The Burka Avenger is taking the world by storm. Hailing from Pakistan, she is the first Muslim female superhero, and the recent premiere of her Urdu animated television show has created an international media frenzy.

When required to protect her students, Jiya — a mild-mannered teacher who was orphaned as a child — can transform into her alter ego, the Burka Avenger, by putting on her full-length, flowing black burqa and fight crime. Her weapons of choice — pens and books — give a small glimpse at her day job, but her ninja acrobatics come as a bit of a surprise.

Instead of bank robbers and nuclear terrorists, the Burka Avenger focuses on the issues at hand in modern Pakistan. In plots ripped from the headlines, she prevents her school from being closed down by extremist thugs, stops child labor exploitation, overcomes electrical shortages and stands up against sectarian violence. She is an authentic local heroine — at least as much as any cartoon character can be! — for a captivated local audience.

Timed to coincide with Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that celebrates the end of fasting during Ramadan, the show's launch has been such a success so far that there is reportedly interest in distributing the show to as many as 60 countries, dubbed in several languages, including English. "Burka Avenger" appears to be filling a need much larger than even its creators may have anticipated.

Much of the initial global press has focused on her burqa, which is seen by many in the West as a means of oppressing women and denying their fundamental human rights. Critics fear that the show glamorizes the burqa and may encourage more young girls to wear this symbol of subjugation. Interestingly, burqas are uncommon among city women in Pakistan, and Jiya, when not doing good deeds and saving the day, does not wear one.

The show's creator, pop star Haroon Rashid, dismisses these concerns and suggests that the burqa is nothing more than a means to keep Jiya's identity secret, a common motif among superheroes for many decades.

Issues such as the importance of educating girls are particularly important in Pakistan today, where only about one-quarter of girls are enrolled in primary school. Last year, Malala Yousafzai, a teenage girl in the Taliban-controlled northwestern part of the country, was shot by extremists because of her high-profile activism. Rashid has referred to Malala, who spoke at the United Nations last month, as a "real-life superhero."

Clearly, by wearing a burqa, the Burka Avenger is identified unambiguously as a Muslim, located within the historical and cultural experiences built up around Islam over the centuries. Rashid stresses that she is meant to reflect the positive values of the religion rather than the negative images that have resulted from the hijacking of Islam by the Taliban and other extremists.

Like many well-intentioned edutainment cartoons that preceded it — "Captain Planet and the Planeteers" springs readily to mind — the show's morality is straightforward and quality of animation is not quite state-of-the-art. However, there are ample attempts at humor and action to engage the young viewers who are its chosen demographic.

And then there's the music! The catchy theme tune, "Don't Mess With the Lady in Black," is sung by Rashid himself. Pakistani rappers and rockers supply other toe-tapping songs intended to be memorable to both the children watching intently and any supervising adult who happens to be within earshot.

With childhood illiteracy at such high levels in Pakistan, educational television shows have an important role to play in supplementing what little formal education a young boy or girl may have received. "Burka Avenger" attempts to fill this gap in a way that will seem as authentic as any commercially produced animated series could be expected to.

Unsurprisingly, like any media property in the 21st century, "Burka Avenger" will be delivering its message across platforms and across devices. In addition to the television show, there will be downloadable songs, music videos, games and lots of merchandise. Lots and lots of merchandise, no doubt.

Although some Western commentators will be fixated almost exclusively on the presence of the burqa, the more important lessons of the "Burka Avenger" phenomenon should not be passed over in haste. The show is a local production by Pakistanis for Pakistanis, and it seems poised to spread rapidly around the Muslim world. By using a format that has been created and developed — if not perfected — in the United States and turning it to their own purposes, Rashid and the team behind "Burka Avenger" are demonstrating that they are more than able to address at least some of their country's chellenges themselves.

Poorly dubbed versions of "ThunderCats" and "My Little Pony" are no longer needed!

Timothy Spangler is a writer and commentator who divides his time between Los Angeles and London. His radio show, "The Bigger Picture with Timothy Spangler," airs every Sunday night from 10 p.m. to midnight Pacific time on KRLA AM 870. To find out more about Timothy Spangler and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.