US diplomat hopes song can win over Pakistan
ISLAMABAD —A US official is taking a novel approach to diplomacy in Pakistan — singing in a local language to build bridges in one of the world’s most dangerous countries, where anti-Americanism runs rampant.
Shayla Cram, a public diplomacy officer assigned to Peshawar, the gateway to Al-Qaeda and Taliban strongholds in the northwestern tribal belt, has not only learnt Pashto but has penned her own Pashto-style song.
“Jenaiy”, which means “girl”, is a tribute to Malala Yousafzai, the teenager who was shot in the head by the Taliban for promoting education for girls.
It features Cram on guitar and vocals and a Pakistani musician on the rabab — a tra- ditional stringed instrument — and urges girls to have hope for the future and pursue their dreams.
“There’s definitely need in Pakistan to encourage young girls and females in their education and leadership, to make them young leaders, and that’s the basic message of my song,” Cram told AFP.
Women in Pakistan, particularly in northwestern rural areas, are frequently treated as second-class citizens, subjected to horrific violence in the name of family “honour”, and denied education.
Nationwide, fewer than half of women can read and write and militants are violently opposed to girls going to school — as showed by the October attack on Malala, now recovering in Britain.