 19, 2009, 10:48pm

Looks like it has become a fashion …to speak against Taliban and get popular. I am sure the girl’s parents made her do that for fame and money. Cheap publicity…i would advise that girl to focus more on her studies!

adsad · February 20, 2009, 12:10am

Re: Pakistani child takes on the Taliban, and receives threats for it

Its not a fashion to speak against talibans. They are not doing anything great for the people of swat. Their criminal acts in the name of islam are horrifying. How could you expect someone to write in their favor when they are siliting throats of innocent people and burning schools of girls?

PyariCgudia · February 20, 2009, 12:34am

Re: Pakistani child takes on the Taliban, and receives threats for it

Ohhhh k.

First of all, it is certainly not a "fashion" to speak agasint the Taliban. I don't know if you've noticed, but between burqaposhx and I, we're pretty much the biggest talkers on this topic on the internet PERIOD. There are a few other websites with regular debates and discussions on the takeover by the Taliban, but FEW.

Reporters in Pakistan are not rushing forward to cover these stories - I typically have to go fishing for these stories to bring them here.

So writing negatively about the Taliban is certainly no fashion. Either people are ignorant of what's going on, or they're scared to write anything. And with what's going on with Pakistanis living abroad who are connected with targets in Pakistan, or are targeted themselves by the Taliban, I think the people who ARE writing about them will soon be tapering it down out of fear. Depends on how much the bull grows.

Secondly, this issue should be a MAJOR topic for a kid's studies - as children are the ones the extremists target to recruit into their system. And no kid is at zero risk, because the more educated you are, the bigger target you become for recruitment. Just like other big historical gunda-gurdi movements, these guys have learned they need the educated to further their cause. Someone has to do the math for all the cold cash they steal, someone has to fix the limbs of their people who get injured when the suicide bomb didn't go off as planned, someone has to know navigation and geography like the back of their hand to set tactics and strategies, etc. Therefore, all our children are at risk right now - including the ones who are in posh schools with their posh education.

And yes, this is all reminding me of the Holocaust.

neovasant · February 20, 2009, 1:59pm

Who writes her poems ?

How long you want her to focus on her studies? Till Talibans blow up her school or strike a deal with Pak Govt that no Girls should study?

I’m sure she has understood the threats Taliban’s pose for girls education more than most elders.

Even if its for publicity, atleast she has the courage to do it.:biggthumb