YOUTHINK: Youth stand up to the Taliban menace By Nosheen Abbas
Saturday, 02 May, 2009 | 05:20 PM PST Students shout anti-Taliban slogans during a protest. –AFP Photo The youth of Islamabad is not sitting idle in the face of growing religious extremism and Talibanisation in some areas of Pakistan. Even if individually, some are trying to combat ‘Talibanisation’ in a manner they deem fit; and some are even finding creative avenues.
Amna Mawaz, a bachelor’s student, is in the process of organizing street theatre. She has drawn up her first script and talks about her aim to spread more awareness through entertainment. ‘I figured after attending protests and seminars that no one will listen to you if you give a lecture but rather through something entertaining like theatre. I think if you keep it light and yet have a meaning one can spread awareness about extremism.’
But extremism, some say, is like a symptom that was carelessly ignored, until it turned into cancer.
Nazish Zahoor, a bachelor’s student, and a member of a left wing political party spoke about his efforts in spreading awareness long before the threat was at our doorsteps.’The Taliban of today are the outcome of the 80s Afghan war, and we have been condemning it since then. The state is involved in this whole issue in one way or the other; and it’s a structural fault and if the structure cannot be fixed than nothing will change in a real way,’ he says.
Many questions remain unanswered about these criminals: where have they got their sophisticated arms from? How do these illiterate men make a living? And probably the most dicey question: who or how many institutions are behind the Taliban?
Before taking action against extremism, however, the youth of today wants to understand the root causes of the problem. ‘First we plan to understand the problem from all aspects. It’s a complex issue. But for now we will give moral support to all those who are suffering, even if it means that we go to those areas and stand with them in protest,’ says Nazish.
Moral support of those suffering also includes women, who, somehow, are always the first targets of extremists. The Taliban’s aim to isolate women from the mainstream of life means making half the population of Pakistan dormant. Any progressive nation cannot move forth without the national contribution from women and this is an issue that has been completely ignored in the parliament.What is the point of having the ‘greatest number of female parliamentarians in Pakistan’s history’ if the topic of women’s rights, far from being tackled, is not even being mentioned?
Abbas Saleem Khan who organized a protest in the federal capital against the Taliban on the Constitution Avenue also speaks of the youth’s unity. He talks about the importance of collectively standing up against the Taliban. ‘By not joining in, you are literally giving the Taliban a free pass to allow them to walk into your streets and homes and tell you how to conduct your daily affairs. The heart of the matter is that we will stand up against the Taliban and steer this country towards the vision it was created for.’
He says it was a shame that the parliamentarians signed the Nizam-i-Adl and not a single woman MP stood up except the MQM and Ayaz Amir who was the lone voice of reason among the uncouth crowd who pathetically shrank from doing their duty. This just indicates that most of the current parliamentarians don’t deserve the position they have, he says. ‘We went on the streets and asked people to donate money for the girl schools that were shut down in Swat and collected Rs250,000,’ says Ali Zaidi, founder chairman of the Pakistan Youth Alliance. ‘Our agenda is to spread socio-political awareness and wake up the youth of Pakistan; 70 per cent of our population is the youth and most of them are not proactive,’ regrets Ali, who believes that the youth can make a difference against this plague of Talibanisation.
Samad Khurram, who is currently studying at Harvard is doing his bit to counter Talibanisation. His logo denouncing the Taliban has caught on Facebook with many youngsters making it their display picture. He also wrote a strong piece warning people about their apathy. ‘Any country that has fallen to the Taliban has never recovered. The Taliban are here to stay and unless we stand up against them in every possible way Pakistan will be lost for good!’
A bunch of his friends have come up with a four dimensional strategy to rid the country of this menace. They have pulled their sleeves up and have made a comprehensive strategy to combat the Taliban. A lot depends on how much cooperation they receive form their fellow youth. He criticises the West for its rhetoric against the extremists who were its own creation. He says it is time they stand up for the future of the country.
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