CAI’ s Mortenson called the award“ a special moment for the people of Pakistan, and all the women and girls of the world. I hope this encourages the Pakistan government to fi- nally, 68 years since independence, put more than 3 percent of GDP into education, and focus on girls’ education, but the reality is that Pakistan’ s next budget only includes 2.1 percent for education, the lowest in six decades.
“ Countries spend hundreds of billions of dollars on war, military equipment and hardware, all in the imperfect illusion that security equals peace. The only real road to peace, stability and prosperity is education, and that’ s still a low priority with politicians and governments,” he said.
Malala’ s award also pointed out other weaknesses in present-day Pakistan, Ghazi Salahuddin wrote in The News International( Pakistan) in October.“ Naturally, the world is intrigued by the irony that the girl who has become a unique celebrity globally is not able to live in her own country. … Will Pakistan ever be safe for Malala?”
When Malala was attacked on her way home from school in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa( KP) province, the country had the opportunity to unite“ against the insanity of the Taliban worldview,” Salahuddin wrote.
Instead, extremists’ presence in the country has only become more firmly entrenched. As Kiran Nazish reported for the Diplomat just days before the Nobel Prize was announced,“ The Pakistani military has failed five times since 2007 to crush the jihadist groups” and this fall, the Islamic State( IS) was discovered openly recruiting in the region.
That’ s not good news for anyone in the region. But Pakistan’ s government and media were distracted this summer by protests in the capital city of Islamabad. Politician and former cricket player Imran Khan and cleric Tahir ul Qadri staged sit-ins and made speeches questioning the legitimacy of the current government.
“ The police got involved and the police didn’ t do a good job, so the Army stepped in,” said Christopher Kolenda, CAI’ s international advisor and a professor at King’ s College in London.“ But Sharif has made a statement, saying,‘ No, I’ m not going to resign. I was legitimately elected.’” And the protestors have since gone home.
But then another distraction cropped up: Fighting over the disputed region of Kashmir resumed.
“ The fighting impacts everyone’ s life,
IN MEMORIAM
Taliban fighters in the past year have killed two men and a boy affiliated with three different Central Asia Institute( CAI) projects in Afghanistan. Our thoughts and prayers remain with their families. Their spirits, however, live on in CAI’ s work promoting education in these remote villages. Their courage and determination inspire us to never quit trying and always do better. We believe their legacy will ultimately be a better, more peaceful future for all. Rest in peace, friends. We will never forget you.
� Urozgan guard Ghulam Nabi, the chokidar( guard) at Genno School in Deh Rawood, Urozgan, died in September, following a Taliban attack on the school. The school has been under construction since 2010.
“ Taliban beat the laborers in that school and Ghulam Nabi is killed because of helping labors and protecting school,” said Wakil Karimi, CAI’ s Kabul-based program manager.“ He had two sons and four daughters.”
Near-constant fighting and security issues have repeatedly hindered efforts to finish construction of Genno School. Urozgan is a Taliban stronghold and a deeply conservative region with a stunningly high illiteracy rate, even for Afghanistan, at 83 percent, according to cimicweb. org. The female literacy rate is estimated at less than 1 percent.
The push is on to finish the school quickly, Karimi said.“ Genno and Kakrak schools will finish soon so we will try to deliver them to government as soon as possible.”
� Urozgan student In late January 2014, Abdul Basi was killed by a roadside bomb while en route to visit the construction site of CAI’ s Kakrat Primary School in Deh Rawood village.
The 17-year-old grandson of Haji Ibrahim, a community leader and education champion, was walking in the village when the bomb exploded, Karimi said.
The 11th-grader was the first literate person in his family and supported his grandfather’ s work with CAI, Karimi said. He attended high school in the provincial capital Tarin Kowt and was in the village visiting family for the weekend.
� Kunar headmaster Militants in Kunar province targeted and killed Ghulam Faruq, headmaster of CAI’ s Saw School in Afghanistan’ s Kunar province in May.
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan( TTP) fighters deliberately targeted him with a remotely detonated bomb planted on the trail he walked every day to the school in Kunar’ s Naray district, according to CAI’ s sources in Saw village.
Villagers said Ghulam died immediately. He left behind a wife and eight children.
Saw is in the mountains near the porous Afghanistan- Pakistan border, on the corridor for militants who come from Pakistan to attack U. S. and Afghan forces and then retreat back across the border.
Ghulam started the community-run Saw School a decade ago, using tents and rented rooms in a mud-brick house as classrooms. The school had no government support at that time. CAI got involved in 2007 and a proper school building was erected in 2008.
“ This senseless murder of our dear brother Ghulam is a huge loss, and difficult to process. He was … a consensus builder( who) tried to solve problems through dialogue and mediation,” CAI Co-Founder Greg Mortenson said in May.“ His courage and resolve to support girls’ education, in the middle of a conflict zone, and with antagonistic forces at work against him, is his lasting legacy.”
�‘ Legend of Broghil’ Another friend of CAI’ s, Mumin Khan from Kishmanjo, Pakistan, passed away in August. Known as“ the legend of Broghil,” he had lived a remarkably long life and was still active right up until the end, according to village sources.
“ Mumin Baba has served thousands of his guests with a cup of tea, local bread, and yogurt,” a mutual friend wrote.“ Everyone traveling to Broghil— locals, tourists, Scouts— has taken a cup of tea and bread from Mumin Baba.”
CAI-US staff were guests in his home for two nights in 2013, and he frequently assisted CAI-Gilgit( Pakistan) with its work in the region.
“ He was above 90 years, but was active working in his field and served guests traveling to Broghil Festival even one day before he died,” the friend wrote.“ He just got stomach pain. He spoke to his children and relatives until his last breath. He selected his gravesite two days before his death and advised his family and relatives regarding his funeral.”
His funeral was attended by thousands of people, including regional government and military representatives.
— Karin Ronnow
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