Malala Yousafzai may be an ardent advocate of women’s rights, she may be a strong activist, she may be a Nobel Prize winner, she may be the epitome of world peace, but it will never be enough for the haters. There she was, she stood amongst some of the world’s most famous people on one of the most respected platforms in the global film industry, but it was her accent that some people noticed. Pakistani accent.
The irony is that Pakistanis criticize him for speaking like a Pakistani. The woman spent 15 years of her life in this country – shocking, she actually talks like she’s from here.
When will people realize that English is not the barometer of a good education and that the accent is missing even suddenly? Respect for someone should definitely not be included in your criteria – it’s just a means of communication. A greater measure of intelligence would be the Oxford degree and its many, many achievements.
Another thing worth noting is that English isn’t his native language, but that’s not really the problem here. The people who criticize it are the same people who exoticize and fetishize a French or Italian accent. I don’t know if this should be branded as hypocrisy or self-hatred stemming from inferiority complex. Breaking news – our colonists left more than half a century ago. I suggest you do something about your colonial hangover because baby, it’s really not healthy to still be stuck with it for over seventy years.
Additionally, I can almost guarantee that anyone who makes fun of him for his Pakistani accent would have even more trouble if he had a British or American accent. It would still be criticized and called selling, or it would be a meme like the British-Asian actor Ahsan Khan, who is here and there at the same time. At this point, we know that people are looking for reasons to hate him. The woman suffered and survived an assassination attempt, and after that, no one can stand her to truly live her best life.
If all you can do is go around him like a vulture picking out made-up flaws instead of being proud of what he’s accomplished at such a young age, then man, that’s your problem. Because the world knows Malala and the world loves Malala. He’s an inspiration and I think it’s really cool that he talks like a Pakistani. Her accent identity is a distinct identifier of her colloquial roots and proves that Malala is largely Pakistani. If that bothers you, that’s your problem.
Here’s a message to all haters – even if your only purpose in life is to hate, at least find something worth hating.