In the
evening of 24 February 2012, Rinkle Kumari, a 16 year old student of Mirpur
Mathelo, in a small village in the province of Sindh, was kidnapped
to satisfy the lust of a Muslim scholar. The Muslim scholar had “political
cover” provided by Mian Mittho, an elected National Assembly Member. Nand Lal,
girl’s father and his family had to take refuge in a Gurdwara in Lahore after
the complaint. On 25 February, as soon as Rinkle saw her family in the court,
she screamed before the judge and pleaded to let her go to her mother.
The judge, however, had to inform her parents that if they insisted on taking
Rinkle along, they would be responsible for the destruction that might follow –
killing of 2,000 Hindus of district Ghotki.
The
local judge ordered that the girl should be given to Muslims, because her
conversion is “the result of a spontaneous decision” and also stated that the
marriage was above board. A claim that was repeated on February 27 at the
hearing before the court, and the girl was “renamed” Faryal Shah. On March 26,
Rinkle Kumari appeared before the judges of the Supreme Court in Islamabad. She
said: in Pakistan, “there is no” justice, “kill me here but do not send me
back” to the kidnappers. On 18 April 2012 Supreme Court of Pakistan handed
Rinkle Kumari to her “husband” (kidnapper).
However,
the story of Rinkle is not an isolated case: every month between 25 and 30
young girls, that is, about 300 girls a year are delivered into the hands of
their torturers in Pakistan.
The
Internet doesn’t say what happened to Rinkle after that fateful “judgment.”
However, the Internet does have information about another 16-year old girl from
Pakistan in great detail.
In the
same year, another girl named Malala Yousafzai boarded her school bus in the
district of Swat. A gunman fired three shots at her wounding her to the point
of near death. She was subsequently sent to the Queen
Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, for intensive
treatment and recovery. On 12 October, a group of 50 Islamic clerics in Pakistan
issued a fatwā against
those who tried to kill her.
United
Nations Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown launched
a UN petition, using the slogan “I am Malala”. She was on the front cover
of the 29 April 2013 issue of Time magazine,
as one of “The 100 Most
Influential People in the World“. She was the winner of Pakistan’s
first National
Youth Peace Prize, and Sakharov Prize, 2013. On
16 October 2013, the Government of
Canada announced that the Parliament of
Canada would confer Honorary
Canadian citizenship upon her.
In
February 2014, she was nominated for the World Children’s prize in Sweden. In April 2014
it was announced that Malala would be granted an honorary degree by the University of
King’s College in Halifax. Malala then spoke before
the United Nations in July 2013, and met with Queen Elizabeth II in Buckingham Palace and in September 2013, she officially
opened the Library of
Birmingham. In the same month, she spoke at Harvard University, and
in October she met with U.S. President Barack Obama . In
July 2014, Malala spoke at the Girl Summit in London, advocating for rights for
girls. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was
the first to sign a petition requesting that Malala receive the Nobel Peace
Prize.
Former
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown requested that McKinsey consultant Shiza Shahid,
a friend of the Malala family, chair Malala’s charity FUND
,
which had gained the support of Angelina Jolie. Google’s
vice president Megan Smith also
sits on the fund’s board.
,
which had gained the support of Angelina Jolie. Google’s
vice president Megan Smith also
sits on the fund’s board.
In
November 2012, the consulting firm Edelman began work
for Malala on a pro bono basis, which according to the firm “involves providing
a press office function for Malala.” The office employs five
people, and is headed by speechwriter Jamie Lundie. McKinsey also
continues to provide assistance to Malala.
On 12
July 2013, Malala 16th birthday, she spoke at the UN to call for worldwide
access to education. The UN dubbed the event “Malala Day”. Yousafzai received
several standing ovations. Ban Ki-moon, who also spoke at the session,
described her as “our hero”. Malala also presented the chamber with “The
Education We Want”, a Youth Resolution of education demands written by Youth for Youth, in a process co-ordinated by the UN Global
Education First Youth Advocacy Group, telling her audience:
“Malala day is not my day. Today is the day of every woman, every
boy and every girl who have raised their voice for their rights.
It is
perfectly understandable if Malala just didn’t have the time to speak for
fellow girl Rinkle Kumari. I am not sure if Rinkle’s religion could have been a
reason for it. I am also sure that none of the countries which gave away awards
including the Nobel Committee to Malala
were aware about Rinkle Kumari or were they aware of her religion?
