Malala Yousafzai illustrates something that seems to escape the attention it deserves, and that is the existence of a growing movement in Pakistan to emancipate people in general and women in particular, even in remote areas like the Swat valley. That flies in the face of the perception all too many in the West have that Pakistan (and most if not all other Islamic countries) are essentially backward and somehow deserving of what's happening to them.
Yes, Malala is courageous, but she wouldn't be the person she is without her father Ziauddin and many others like him, all devoted muslims who clearly discern between religious and cultural dogma, and who have made their choices among those influences to build a more equal society. But under conditions in which violence is all too readily used by various combatants who consider current developments in Pakistan a war, this movement is a tenuous one which can easily be suppressed by killing its proponents. Even so, both popular and government reactions to the recent assassination attempts show that Pakistan still deserves our support. If it takes the horrendous fate of Malala to make that clear, her courage will be really rewarded.
