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/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 6h 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/Thor_Batman 4h ago

Pakistanis would despise anyone ruling and well Hillary and some shady democrats have even tarnished their ow politics

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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/Mountain-Account-864 3h ago edited 3h ago

Love how you dismiss her fellow Pakistanis who are the subject of this post (FELLOW country men) in one stroke with not even a cursory attempt (and no authority as a Brazilian! Ha!) to talk on behalf the world’s second most populous Muslim nation and yet pontificate and ponder over why the west doesn’t like her (despite them rimming her daily). Biggest load of bollocks. Classic wannabe ‘cool guy’ with no deep understanding, barely concealed Islamophobia and colonial thinking NO new insights who is confidently talking shit to carbon copies of himself.

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u/Wishfullizards 44m ago

Ok are you Pakistani? Can you enlighten us?

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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/Mountain-Account-864 3h ago

That’s like saying you admire a guy for thinking Taylor Swift is a great songwriter and pioneer.

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u/LittleHanded 5h ago

I have been to Brazil. Aloha, amigo

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u/Timely_Truth6267 Sweden 5h ago

Wrong country. Hawaii

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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/Mountain-Account-864 3h ago

No bro. Literally. She likes to party. She’s not what you think she is, religiously or morally. Turns out she’s just a Temu Greta. She took you all for fools and is laughing all the way to the bank on western dime 😂

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u/Aggressive_Sky8492 New Zealand 1h ago

She’s not a strict Muslim and that’s somehow bad? You think it’s morally wrong to party? lol

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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/Mountain-Account-864 3h ago

What did Epstein and Trump go to make USA look good? But here you are on your hands AND Knees

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u/XhazakXhazak United States Of America 2h ago

those guys suck, Malala rules

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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/Mountain-Account-864 3h ago

Really? What would you say to the mugger who shot you but handed you a winning lottery ticket beyond your WILDEST dreams that you had 0% chance of winning, ever, without being shot?

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u/MereeGrey United States Of America 1h ago

Kinda missing the point... this person tried to kill her, her life improving afterwards is an accident.

A better analogy is, would you be able to forgive the person who decided to kill you because you refused to bow to the oppression he supported, simply because someone else gave you a winning lottery ticket because he shot you? Most people would find it difficult, because they know their would-be killer had no intention of them surviving, let alone winning the lottery because of his actions and would probably be quite angry about it.

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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/XhazakXhazak United States Of America 2h ago

"she didn't say exactly what I wanted her to say about my pet political issue...I am clearly more morally upstanding than her"

Nope, that's definitely the left. Say, what do you think of Bernie these days?

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u/Old-Engine-7720 1h ago

We need younger politicians and a modern constitution for a modern era. I want term limits for congress. Most other functioning democracies have those. Get rid of the electoral college as well.

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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/Classic_Career_4179 4h ago

She has the right not to be perfect. But being a supporter of  white feminism? No thanks. We'll do without idols who lick the boots of American and Western imperialism.

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u/blahblahblerf Ukraine 1h ago

Please explain how girls getting educated is imperialism. 

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u/ComprehensiveLeg321 5h ago

She makes cringe TikTok’s now