Malala’s efforts, while applauded by the West and some segments of Pakistani society, were deeply resented by the obscurantist forces that go by the name of the Taliban, which in Pakistan calls itself Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. Their choice of name is an ironic one, for Taliban, an Arabic word, means those seeking to be educated, whereas the Taliban’s principal aim is to keep Muslim societies backward so that they can be persuaded to adopt a seventh-century version of Islam.
马拉拉的努力受到了西方和巴基斯坦一部分人的赞扬，但被称为塔利班的反启蒙势力对她深恶痛绝。他们巴基斯坦自称巴基斯坦塔利班（Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan），这是个奇怪的名字，因为“塔利班”这个阿拉伯词语的意思是寻求受教育，而塔利班的主旨是保持穆斯林社会的落后状况，以便说服他们接受17世纪的伊斯兰教义。