Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai is in hot waters for co-producing a new Broadway musical titled ‘Suffs’ with former US State Secretary Hillary Clinton. Pakistanis across the political divide took to X, formerly Twitter, to denounce her for collaborating with a US leader perceived as a “warmonger” who endorsed wars killing thousands in Afghanistan and Libya, supported CIA’s drone strikes in Pakistan, and justified bombing of Gaza.
Globally recognized for advocacy for girls’ right to education now, Malala, a resident of Swat, Pakistan survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban in 2012. She and her family fled to the United Kingdom after the attack. In 2013, she founded an INGO for girls education— Malala Fund. Since then, she has come under attack for being a “CIA agent” by the rightwing. For years, sections of civil society in Pakistan have stood with Malala in solidarity to debunk misogynist allegations against her. However, since October 7, Malala's response to the plight of women and children of Gaza has been criticized as "lukewarm", and now the collaboration with the US politician is seen as a betrayal of sorts.
Here is a quick look at how a few netizens expressed support for Malala and others their disappointment over her apparent allegiance with Clinton.