MINGORA, Pakistan — In the hometown of Nobel prize winner Malala Yousafzai, the students at the government-run Girls’ High School Mingora sit cross-legged on sacks and sheets on the floor because there is not enough furniture. The windows are broken, the walls dirty, and the teachers angry. Their anger is not directed at Malala herself, they say, but at a world that lavishes attention on her while ignoring the neglect and violence in her home of Swat Valley.
“It’s all Malala, Malala, Malala,” complained mathematics teacher Saima Khan. “There are hundreds of people who have sacrificed everything and lost everything. No one has given them anything.”
At a cake-cutting ceremony on Saturday, politicians carrying posters of Malala jostled for space with civil society activists. Many residents looked askance at the procession, pointing out that even as leaders paid lip service to Malala’s education drive, they were allowing schools in her hometown to crumble under government neglect and continued military occupation.
“This obviously makes people unhappy. If the government did its job, people wouldn’t have to hate Malala. They feel abandoned,” said Ahmed Shah, Malala's former teacher. Provincial legislator Fazle Hakim said he was big fan of Malala’s education message, but conceded the government had not built a single new school since coming to power a year ago. Troops that arrived here in 2009 continue to use many schools as barracks and bases. “People are upset at the lack of work,” Hakim admitted.
IN-DEPTH
- What Malala's Nobel Peace Prize Means for Pakistan's Women
- Malala Yousafzai's Nobel Peace Prize Prompts Praise and Suspicion in Pakistan
- Nobel Committee Lauds Malala's 'Heroic Struggle'
