"I had a terrible dream yesterday with military helicopters and the Taliban. I have had such dreams since the launch of the military operation in Swat. My mother made me breakfast and I went off to school. I was afraid of going to school because the Taliban had issued an edict banning all girls from attending schools."—Malala Yousafzai, age 11.

  • petertrepan

    Wow. That sailed right past my weary indifference to the troubles of faraway strangers and punched me in the gut. I can’t believe people exist who would shoot a fourteen-year-old girl for going to school, much less that they could have even a little bit of popular support. If and when the Taliban falls from power, I hope whoever finds the shooters feels the same way about them as I do right now.

  • steve heath

    I agree with you Peter. That really is just hard to imagine. A kid who wants to learn, to go to school and some demented piece of trash shoots her at close range. How could a human look at this bright, brave kid and try to kill her? I can’t imagine what kind of mind set it would take to do that. I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise considering some of the other behaviors these cretins demonstrate. Their response to anyone who isn’t as rabid as they are is well known but still… A defenseless kid brave enough to stand up for her beliefs and this happens. I hope the people there finally decide to call these creeps out. They need to be disposed of, there is nothing left in such a mind to salvage. They have forfeited their claim as human.

    • Antinous / Moderator

      Unfortunately, trying to stop people from being educated has been a pretty consistent policy of rulers / masters for most of human history.

  • Petzl

    Never underestimate the power of religion to cause harm.