LAHORE: Some students of Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) have reportedly asked the administration to 'dis-invite' girls rights activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai from the varsity's annual convocation, saying that she is 'anti-state'.
The students wrote to the Vice Chancellor of the university expressing their reservations over having her as the keynote speaker at the convocation.
According to social media reports, the members of the graduating batch of LUMS want singer Bilal Khan to grace the convocation ceremony as the keynote speaker instead of Yousafzai. An Associate Professor at LUMS tweeted that the students have said that they "come from army families and that Malala is anti-state".
https://twitter.com/SanvalNasim/status/1277690971866697728?s=20
However, he clarified that the students who wrote to the VC do not speak for the entire student body and these sentiments have been expressed only by a few students.
https://twitter.com/SanvalNasim/status/1277892814194475010?s=20
Meanwhile, social media users including LUMS alumni are appalled by the students not wanting Malala Yousafzai to speak at their convocation.
https://twitter.com/Shehzad89/status/1277895259431866369?s=20
https://twitter.com/antifatwa/status/1277925635583868928?s=20
Hateful rhetoric against Malala Yousafzai is often peddled in Pakistan even by some seemingly educated individuals who accuse the celebrated activist of having links with the American establishment among other things. Some even term the 2012 attack on her a 'drama' despite the fact that she was initially treated at a military hospital after being shot at, and was later flown to the United Kingdom (UK) by the Pakistan government.
The students wrote to the Vice Chancellor of the university expressing their reservations over having her as the keynote speaker at the convocation.
According to social media reports, the members of the graduating batch of LUMS want singer Bilal Khan to grace the convocation ceremony as the keynote speaker instead of Yousafzai. An Associate Professor at LUMS tweeted that the students have said that they "come from army families and that Malala is anti-state".
https://twitter.com/SanvalNasim/status/1277690971866697728?s=20
However, he clarified that the students who wrote to the VC do not speak for the entire student body and these sentiments have been expressed only by a few students.
https://twitter.com/SanvalNasim/status/1277892814194475010?s=20
Meanwhile, social media users including LUMS alumni are appalled by the students not wanting Malala Yousafzai to speak at their convocation.
https://twitter.com/Shehzad89/status/1277895259431866369?s=20
https://twitter.com/antifatwa/status/1277925635583868928?s=20
Hateful rhetoric against Malala Yousafzai is often peddled in Pakistan even by some seemingly educated individuals who accuse the celebrated activist of having links with the American establishment among other things. Some even term the 2012 attack on her a 'drama' despite the fact that she was initially treated at a military hospital after being shot at, and was later flown to the United Kingdom (UK) by the Pakistan government.