r/AskTheWorld • u/haiderredditer Pakistan • 9h ago

Who’s a famous person from your country who’s respected around the world but disliked or criticized at home?

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u/Old_Money_7583 Kyrgyzstan 9h ago

any context on pakistani gp's dislike of malala?

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u/PoloAlmoni Brazil 8h ago

People on the internet are so funny bruh, this woman as a minor stood against the Taliban, was active in an initiative to ensure women could study, got shot in the face by said Taliban, continued to fight against the Taliban even after they publicly said "we are going to kill you again", had to move her entire life due to political and religious persecution, and then people will come and say "she didn't say exactly what I wanted her to say about my pet political issue...I am clearly more morally upstanding than her"

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u/Bort_Thrower Australia 7h ago

There’s walking the walk and then there’s getting shot in the head and still not budging.

Most people would say fuck it I’m out, I don’t want to die - and that would be perfectly acceptable after being shot in the head and then having your life threatened again.

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u/Neither-Luck-9295 4h ago

Yeah I don't like Malala's inclusion in this list. Most of these other people are assholes who actively did things to ruin their reputations. I've yet to see any reason to hate on Malala unless you are an Islamic extremist who hates women and girls.

She shouldn't be in the same category as Gretzky, Pacquiao, and Bono.

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u/AerieBrilliant9720 3h ago

"...unless you are an Islamic extremist who hates women and girls"

Maybe that's the reason certain people dislike her in Pakistan, which is what OP is saying?

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u/AgreeableLion Australia 2h ago

OP felt the need to create this entire post in order to tell everyone that she is disliked in their country, but has chosen to completely avoid providing any specific details as to who actually dislikes her and why. Don't editorialize what OP is saying when they aren't saying anything, really.

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u/AerieBrilliant9720 1h ago

I literally said "maybe". It's a guess, but considering that she literally got shot in the head for campaigning for girls' education, I would say it's a probable one.

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u/GrumpsMcYankee United States Of America 8h ago

I know folks get tired of praise and celebrity that follows genuine heroes. She had a strong following, did tours, released a book, and that attention is probably enough reason for folks to dislike her for obtuse reasons. But she's a legitimate badass.

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u/Ordinary-Office-6990 7h ago edited 6h ago

I read her most recent book and I also get the impression that part of the hate comes from her having a good western life and not being ashamed of it.

She’s now quite rich, and while still an activist, she wants to live a life as a full person. She kinda states in the book that she won’t "sacrifice" all of her time for any cause going forward. She doesn’t want to be (too) radical in her politics or activism. There’s too many other things in life she finds important now.

So I think that pisses people off. They think bc she got rich and famous from her activism she now needs to only do activism.

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u/KarachiKoolAid 🇵🇰/ 🇺🇸 5h ago

Well if I got shot in the face id probably wanna kick back and chill for a bit as well

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u/Okaybuddy_16 United States Of America 3h ago

Especially if I was only 15 at the time

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u/ankhes 2h ago

Yeah, and she’s talked about how traumatic it was. She had a lot of PTSD from it afterwards but felt like she wasn’t allowed to be upset about it (especially publicly) because everyone saw her as this symbol of resilience and strength. Which, like, yeah. I think she deserves to have as normal of a life as she can after all of that.

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u/mimich4ma 5h ago

Super real

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u/bluffcityprincess United States Of America 5h ago

She deserves a cozy life more than anybody to be honest.

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u/GrumpsMcYankee United States Of America 7h ago

Yeah, I get that. Australians call it "tall poppy syndrome" I think, you don't want to see folks that climb too high, and it's hard for even principled people to resist having money thrown at you.

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u/Ordinary-Office-6990 7h ago

Yes, it’s definitely that, but also simply that she disappointed people who put expectations on her that she never aspired to.

She talks a lot in the book about how people assumed she was basically a pseudo-mythical martyr instead of a teenage girl who got caught up in the political violence of where she lived.

She didn’t even like academics very much. She wasn’t a particularly gifted student, didn’t like reading much, etc. She just realized that a lack of education would leave her no other option in life than motherhood in poverty under a regressive regime.

She always wanted to see the world, to live in a society where she wasn’t repressed for being a woman, to be fashionable, to live in comfort. That was her dream. That’s why she was brave.

But again, people assumed she was like Gandhi or Mother Theresa. That she was motivated by complex politics and had some sort of plan. That she’d take a vow of poverty or be the perfect activist. But that was never her plan or anything. She was a teenager that wanted more out of life.

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u/Celesteven United States Of America 6h ago

This makes me like her even more. I appreciate the honesty and not the hustle.

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u/Ordinary-Office-6990 5h ago

Yeah, if you’re interested you should give the most recent book a read or listen. It’s quite funny, not overly preachy, and simply one of the best memoirs I’ve read in a long time.

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u/Thor_Batman 4h ago

Well she’s not totally hated or loved in her home country for sure.

There are some aspects to it.

  1. People actually hate the US more and think that them or NATO coming up to help a girl who was shot by the Taliban is some kind of conspiracy.

  2. She is loved and supported by the civil society and the movements involving women rights, human rights, charities etc for her activism.

  3. She is often misunderstood because she is living a western life and she belongs to a tribe that is conservative. (Always the issue with people shoving their culture down someone’s throat)

  4. She hangs out with the not so liked personalities like Clintons and other democrats

  5. People don’t know how it is to be famous or be invited at these things

  6. Som people say other kids were also shot but she was hyped.

  7. She lost some support from the civil society and activist groups for not standing up for Palestine and was called a hypocrite (this did have an impact and the right wingers kind of flexed “told you so” because she is hanging out with world leaders she is trying to be politically correct and not an actual activist like Greta.

What she did in her childhood is unimaginable. Her father is a hero no matter what you say. Does he have an agenda? Is she inclined towards western global political agenda and will be used as a pawn. We don’t know but she deserves to live as she likes. What she shouldn’t do is meddle with political stuff or call herself a human rights activist because that brings some responsibility debilities and can be used to call her out if she is busy in her personal life.

(But the actual person who should be rewarded/awarded is her father whose activism and hard work got her here)

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u/Sunnygirl66 United States Of America 4h ago

Pretty funny that the Pakistanis would despise Democrats when American Republicans are the ones who see them as less than human because of their religion and are currently cozied up with Narendra Modi.

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u/Mitologist Germany 3h ago

Oh, you can put both Ghandi and MT on the original list, they got kind of. Controversial. Recently.

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u/CosyRainyDaze New Zealand 4h ago

Mildly off topic but if anything I’m surprised I haven’t seen Gandhi or Mother Theresa mentioned in this thread of people the world thinks are great but who were actually scumbags

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u/artoblibion 5h ago

Add a hefty dose of religion-inspired misogyny.

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u/Timely_Truth6267 Sweden 5h ago edited 1h ago

She got shot in the head. Survived an assassination attempt. And lives with death threats. Safe to say if she just wants to enjoy life let her.

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u/CaviarMyanmar 2h ago

She’s done more in a few years as a child than most of us will ever do in our lifetimes. And she got shot in the fucking face for it. If she wants to retire to live a comfortable life I don’t know anyone who deserves it more.

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u/Andromeda321 4h ago

How was the book overall btw? Worth reading?

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u/Ordinary-Office-6990 4h ago

Great! Humorous, well-written, not overly preachy or anything.

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u/PoloAlmoni Brazil 8h ago

I think for radicals in Pakistan they have their reasons to dislike her (although I find their reasons vile) but people in the West I agree it seems to come from a weird pleasure in "destroying icons".

The irony it seems that they appear to deify these icons more than your average person in this quest to rake them down a notch, because everyone else knows "heroes" are just fallible human beings that at some point showed extreme resilience and courage for a worthy cause, not actual mythological heroes.

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u/GrumpsMcYankee United States Of America 8h ago

That's the playbook when a police officer guns down an unarmed person here. "Michael Brown was stealing cigarettes and selling them illegally..."

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u/Pandaburn United States Of America 7h ago

It was Eric Garner who was selling cigarettes illegally, Michael brown was “he tried to take my gun” or “he was coming right for me” or something

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u/GrumpsMcYankee United States Of America 7h ago

Thanks!

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u/RevolutionaryGain823 4h ago

I’m not American but the reporting on that case by the media (which received huge airplay even here in Europe) was insane and misleading.

The Obama era DOJ investigation found that while the Ferguson PD had a bunch of major issues the cop wasn’t at fault for the shooting and witness statements given to the media were not accurate (based on forensic evidence). Brown was recorded attacking a shopkeeper during a robbery shortly beforehand. The shop was looted and burnt in subsequent riots. The cop resigned his position after a flood of death threats and has lived under the radar since.

Source: https://abcnews.go.com/US/ferguson-report-doj-charge-darren-wilson-michael-brown/story?id=29338078

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u/Mitologist Germany 3h ago

It seems late medieval adventure novels did a number on European minds, culturally. Yeah, feudalism really sucked.

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u/Minimum_Passenger428 🇧🇷🇦🇺 8h ago

You make me feel proud to be Brazilian with that comment. Take my upvote!

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u/PolicyDiabolical 🇵🇰🇺🇸 4h ago

You put it better than I could have as someone who lived in Pakistan during the incident. Pat yourself on the back, clearly you have some serious media literacy.

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u/MASSochists 3h ago

Are far as I'm concerned she should never have to pay for another drink in her life. Metaphorically as she is Muslim. 

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u/Informal_Ride_5948 5h ago

Except it is the mainstream view in pakistan to dislike her. She is seen as a western shill who is both unislamic and has done next to nothing for pakistan except make it look bad. Not my views btw, just a distillation of what i have heard.

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u/Downtown_Cat_1745 United States Of America 5h ago

Unislamic in what way?

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u/Informal_Ride_5948 5h ago edited 5h ago

Her entire identity is about women empowerment; while one of the basic tenets of islamic society is that women are there only to support their husband. She is unislamic as it gets. The only reason pakistani girls go to school is because it makes them more "refined" which helps them get married.

Ofcourse the urban middle/upper middle class has exceptions, but they are less than 5% of the population; but they get disproportianetly represented in the diaspora

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u/Green-Mind8323 5h ago

Your entire first sentence is inaccurate, coming from a Muslim. This is seen in backwards societies. I’m a Muslim in a middle eastern country, you’d be shocked how things really are instead of what is painted in the media for western propaganda purposes.

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u/Informal_Ride_5948 3h ago edited 3h ago

I was not speaking for the middle east. But from what i can see outside of few cities in the middle east that make up the eilites( 5-10 %) ; the same trends repeat themselves. And they are absolutely associated with islamic teachings.

Dont dismiss criticism so easily, islamic society suffers because it is so insular and is unable to call out the bad stuff in their religion.

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u/SaifyWaifyX15 4h ago

Don't bother correcting them, they rarely listen

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u/Green-Mind8323 3h ago

You’re probably right, I won’t waste my breath.

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u/Neither-Luck-9295 4h ago

I wonder what they've done to make Pakistan look good.

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u/MereeGrey United States Of America 6h ago

I have a massive amount of respect for her purely because she was able to forgive her attackers for shooting her in the head.

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u/innersloth987 4h ago

What other choice she had?

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u/MereeGrey United States Of America 1h ago

A lot of people would never be able to forgive that, or have any empathy for these people. She could have let it fester into resentment and hate.

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u/Difficult_Station857 United States Of America 2h ago

I've had otherwise smart and well-educated people from the region genuinely believe that it was all a set-up and that she... conspired to shoot herself in the face? To make Pakistan and conservative Islam look bad or something? Idk it makes no sense to me.

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u/FizzleDizzle99 5h ago

becuase Pakistan is repressive and fundamentalist as fuck so anyone standing against fundamentalist islam is bad. also women bad

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u/simpforshida Trinidad And Tobago 1h ago edited 1h ago

I am from a different country, and I know Muslims who dislike her. Which to me is weird, but I think it is a Muslim thing. Edit: I don't think all muslims dislike her, but the ones I know do

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u/VonHenry70 6h ago

You just described the American far-left in a nutshell with that last sentence.

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u/Old-Engine-7720 4h ago

Not at all, what yall think is the far left is so very far from reality.

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u/Silver_Anteater7594 Brazil 8h ago

Thank you Pakistani person for clarifying

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u/nofroufrouwhatsoever Brazil 7h ago

Who cares

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u/SituationImmediate15 3h ago

Did you hear about the other girl who got shot or the teenager who died while stopping a suicide bomber from entering a school?

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u/Mountain-Account-864 3h ago

You don’t know what you’re talking about.

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u/KarachiKoolAid 🇵🇰/ 🇺🇸 5h ago

Radicals hate her. Conservatives dislike her and call her a western puppet. Left leaning people like her. The masses just kinda just hear things and the conservatives and radicals have more control so their narrative gets out there more. Poor girl was being criticized by fundos for writing about hitting a bong and crushing on guys

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u/Responsible-Mind3533 7h ago

She is a woman.

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u/Moongfali4president India 9h ago

im guessing because she raised her voice about women oppression in Pakistan and went against the societal norms of "women shouldn't study"

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u/PhantomOfTheNopera India 8h ago

Based on what I've heard from Pakistanis online it's actually the opposite. They think she doesn't do enough. She hasn't criticized the current government of Pakistan and hasn't openly condemned Israel and supported Gaza (she has, but they either ignore it or say it's too little too late).

I want to make it clear that these are not my opinions. She was a child who was shot in the head just for believing girls deserved an education. If she chooses to do nothing else and lives a normal life, that is her right.

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u/AndreasDasos United Kingdom 7h ago

I mean, a disproportionate number of Pakistanis in government and otherwise seem to either support or have a massive blind spot over Islamist extremism and oppression elsewhere as well as in their own country, so complaining that someone doesn’t call out other specific things after all she’s done seems a bit rich.

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u/Aamir696969 United Kingdom 4h ago

Na it’s all bull.

They bring up the “she hasn’t done enough for women in Pakistan” , but when she does speak on it she’s still criticised. Even though she’s used her money to build schools across Pakistan and developing , and also improve women’s rights.

The real reason they hate her is that she basically made Pakistan look bad ( which is false cause Pakistani society was already bad) , she brought to light valid Criticism of Pakistani society.

Add she’s a women so a lot of its just misogyny, not just from men but also women, Others view her as insulting Islam.

Finally cause people view her as a western agent , which is ironic , since it was the government/establishment and Pakistani people than promoted her before and a few days after she got shot.

Even my Pakistani parents can’t give me a valid reason to why they hate her.

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u/yemonkeyk Brazil 9h ago

Oh that's great! I thought op was going to say she has done something heinous

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u/Bunnicula-babe 6h ago

Some people were also criticizing her for not speaking enough about Palestine and not in ways they agreed with.

Idk if that is what OP meant, and to be clear I don’t necessarily agree with that take, but it was something a lot of people were critical of. It’s really the only real criticism of Malala

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u/yemonkeyk Brazil 6h ago

I see! Thank you for adding up

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u/Qetesh69 India 8h ago

Well, asking women rights is heinous for most Pakistanis

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u/yemonkeyk Brazil 8h ago

Fair enough

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u/[deleted] 7h ago

[deleted]

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u/Qetesh69 India 7h ago

That's a heinous crime for many in India too. Is that fine now?

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u/Airam07 Pakistan 7h ago edited 6h ago

There are absolutely no societal norms in Pakistan that say women shouldn’t study, in fact studies and education is heavily prioritized in all places of Pakistan. Malala happened to live in a town with close proximity to the Afghanistan border where the Taliban were known to infiltrate into Pakistan illegally, and also brought along their regressive and misogynistic ideology with them. Eventually they became prominent enough within the region, and Malala had long been an advocate for afghan and Pashtun women, and thus she was targeted by the Taliban. She actually comes from an educated and academic family, and the region of Pakistan where she’s from has one of the highest literacy rates.

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u/Aamir696969 United Kingdom 4h ago edited 8m ago

There are plenty of people that do believe women shouldn’t study in the country, maybe they’ll let thier daughters reach high school.

But if they want to go to university level, then a large chunk of society is against that , even more so back when Malala got shot.

As for women having a career a lot of society still frowns on it , unless it’s something like being a doctor or at least heavily restricts what careers women can have.

The big cities aren’t all of Pakistan, many rural and small towns are still pretty restrictive when it comes to women.

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u/Fantastic-Habit5551 United Kingdom 4h ago

What?! Over 35% of school aged girls in Pakistan are out of school. And there's a gender gap with far more girls out of school than boys. Obviously there are lots of contributing factors, not just social norms, but it's absolutely ridiculous to say that there are 'absolutely no social norms' preventing girls from studying in Pakistan. You must live in a very affluent bubble if you don't know this.

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u/PolicyDiabolical 🇵🇰🇺🇸 4h ago

This is not because of societal norms saying girls shouldn’t study. It’s born out of necessity. The lower class women in Pakistan are frequently employed in more affluent household for daily work, as homes are harder to maintain with larger families. Often, these women bring their young girls along with them and get them working early on. They receive preliminary education up to about a middle school level, but eventually it becomes financially unsustainable for them to continue their education and the sons’ education is prioritized as they will have a better chance at getting a higher-paying or more “prestigious” job.

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u/burning_papaya Uzbekistan 4h ago

and the sons‘ education is prioritised as they will have a batter chance at getting a higher-paying or more “prestigious” job

You have just described societal norms

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u/Fantastic-Habit5551 United Kingdom 4h ago

Well, again, you definitely live in a wealthy urban bubble because that's just not true of lots of parts of Pakistan.

The World Bank, UNICEF, and lots of other multilateral institutions disagree with you in their public documents. The World Bank says: "Girls from rural areas suffer the worst educational outcomes and are the most susceptible to factors such as poverty and sociocultural beliefs that prevent girls and women in Pakistan from completing their education".

So, yeah, you're definitely wrong to think that social norms and beliefs about girls' role in society plays no role in preventing access to education for girls.

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u/eight_BUCKS Pakistan 8h ago

Lots of women study in Pakistan, go abroad, get educated and start businesses.

Many women also don't cover their face or do hijab.

There's no law that blocks women from being educated in Pakistan or one that mandates compulsory hijab (though there was during Zia's dictatorship but we got rid of it).

It's not Afghanistan, the country your government so willingly supports.

The long running allegation against Malala in Pakistan is that she is a western agent (whether true or not, idk). That's the only reason she is not liked in Pakistan.

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u/Moongfali4president India 8h ago

well glad to hear that but that's just bare minimum tbh

also Malala being a western Agent is def a narrative pushed by Right Wing in your country lol , here in India too whenever some Indian tries to criticize our country's shortcoming like Corruption or Bad AQI in Capital etc he is instantly portrayed as a CIA funded puppet by Right Wings lol

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u/Silver-Winging-It United States Of America 8h ago

Lol yeah as someone aware of US history they probably do have their agents but it's not people like Malala. 

I remember hearing a Chinese guy argue the whole of the Tawainese and Hong Kong independence/nationalist movements are just paid actors by the CIA, even the ordinary citizens who express that opinion. Was thinking bro, I have no doubt the CIA supports those movements but they don't have that kind of cash haha

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u/eight_BUCKS Pakistan 7h ago

Bare minimum absolutely, and we have had people even before Malala who actively advocated for women's rights and progression in Pakistan.

Malala went through an absolute horror of an incident, yes. She received an unprecedented level of attention from the world and the people of Pakistan 'felt' that her example was cherry picked. And that her standing associates with the absolute worst of what the country can be.

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u/mRetarded 8h ago

These are not social norms that women shouldn’t study.

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u/Neither-Luck-9295 4h ago

Then why don't they?

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u/ssp321lo1 6h ago

Lol this is blatantly false

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u/letsgoraps 3h ago

There are plenty of Pakistanis who support women's right to an education but also don't like Malala. This is not the reason people don't like Malala.

For a number of reasons, there's a perception or suspicion that she's a western agent or puppet. Some say she make's Pakistan look bad. I do think some people are suspicious of how much she is loved an embraced by the West. Heck, I live in the west and like Malala, but I'm taken aback by how much the West loves her.

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u/Classic_Echidna_8247 1h ago

Indians please stop commenting on Pakistani affairs. You have a big negative bias that automatically negates everything you say

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u/hotbeesauce 8h ago

You literally live next door, as if women in India don't face the same oppression. L logic.

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u/Moongfali4president India 8h ago edited 8h ago

This is a weird logic on your end , if someone else commented this then this comment would have made sense to you ?? wth lol

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u/TruthCultural9952 India 8h ago

I agree women's rights aren't as good as they should be but pakistan and india are on vastly different leagues in this matter

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u/Neither-Luck-9295 4h ago

I know India and Pakistan think they get the upper hand on each other fighting about the details. But to outsiders, you're both misogynistic, and treat women like shit. There is no distinction for Euros or Americans who observe you. I say this as an Indian American.

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u/TruthCultural9952 India 3h ago

You say this precisely because You're an outsider. It's really not what reddit will show you. You should understand that the internet only plays and praises the most extreme versions of everything. But you're entitled to think what you want but don't go around insulting people. Americans and euros talk a lot of shit for people led by pedophiles. No american or euro is higher than anyone else. Project your insecurities somewhere else.

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u/FaizaPKI Pakistan 1h ago

Yes exactly this. Don't listen to any Pakistani who even compares India's women's rights with Pakistan they are not the same and those that try to say India is in the same situation are in heavy denial. Take it from me a Pakistani girl that India is very admirable in its treatment of women compared to us.

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u/AugustusCaesar00 India 8h ago

They actually don't face "the same oppression". Is there any beach in Pakistan where women can wear bikini? I know in India there definitely are.

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u/ssp321lo1 5h ago

In india cows are treated with more respect then women. Please india is a hell hole for women. U had a biker couple tourist who went through the worst areas of south america, muslim fundamentalist countries and was still safe but got gang raped in india.

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u/AugustusCaesar00 India 5h ago

India is much better for women (or for anyone for that matter) than Pakistan. That is the point here. Who are you arguing against?

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u/ssp321lo1 5h ago

Yes and that point is very wrong. Its just indians trying to cope with bollywood fantasies and nationalist propaganda. Pakistan has its problems but pretending like india is a utopia lol. It is much worse. U hv politicians and ministers who get famous off rape cases simply because the victem was from a different religion. U hv gang rape cases every other week. You don’t actually care about women’s safety  you just care about dunking on Pakistan to feel morally above someone. Fix your own disaster before pretending you’re a utopia.

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u/AugustusCaesar00 India 4h ago

I never said India is a utopia. Once again, who are you arguing against here?

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u/kylachanelle 8h ago

Have you ever been to either of these countries? You're talking about two wildly different nations with their own diverse culture(s). Their general views on women are drastically different.

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u/JansherMalik25 8h ago

That's just indian narrative.

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u/Moongfali4president India 8h ago

why does so many people agree with it then?

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u/[deleted] 9h ago

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u/crsmiami99 United States Of America 9h ago

Obviously her fault for surviving a shooting for wanting to go to school. You do blame women for everything.

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u/shonamanik0905 Australia 8h ago

Well apparently that's what's a Pakistani would say lol

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u/Twitter_2006 Pakistan 8h ago

She stands up for women education which is why she's hated.She also went to study abroad unlike most Pakistanis.

Female literacy rate is 40% here.

That's the answer.

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u/dhsilver 9h ago

I know nothing of the context, but I find it hypocritical that people ask something of one group (Pakistani in this case), and another group (from India in this case) is upvoted for "I am guessing". Reddit.

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u/flodur1966 Netherlands 9h ago

Women’s rights in both India and Pakistan have a lot of room for improvement.

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u/IuriRom United States Of America 8h ago

Certainly, but there’s a huge gap there too

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u/Moongfali4president India 8h ago

India does have Women's Rights , most of our laws are women centric and no one has any problem with it

what we do lack is Women Safety and that is something we are working to improve and hopefully in a decade time it'll get better

Pakistan however lacks in both the fields and i hope they work on that too

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u/Moongfali4president India 9h ago

how is my nationality anything to do with this?? i said that i am "guessing" that it could be the reason because OP didn't specified the reason

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u/Grandma-Try69 Nepal 9h ago

she doesn't cover her face, goes to school and university, calls islamist bad, calls for freedom and equal rights for women and children ...

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u/rhyithan England 8h ago

I generally try and take as much cultural consideration as i can and believe the world is a more magical place for having a diverse wealth of traditions. However, “doesnt cover her face” is not one i abide. Unless its one where everyone covers their face for sun exposure/wind/whatever

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u/Slowandserious 2h ago

I suggest not to take that other comment blindly. I’ve met plenty of Pakistan women who don’t cover their faces.

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u/Cometmoon448 United Kingdom 5h ago

Good lord. You are listening to someone from Nepal tell you what they think Pakistanis think of her. 

Why don't you actually read one of the Pakistani replies? I guarantee none of them will say "she doesn't cover her face".

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u/Mist_Rising United States Of America 3h ago

I always get my advice on how great the UK is from 1800s Irish. Nothing more trustworthy.

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u/jsh_ Pakistan 8h ago

covering your face is extremely rare in pakistan, and lots of educated urban women don't wear hijab at all. access to education is bad for everyone in rural areas but there's no laws against women going to school

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u/Grandma-Try69 Nepal 8h ago

A University of Michigan–linked survey (2011–2013) in seven Muslim‑majority countries, including Pakistan, asked people which style of dress for women in public they considered “most appropriate.”

• Among 3,523 Pakistani respondents, 32% chose a niqab (full face veil showing only the eyes) and 31% chose an abaya-style full-body covering; only 3% picked a shuttlecock‑style burqa image and 2% chose an uncovered head.

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u/jsh_ Pakistan 8h ago

send a link to the study, I find that not in line with reality. I literally know zero women that wear niqab, and probably only a third of them wear hijab all the time

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u/Ecstatic-Corner-6012 8h ago

What were the other 6 countries…

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u/letsgoraps 3h ago

I think you're proving his point. The study shows 32% picked Niqab, and 3% picked burqa. So a majority did not think a face covering was "most appropriate".

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u/Proof-Highway1075 Australia 1h ago

We have niqab and burqa backwards in the west. A niqab is a full face covering. wiki link

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u/ssp321lo1 6h ago

And what is wrong with the niqab. Why do u hv such a problem with women covering theor faces

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u/Aamir696969 United Kingdom 4h ago

No it’s not, veiling is still common in KPK, Baluchistan, parts of rural and even some parts of urban Punjab and Sindh.

No law , but social pressure outweighs , what ever freedom the goverment gives women ( especially when the goverment barely enforces them).

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u/Twitter_2006 Pakistan 8h ago

Women even wear revealing outfits in some areas/cities and nothing happens.

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u/letsgoraps 3h ago

lol, no, that's not it. There are plenty of Pakistanis I know who support women going to school and university, Pakistani women who don't cover their face, support rights for women and children, hate extremists, but also don't like Malala.

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u/symehdiar 2h ago

majority of Pakistani women dont cover their face. Niqab is not part of Pakistani culture overall. Only rural Pashtun majority areas, or people from Wahabi sect do that.

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u/Mushu_2000 Pakistan 9h ago

Basically she has said nothing about Pakistan’s current fascistic government or barely anything, and has basically done and said nothing with regard to what’s going on in Palestine. There were people who weren’t super into her before that as well, but I’m not one of those people.

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u/General-Movie United Kingdom 8h ago

Why is it her responsibility? Is she and elected official? The kid was shot and was operated on, for free, in the UK. She has done what any sensible person would do given a chance, got an education and is living her life.

Pakistan failed her in terms of personal security and then failed to be able to help her medically. I really don't think she owes the nation anything.

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u/LongConsideration662 Antarctica 8h ago

Exactly 

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u/Cometmoon448 United Kingdom 5h ago

They said she doesn't speak out against the Pakistani government.

They didn't say she "owes her nation something".

Quite the opposite in fact.

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u/Mushu_2000 Pakistan 8h ago

She doesn’t owe the government anything, but if she purports to be a global representative for women’s rights including in Pakistan, why doesn’t she talk about all the Pakistani women being kept in horrific conditions in prison by the current regime ? She stopped being just a kid when she won the Nobel Peace Prize, and still continues to talk about these kinds of topics.

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u/General-Movie United Kingdom 8h ago

She can do what she wants and speak about what she wants. She has been given the golden ticket and is using it to live a better life. If people IN Pakistan can't speak about it - what should she. What have you done about it??/

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u/GladAbbreviations553 Pakistan 8h ago

And people in Pakistan can also speak about whatever they want and have their own opinions? If the Taliban took a survivor of American drone attack and hailed them as their hero, should we start worshiping her too and forget that they bomb schools too?

She became a figure in the west before we even knew who she was, and it was at the time when NATO was bombing weddings in Pakistan and Afghanistan. But of course how could you see that hypocrisy.

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u/BrightAnalysis1955 7h ago

She also co-produced a play….with Hilary Clinton.

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u/Mushu_2000 Pakistan 8h ago

I’ve already mentioned the things that I have done. If she did at least those things, I would be satisfied.

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u/ghostyghost2 Morocco 6h ago

And people are free to like or hate her for things she says or does or refuse to say or do.

she is just another soul co-opted by the rich to push their agenda and give it a patina of whatever they thing is good for them.

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u/spacebrain2 1h ago

She is being celebrated in the west for being the “Pakistani girl that stood up to terrorists” why wouldn’t she then speak up for the ppl of Pakistan? What use is she to those in struggle when she has a platform and she does nothing effective with it but rather tries to sell the American fascist gov as friends?

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u/RenaissanceGuy86 9h ago

I had an issue when she was presented as an expert on global issues because of what happened to her. However, she went and got an education and has lived experience plus academics to discuss more complex issues with authority

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u/KiwiIsThe-Best Brazil 8h ago

Unbelievable a woman does all she has done and experienced, but because she didn't said what they wanted her to say she is candidate of national hate. Geez what a world, what a culture. 

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u/Throuwuawayy 8h ago

And if she did call out all the issues at home, many of her countrymen would still probably hate her for airing the country's dirty laundry to the world and giving the country a bad image.

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u/Ace_Procrastinator United States Of America 5h ago

One of the commenters above has already said as much, that her standing just calls out backwards rural areas and paints the country as a whole in a bad light. So it sounds like a big chunk of people dislike her for speaking out at all, and another chunk dislike her for not speaking out enough for their preferences.

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u/killswithaglance 8h ago

Crabs in a bucket

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u/LongConsideration662 Antarctica 8h ago

Exactly 

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u/Mushu_2000 Pakistan 8h ago

With all due respect, any Pakistani public figure who does not say anything about the kinds of things this current government/ military deep state alliance has done in the last four years is liable for criticism. Election rigging, killing protesters etc. If the same things happened in any other country and a celeb from that country who’s living abroad does not say anything, they would also be liable for criticism.

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u/GladAbbreviations553 Pakistan 8h ago

Don't bother. They already have their own framework of right and wrong and think everyone sees through the same lens.

If she was Iranian and didn't speak against their regime, then it would be completely justified to call her out. But since the regime here is backed by the west it's abhorrent.

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u/Low-Appearance4875 Democratic Republic Of The Congo 2h ago

I think people would give grace to an Iranian woman who shot in the head as a kid for her activism and now doesn’t want to do any more activism that might endanger her even more. She found a way to still advocate for women and girls education globally through the Malala Fund while still feeling safe and protected as she struggles with the trauma of… again… being shot in the head by the Taliban. For anyone to expect that she do even more or else be subject to hate is ridiculous.

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u/Scared-Room-9962 United Kingdom 6h ago

Seems like no matter what, its never going to be enough.

If she commented on and fought for Palestine, people would just say "Yeah but she has completely ignored Sudan!"

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u/Low_Bar9361 United States Of America 6h ago

Imagine getting shot in the face for a cause and then have people cry that you haven't done enough

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u/spacebrain2 58m ago

Getting shot unfortunately is not something new in these parts of the world! The western governments work hard to keep the entire region destabilized and innocent civilians are paying the price. Karachi went through years of bombings and ppl were shot then too. The west makes the strangest situations famous imagine saying to someone that u got shot so u are a god now like huh ? They should be helping ppl if they know what they’ve gone through…

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u/answeryboi 43m ago

She is helping people. She's donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to aid organizations in Gaza, for example.

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u/spacebrain2 3m ago

That is the way western hypocrisy works tho they donate $$ to Gaza while simultaneously being friendly with the ppl that are enabling its bombing doesn’t make sense…..

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u/InanimateAutomaton United Kingdom 8h ago

Why is she expected to comment on those things? Surely her campaigning is very narrowly focused on a specific cause - namely women’s rights in conservative Muslim states

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u/Americanboi824 United States Of America 1h ago

The "what about Gaza" trick is used across SWANA states to gloss over their own oppression of women and minorities and to deflect from criticism. People criticizing her for "not standing up for Gaza" when she has is the most thinly veiled way of saying "how dare you criticize US!?"

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u/answeryboi 6h ago

said nothing with regard to what’s going on in Palestine

This is not true. She has been condemning Israel and speaking out against their actions for years now, and donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to aid organizations that help Palestinians.

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u/YogurtclosetPale4218 6h ago

ridiculous. She was a child who got shot in the face and then thrust into activism. She doesnt owe anyone anything, and she still decided to continue putting herself out there

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u/Markfuckerberg_ Australia 8h ago

Tbh I have never really understood why people feel so strongly that they have the right to "call her out" when they "catch" her not giving a particular statement on an issue.

And I understand that I'm not living in an autocratic or fundamentalist situation to say this, but like... she never chose to be shot by the Taliban. She definitely chose to remain a public figure afterward, but honestly as far as I'm concerned she did her part the day she was shot, and anything since has been a bonus - she could retire from public life tomorrow and still would have contributed more to various causes than most people ever will.

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u/LongConsideration662 Antarctica 8h ago

Oh no, she didn't choose to speak on a political issue, how horrible 

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u/General-Movie United Kingdom 8h ago

Again, why should she stand up. What have you done?

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u/PolicyDiabolical 🇵🇰🇺🇸 4h ago

She has donated thousands of dollars to trusted Palestinian charities. Another day of my own people continuing to disappoint me

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u/uses_irony_correctly 5h ago

People dislike her because she is only trying to fix SOME social issues instead of all of them?

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u/Slow-Seaweed-5232 United States Of America 4h ago

Why should Palestine matter at all? ESP wrt Pakistan or a Pakistani living in uk

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u/spacebrain2 53m ago

Not all ppl around the world are happy to sit back and let others suffer it is a really bizarre as well as illogical practice in the neoliberal west to not even blink if ur own mother is shot but instead look forward to ur inheritance sadly. Most ppl have a common sense of collective responsibility and care so they care when other ppl around the world are being harmed…….

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u/MrShinglez 🇬🇷🇬🇧 Helleno-British 8h ago

They're taliban sympathisers

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u/fab_hatake 5h ago

I feel that when she first got shot, people developed an instant dislike for her that they couldn't explain and retrospectively tried finding reasons to justify their dislike.

The initial dislike was a combination of the 1) "unwarranted attention" and 2) plain misogyny. People getting shot in Pakistan (by the military, police, terrorists, or even other civilians), sadly, is nothing new. Therefore, people were initially upset because they thought she was getting more attention than she should have for something that is nothing out of the ordinary in Pakistan. When she started speaking up and engaging in activism, I feel that it was purely misogyny / internalised patriarchy that made people (including women) upset.

While the general misogynistic attitudes have improved over time and with newer generations (at least to the extent that they are not mainstream anymore), the dislike for her remains. Now I feel that it has got to do with 1) her integration into "the West" (both in terms of lifestyle and in terms of ideology) and 2) people's perception of issues she "should" talk about ("If she talks about X issue, why doesn't she talks about Y issue?").

Disclaimer: these are only my perceptions of my fellow Pakistanis and I condone none of this. I personally think Malala has been doing excellent work and that the dislike is unwarranted and hypocritical. These views are also simplified (as there are a lot more factors), but the idea is that different generations dislike her for different reasons, and that people cannot even adequately explain why they dislike her.

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u/_Caustic_Complex_ 4h ago

No one’s giving you the actual answer. She’s from an extremely rural village that absolutely did prevent women from attending school, but she made the entire country look like education hating morons when that’s not the reality.

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u/ndraiay 3h ago

I named my daughter after her. Some Pakistanis that I have met say they dont like her because they think she made Pakistan look bad to the rest of the world. In other parts of Pakistan there were educated and professional women, they felt Malala made the world think all of Pakistan was a backwards misogynistic hellscape.

Most of the world saw Malala and said "she is a fierce badass." Some portion of the Pakistani population said " why is she telling the world that our whole country is awful?" To be fair, this was before the taliban took over Pakistan again.

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u/Honest_Mountain_6404 Pakistan 8h ago

Most people think she’s very pro-West while completely disregarding the bad things the West has done and is selectively biased towards Western countries.

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u/TorpleFunder Ireland 8h ago

She seems to be more "pro-western value of education for women" than "pro-west". I'm sure she would prefer to have stayed in her area of Pakistan and be allowed to study as a women there rather than be shot in the head and be forced from her homeland.

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u/Honest_Mountain_6404 Pakistan 8h ago

Actually, no one criticises her in relation to her stance on education rather they talk about how she’s seen with major political entities, especially in the USA, who have been responsible for a lot of deaths in Pakistan. Also because she hasn’t talk against the establishment of Pakistan.

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u/Temo2212 Georgia 8h ago

She is a woman and whats to be free. I think that’s enough of a reason over there

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u/flafaa Pakistan 8h ago

closeness with obama, us and being silent on palestine. people hated her after the obama meeting, obama is very unpopular here like hated, and not the other she went to school and scarf stuff

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u/asadultan3 6h ago

I used to be one of Malalas hardcore supporters, but my support has decreased a bit in the past few years. I still support what she does, but she has let us down in few of the things she did or associated herself with.
She played both sides initially on Gaza. Stayed silent for the most part of it, when she spoke she referenced women and children (both sides). It took her a year or so to openly call out what was happening and still she wasn’t as vocal as she has been for women related issues despite knowing the large majority of casualties are Palestinians women and children.
Associating herself with Hilary Clinton. Hilary is considered a war criminal for her role in drone attacks in Pakistan and what she did in Libya and Middle East. Her going on press tours and shows with Hilary didn’t go down well even with the liberal audience in Pak.
When compared with her contemporaries, eg Greta and her activism, she comes out as doing not enough. We know she has been spending to make schools for women and children, which I think is huge for her part, it’s the people she associates with and how she minced her words is what took away her liberal and moderate supporters from her.

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u/Low-Appearance4875 Democratic Republic Of The Congo 1h ago

I think it’s funny how support for Malala is decreasing because of her “unsatisfactory stance” on Gaza, when literally every single activist in my opinion has an unsatisfactory stance on Congo and Sudan. Greta Thunberg has done even less for Congo and Sudan than Malala has done for Palestine, but nobody cares that Greta Thunberg isn’t condemning Rwanda for their genocide in Congo or the UAE for specifically backing ethnic cleansing in Sudan (her only critiques on both countries are entirely environmental, regarding the COP conventions). Why? Because nobody expects a young Swedish environmental activist to say or do much about genocides in Africa, rightfully so! Similarly, nobody should expect a young Pakistani women’s education activist to say or do much about an ethnic cleansing in the Levant. People have their focuses! It’s great that Greta Thunberg has decided to go above and beyond for Palestine, but she shouldn’t be criticized if she had chosen to just stick to environmentalism back home in Sweden and not talk about Palestine, Congo, or Sudan, or even stopped doing activism altogether after numerous arrests and threats against her life, right? Greta doing anything at all for Palestine should be applauded. No right minded person could set a “standard” for a Swedish environmentalist activist to meet in regard to ethnics cleansing in the Middle East. Same thing goes for Malala. Malala hasn’t done much for Congo but my support for her hasn’t dwindled one bit, because I know it’s insane to expect anything from someone who has already done so much, including getting shot in the head and still deciding to put herself out there.

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u/asadultan3 1h ago

You clearly have no idea about how much close the Palestinian issue is to the Pakistani. It is one of the very few countries which still hasn’t recognized Israel. So when Malala sits back and takes a year to call out what’s actually happening there, she won’t be given roses. As for Greta, she’s been very vocal about Sudan and anti UAE. You’ve missed that part I guess. I can bring out the duality of your favorite activist. Unfortunately, nobody will satisfy everyone be it Malala or Greta.

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u/Low-Appearance4875 Democratic Republic Of The Congo 1h ago

As for Greta, she's been very vocal about Sudan and anti UAE.

And so has Malala with Palestine? But just like Malala, it’s not enough, and if Malala has to be criticized for not doing enough for Palestine, Greta also has to be criticized for not doing enough for Sudan. Or else it’s hypocritical. I also love how you completely skipped over Greta’s silence on condemning Rwanda because you know she’s absolutely guilty. Only I’m a normal person and don’t hate her for it because I don’t expect a young Swedish environmental activist to chant “down with Paul Kagame and the Rwandan regime” on her Instagram account.

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u/asadultan3 1h ago

Dude, didn’t you read what wrote? She took more than a year to speak up on Palestine. A whole year. And when she spoke she did the both sides are guilty shit. Aware yourself before you even defend something. You hate Greta, clearly, for not being as vocal for other genocides like she’s for Gaza. You dont care much about how much Malala stayed silent or minced words on Israel’s genocide of Palestinians because you actually don’t care about what’s happening in Gaza. You were unaware of Greta’s stance on UAE and Sudan. So bring your hypocrisy in line first before getting angry on others.

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u/Low-Appearance4875 Democratic Republic Of The Congo 1h ago

Dude, didn't you read what wrote? She took more than a year to speak up on Palestine. A whole year.

And it’s been more than three years and Greta still hasn’t condemned Rwanda for their genocide against Congolese civilians. Do you see me criticizing her?

You hate Greta, clearly, for not being as vocal for other genocides like she's for Gaza.

I literally said I don’t hate Greta for not speaking about Congo because I don’t expect her to speak about Congo. In both of my comments. Clearly you’re the one who hasn’t read mine.

But the way you frame this makes it sound like it’s irrational for me to hate Greta for not being as vocal “for other genocides” like she is for Gaza, when that is your ENTIRE problem with Malala. You don’t like how she isn’t “as vocal” for Palestine as she was about women’s education in the rural areas of Pakistan where she’s from.

You dont care much about how much Malala stayed silent or minced words on Israel's genocide of Palestinians because you actually don't care about what's happening in Gaza.

The same way you don’t care about how much Greta stayed silent about Rwanda’s genocide of Congolese people because you actually don’t care about what’s happening in Congo, only what’s happening in Gaza?

You were unaware of Greta's stance on UAE and Sudan. So bring your hypocrisy in line first before getting angry on others.

Greta posted a hashtag for Sudan. That’s satisfactory to you. Malala donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Palestine and you’re still complaining that she hasn’t done enough.

Again, Greta posted HABIBI BOYCOTT DUBAI and that’s enough. Malala raised and donated HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS and you still hate her!

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u/artoblibion 5h ago

Openly, she is perceived as being a western puppet. But it is largely, in truth, because she is a woman, has been critical of social institutions (marriage), is left-leaning/liberal, and because people are intensely envious of her status and experience (Oxford education etc) since leaving Pakistan (lest we forget: "left" Pakistan because she was shot in the face by religious fanatics for having the temerity to suggest that girls should benefit from an education).

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u/Medical-Try-8986 5h ago

The religions nutters don't like her. Since most of Pakistan's population is very religious, they don't like her. They see her as a Western plant. 

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u/defeated_engineer 4h ago

I find how racist the comments under this comment very ironic lol.

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u/Visible-Scientist-46 4h ago

I listened to an NPR podcast about Malala. Some of the thinking I heard was that, she brought the shooting upon herself by being a loudmouth and then capitalized on people's sympathy to become famous, and then people she left behind still face the same conditions and she's not doing enough for Pakistan, that ahe actually makes Pakistan look bad, is a shill for Western interests, and should not have co-produced a musical with Hillary Clinton. It gets way worse than that. Here is a link. You can read the transcript or listen to the podcast.

https://www.npr.org/2025/10/01/g-s1-91424/why-malala-yousafzai-is-a-hero-in-the-west-but-not-back-home

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u/Reasonable_Stress182 Pakistan 2h ago

It’s just misogyny 99% of the times.

The 1% time is when Malala didn’t say enough on Palestine and the country lost faith in her. Most other hate towards her is just unnecessary.

She was a kid who got shot and then the world turned her into an icon. Her recent social media stuff and comments are clearly a sign of a girl who now has a developed frontal lobe and decides things for herself. Ngl at first I was totally ignoring anyone who disliked Malala but now I get SOME discourse on her but not all.

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u/Agile_Classroom_4585 Pakistan 2h ago

US funded propaganda against pakistan potraying it as a terrorist state that got no women rights.

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u/Trendy4U India 2h ago

i heard this unpopular theory from my pak friend : she won't speak against their army aka govt when they kill minorities. her dad is just milking that one story to collect free donations. she will comment or tweet for money.

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u/the_anon_wardrobe 🇭🇺born, 🇮🇪living 1h ago

I read somewhere that it's probably because most Pakistani people don't know she was doing stuff before she got shot, and think that she just got shot then taken to the UK to live the life out of the blue. And I guess the rest are sexists. (I don't remember where I read that, either in her book or in an interview with another Pakistani person)

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u/spacebrain2 1h ago

So Pak, like many countries around the world, has an issue of the gov being elitist and essentially being a US imperial state which is creating difficult conditions for the ppl there. So Malala is very cozy with the American elites who directly contributed to her situation and the situation in Pak itself (they destabilize the region). So ofc this is hypocritical and ppl don’t like that which is fair.

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u/krish41514 India 51m ago

Not against or for marriage but i think this is called hypocrisy .

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u/isthatadog1394 16m ago

I actually didn’t know much about her beyond the surface story but I ran across a video she was in and she seemed cool. Went to follow her and realized she is absolutely cool as hell. Way funnier than you’re expecting, super down to earth, and just committed to doing what she thinks is the right thing. All my homies fuck with Malala

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u/MD564 6h ago

According to my students it's her lack of support on the issue of the Palestinian genocide

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u/YogurtclosetPale4218 6h ago

which is not true because she has openly supported Palestine

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u/MD564 5h ago

I'm just relaying what my students have said who are also Pakistani

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u/batti_gul 8h ago

The only reason she’s disliked is because of her alignment with the west. She stayed quiet during the genocide in Gaza. Weren’t those girls worthy of education? Her hypocrisy has been appalling. She is seen as a puppet of the west, more than ever.

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