Dream come true

It was a cinch Malala Yousafzai would shed a tear or two — something not easily associated with the steely young woman who has reduced the terms of endearment as the ‘world’s favourite daughter’ to something of a clichéd reference. Talking of tears, the long homecoming did this to Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister and the world’s first elected Muslim head of government, in 2007, after she ended a more than decade-old exile. Malala, of course, carries a universal import for her well-documented deeds, which saw her crowned, at 17, in 2014 as the youngest — and, at the time, only schoolgirl — recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for her advocacy for education of girls. Again, it was a given that her return home — six years after she was shot by a Taliban militant on her way home from school and later flown to Britain for specialised surgeries that eventually, led her to stay back and continue her education — would invite a global rush for headlines. Media outlets across the globe however, were caught napping when news tickers flashed late evening on March 28 on Pakistani TV screens that Malala, currently studying at Oxford University, was arriving in Islamabad. The homecoming assumed a more powerful and symbolic reflection when she tearfully, described the experience as “the happiest day of my life”.“For last five years I have dreamed that I can set foot in my country,” Malala said, wiping away tears. “It’s the happiest day of my life. I still can’t believe it’s happening,” she told a high profile gathering at the Prime Minister House.“Today, after five-and-a-half years, I have set foot on my soil. Whenever I would travel, in plane or in car, I would imagine that it’s Pakistan and I am driving in Islamabad. I would imagine this is Karachi, and it was never true, but now that I see it, I am very happy,” Malala recalled.As the audience broke into applause, she dissolved into tears, wiping them with her hands — like the little girl Pakistanis had last seen her in flesh and blood.The global celebrity said that if it had been up to her, she would never have left Pakistan.“I don’t normally cry ... I’m still 20 years old, but I’ve seen so many things in life,” she pointed out. She could barely contain herself as she switched from English to her native Pashto and the national language Urdu in a much-awaited speech.Malala had turned in a nostalgic tweet on March 23, Pakistan’s National Day, with no hint at an imminent homecoming. “On this day, I cherish fond memories of home, of playing cricket on rooftops and singing the national anthem in school. Happy Pakistan Day!” she wrote.In a recent interview, she told US talk show host David Letterman about how she missed “the rivers and mountains” of her home in Swat Valley and all she wanted was for her “feet to touch the land.”Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abassi was equally profuse in his welcome speech. “We are very happy that our daughter has come back. When she went away, she was a child of 12. She has returned as the most prominent citizen of Pakistan,” the chief executive averred. As well as being the youngest Nobel Laureate, Malala also became the youngest UN Messenger of Peace, at 19, last April.In an editorial that represented the feel-good vibe that the visit brought to her admirers, Dawn, the country’s leading English broadsheet, said, “Ordinarily, a 20-year-old returning home should not be cause for comment. But this is Malala, and there is nothing ordinary about her. This is also an emotional occasion for many of her fellow Pakistanis. They have cheered Malala’s every accomplishment along her remarkable journey to becoming a global icon for girls’ education, and despaired of her ever being able to return to the country because of threats to her life from extremists,” before driving home that “Malala can justifiably be described as currently the most famous Pakistani in the world, and for all the right reasons.”The details of Malala’s 4-day visit and whereabouts were largely kept under wraps for security reasons. The Taliban have more than once declared in the past that they would target her again. Realistically, this would seem a lesser possibility now thanks mainly to the highly successful military operations in recent years that have driven the militants and extremists out.   Marriyum Aurangzeb, the state minister for information, was sanguine about Malala’s return home, calling it a “big, big moment for Pakistan.”“She is a person who had the guts to stand up against militants and her coming back to Pakistan also symbolises that we are winning in our fight against extremism and militancy,” Marriyum emphasised. In an interview with Geo TV, Pakistan’s leading private news channel, a day after she arrived, Malala, known for her independent mien, concurred.“Definitely, there is a difference between the Pakistan of today and in 2012. Things are becoming better, people are uniting and a campaign for better Pakistan is ongoing, people are active which is very good,” the Nobel Laureate noted. In the interview, she also vowed to return home permanently, once she is done with her education. This appeared to be a studied response to a volley of criticism in Pakistan where critics believe she is a tool in the hands of the West “to malign Pakistan”. This however, did not deter Malala from picking up her favourite subject — education — which she broached with Prime Minister Abbasi. “We did talk about education and I appreciated what he has done, but I think there is a lot more that needs to be done. The government promised 4 percent of GDP for education but only so far has increased it to 2.7,” she told Reuters in an interview.Malala also revealed that even though going to Oxford followed a tragic incident in her life, she did dream of making it anyway. “My initial plan was that I would continue my education, I would continue speaking out for the girls who cannot go to school ... and one day, once I finish my secondary education, I will apply to Oxford. I did not know that this attack would happen and I would move to the UK,” she told the interviewer.In March last year, Malala received a conditional offer to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford’s Lady Margaret Hall if she achieved three A grades. Interestingly, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007, also studied on the hallowed precincts.Happily, Malala was able to travel to her old home and school in Swat as well as visit the school she has built there with her Nobel prize money even though initial reports had suggested this was not on the cards for security reasons. The results were evident in a flurry of wire images showing winsome smiles of the schoolgirl, who stood up to the Taliban, against the backdrop of scenic surroundings with her family, relatives and friends!In a poignant note, she reminisced at how her life had taken a shine from the depths of despair.“I left Swat with my eyes closed and now I am back with my eyes open,” she said, recalling how she was airlifted out in a coma after the attack in 2012.“I am extremely delighted. My dream has come true. Peace has returned to Swat because of the invaluable sacrifices rendered by my brothers and sisters,” she remarked during a school trip outside Mingora, the district’s main town.In a second outpouring of emotion, Malala and her family were seen crying with joy, when they entered their old home, which is now rented by a family friend, who has studiously looked after Malala’s room, guarding her books, trophies and belongings. “They were weeping and kneeling on the ground,” Farid-ul-Haq Haqqani, the family friend, recalled, saying the occasion provided Malala with an opportunity to chat with her school friends as neighbours dropped by.“So much joy seeing my family home, visiting friends and putting my feet on this soil again,” Malala later tweeted.