Punjab seizes textbooks featuring Malala Yousafzai
The Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board has seized a Social Studies textbook of grade one for featuring Pakistani Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai.
Her picture was published by the Oxford University Press on page 33 of the textbook along with the picture of Nishan-i-Haider recipient Maj Aziz Bhatti Shaheed.
Other important personalities featured in the book included Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, national poet Allama Iqbal, philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi and Begum Rana Liaquat Ali.
Malala's picture was published because she is a Nobel prize winner, a spokesperson of the Oxford Publishing Press said. "The government is conducting raids and confiscating our books from markets across the province."
Officials of the Punjab textbook boards have, on the other said, said that the book was not included in the Single National Curriculum. "It was never sent to the board for approval," the spokesperson said.
On Tuesday, the board issued a show-cause notice to the publishing press stating that the subject of Social Studies has not been included in the syllabus of class one.
The action was taken under sections 10 and 14 of the PTCB Act, 2015.
Following this, a number of politicians, activists, and people criticised the government's decision.
Some said that the presence of Malala in the textbook was a "classic case of mass paranoia about anything good".
The whole Malala’s presence in text books, seems such a classic case of mass paranoia about anything good. The girl is an icon, whether or not Pakistanis acknowledge her. Dr. Salam didn’t stop being a physicist just cos Pakistan refused to accept him. The only loss then is ours.
— Abdullah Saad (@kursed) July 12, 2021
The Punjab Police has raided bookshops to seize a Grade 7 textbook by a reputed publisher because it included a pic of Nobel Laureate Malala! This is shameful, ignorant, reactionary, condemnable behaviour. Laanat!
— Najam Sethi (@najamsethi) July 13, 2021
In a National Assembly session on Wednesday, PPP leader Sherry Rehman questioned the role of women leaders and heroes in the country. "How is this not of public importance that a girl who was ready to sacrifice her life for the country is being treated in such a demeaning way."
Why has @Malala’s name been erased by Punjab’s textbook curriculum board from many school books? asks Senator @sherryrehman in the Senate pic.twitter.com/GKDmVYI2AP
— SherryRehman’sTeam (@SRehmanOffice) July 14, 2021
The world is giving her [Malala] awards and the board thinks that she is not worthy of being featured in a textbook, the PPP leader pointed out.
Last year, the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board banned the sale and printing of 100 textbooks for having anti-Pakistan and anti-Islamic content.
More than 10,000 books were seized and the matter was being further investigated, he said.
Punjab
malala yousafzai
