From P for partnership to P for Pakistani mother pressure, online trolls took it upon themselves to traumatize or trivialize Malala’s decision to get married. But the gravity of trolling is gauged from the fact that it forced this Nobel laureate to retaliate! Remarkably, not only is Malala gutty enough to be gunned down by the Taliban but tough enough to take on the Twitterati!
Quoting herself, she said, ‘“Conversations with my friends, mentors and my now partner Asser helped me consider how I could have a relationship and remain true to my values of equality, fairness and integrity. Culture is made by people – and people can change it too.” In @britishvogue, I shared my thoughts on marriage as an institution, how Asser and I met and marrying my best friend.’
This post, dated November 11, 2021, comes after Malala made a whopping viral marriage announcement, dated November 9, 2021. Speaking to the not-so-supportive trolls of Twitter, she said, ‘Today marks a precious day in my life. Asser and I tied the knot to be partners for life. We celebrated a small nikkah ceremony at home in Birmingham with our families. Please send us your prayers. We are excited to walk together for the journey ahead.’
With her announcement ushering congratulatory wishes from the West and East, one questions the reason behind public denunciation of her decision that forced her retaliation.
THE VOGUE INTERVIEW: LESS CELEBRATED, MORE SCANDALIZED
Speaking to Vogue about partnerships, in June 2021, Malala admitted, “I still don’t understand why people have to get married. If you want to have a person in your life, why do you have to sign marriage papers, why can’t it just be a partnership?” She went on to confess how her mother did not think on parallel lines by quoting her reaction, ‘Don’t you dare say anything like that! You have to get married, marriage is beautiful.’
Some labeled her a western ‘puppet’ when tweeting, ‘Jo kch marzi keh lein iss ny aese he rehna hai aur unhi logon k isharon par chalna hai... #MalalaThePuppet #Malala @Malala.’
https://twitter.com/sabika_farooq/status/1400742460461027331?s=20
Others questioned her commitment to Islam: ‘Nikkah is For Us ( Muslims) Partnerships are for you cheap people #MalalaOnMarriage.’
https://twitter.com/ayeshakhanik/status/1400742792134004736?s=20
In an unsurprising turn of events, an Islamic cleric going by the name Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai demanded an explanation from Malala.
The trolling tipped to the extent that Malala’s father had to step in to clear the air. While he reasoned how his daughter’s statements had been taken ‘out of context,’ he - to conclude - could not curb the critics of Twitter back then or now.
THE POST-MARRIAGE MOB OUT TO MOCK:
With Malala’s Vogue interview in context, some mockingly quoted her when questioning, ‘Marriage ke papers hai ya partnership ke.’
Others found ‘P for Pakistani mother pressure’ as culpable for forcing Malala into marriage.
Some even - albeit surprisingly - criticized her decision to marry a Pakistani. Bangladeshi feminist Taslima Nasreen tweeted, ‘Quite shocked to learn Malala married a Pakistani guy. She is only 24. I thought [if] she went to Oxford university [to] study, she would fall in love with a handsome progressive English man at Oxford and then think of marrying not before the age of 30. But..’
With Malala’s retaliation dismissing the need to turn the cheek on trolls, it only becomes fair to end off by underscoring the couple standing tall against all criticism.
MALALA WEDS ASSER: ENDING WITH THEIR BEGINNING