'Removal Of Malala’s Image,': Sherry Rehman Scolds Punjab Govt

The senator while addressing PM Khan during her speech on the floor of the Senate said “If you cannot consider Benazir Bhutto and Malala Yousafzai as your heroes, then only God can help you."

ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-July 14th, 2021) Senator Sherry Rehman on Wednesday strongly criticized the Punjab government over removal of Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai’s image from a school textbook.

The senator, speaking on the floor of the Senate, said: "If you cannot consider Benazir Bhutto and Malala Yousafzai as your heroes, then only God can help you."

She said Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB) removed Malala's images, just like former prime minister Benazir's images were removed from textbooks.

“Malala Yousafzai had faced extremists and got a bullet in return," she said, asking what sort of a message was the government planning on sending to the country's youth.

"You (government) say that we are a progressive society [...] what sort of a message is being given here, that should we not fight extremism?" she asked.

The lawmaker said the textbook board — through its actions — had portrayed that Malala was not a hero. “You (Prime Minister Imran Khan) term Osama Bin Laden as a martyr and crowing terrorists here,”.

On Tuesday, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) had demanded the PCTB immediately withdraw the order of confiscating the school textbook.

A picture of a page inside the book circulating on social media suggests that the book was confiscated for including Malala's picture on an important personalities list.

According to the details, pictures of some important personalities had been published on page 33 of the book. They included Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, national poet Allama Iqbal, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Liaqat Ali Khan, legendary philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi, Begum Raana Liaquat Ali Khan, Nishan-i-Haider recipient Maj Aziz Bhatti Shaheed, and activist Malala Yousafzai.

Taking to Twitter, HRCP said: “The PCTB's confiscation of a textbook - allegedly because it features a picture of Nobel laureate and rights activist @Malala Yousafzai - is a new low in the state's attempts to control information and manipulate public discourse,”.