Clinton, Ban Ki Moon condemn attack on Malala Yousafzai

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday condemned the shooting of an outspoken 14-year old Pakistani advocate for girls’ education. She said the attack should serve as a call to action for those promoting the rights of women and girls. Clinton said the shooting of Malala Yousufzai should galvanize support for “brave young women … who struggle against tradition and culture and even outright hostility, and sometimes violence” to pursue their rights. She blamed the attack on extremists who are threatened by girls’ empowerment. The Taliban has taken responsibility for Monday’s shooting in Pakistan’s volatile Swat Valley. Clinton said the “attack reminds us of the challenges that girls face, whether it is poverty or marginalisation or even violence just for speaking out for their basic rights.” UN chief outraged at attack on Malala UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is expressing outrage and the strongest condemnation over the shooting of Malala Yousufzai. He declared the attack as a ”heinous and cowardly act,” UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said. Ban urged that the perpetrators be swiftly brought to justice and expressed solidarity with Pakistan’s efforts to confront violent extremism, he said. Nesirky said Wednesday that the secretary-general was deeply moved by Malala’s ”courageous efforts” to promote education, a right enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He said Ban is writing to her family to express his hope for her full and speedy recovery, and expresses sympathy to the two other girls injured in the attack.