Due to Covid-19 we, as students, understand what it feels like to miss school. But not just school, we know what it feels like to miss our friends, miss the freedom we once had, we missed being able to be in an environment where you can learn, grow, and socialize. 11-year-old Malala Yousafzai knew first-hand what it was like to say goodbye to her friends and school life just because she was a girl. She was born in Mingora, Pakistan on July 12th, 1997. Her father was determined to give her a life he felt she deserved because being born a girl in Pakistan means that your life would be filled with violence, sexism, control, and discrimination. This is where things take a turn for the worst for Malala. In 2008 she attended school, along with other young girls, around this time the Taliban takes control of the city she lived in and they decided to ban all types of schooling exclusively to young girls, preteens, young women. Basically, anyone who was a woman was not allowed to go to school. Now just to be clear schooling was not the only thing that was taken away. According to The Government of State Archive states that basic healthcare, movement, education, and basic rights were all taken away from women. “Women are imprisoned in their homes and are denied access to basic health care and education. Food sent to help starving people is stolen by their leaders. The religious monuments of other faiths are destroyed. Children are forbidden to fly kites, or sing songs... A girl of seven is beaten for wearing white shoes.”
-- President George W. Bush, Remarks to the Warsaw Conference on Combating Terrorism, November 6, 2001
In 2012 something changed. Malala spoke out publicly and spoke about the rights of women. She spoke out in front of many people and defended women and spoke of how they are humans just the same as men. Here is the result of when she gave that speech. On October 9th, 2012
Malala was walking home from school with some friends th
ey all boarded the school bus and sat down. A masked man walked up in the school bus and said one thing. “Who is Malala?” She stood up and she was immediately shot in the left side of her head. Her friends that were with her that day were also shot. She would spend many months in the hospital recovering but in 2014 she moves with her family to the UK and eventually received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. She begins studying at the University of Oxford in 2018 and the Malala Fund was started. 2020 she graduates from Oxford University and continues to fight for women and children on education and equality. Malala has been speaking out for young girls and adults for 13 years. The Malala fund has been making an impact for a very long time and is still receiving lots of support. Her actions have impacted many young women around the world, after winning a Nobel Peace Prize and being named as one of the Most Influential Teens in 2014 by TIME it allowed her to set the stage against the Taliban. Right now girls, teens, and young women are legally allowed to go to school. However they still have obstacles to face, the biggest one being the Taliban. According to Borgen Magazine "The Sunni Islamic militant organization claims that female education is contrary to Islamic law and they also disagree with western-style schooling. The Taliban has destroyed school buildings, killed hundreds of teachers and students, and specifically terrorized girlsseeking an education. In 2007, the Taliban began a violent and terroristic stream of attacks in Pakistan. As a result, 900 girls’ schools were closed, ending the education of more than 120,000 girls." The best thing about the Malala Foundation is that she is using the money received by people who have donated to her, by building schools in rural areas so that girls everywhere can go to school. Malala has shown me that people cannot silence you, one of my favorite quotes says is "When the world becomes silent, even one point becomes powerful." She is not the woman who was shot on a bus, she is the woman known for fighting for education for girls like me. I believe that she is a fantastic role model who has proven again and again that she is not a force to be reckoned with. What that teaches me is to never give up the fight. At the end of the day, I am glad she is fighting for women who want to go to school.To donate to the Malala Fund click here: https://malala.org/donate?sc=header
Work cited
Yousafzai, M. (n.d.). Working for a world where all girls can learn and lead. Retrieved February 12, 2021, from https://malala.org/
Pekular, M. (2019, April 02). Top 10 facts about Girls' education in Pakistan. Retrieved February 12, 2021, from https://www.borgenmagazine.com/top-10-facts-about-girls-education-in-pakistan/
Person. (2016, July 12). Malala YOUSAFZAI: See some of her best accomplishments. Retrieved February 12, 2021, from https://time.com/4402630/malala-yousafzai-accomplishments/
U.S. Department of state. (n.d.). Retrieved February 12, 2021, from https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/6185.htm
I really enjoy your closing remarks, how Malala stands as a sign for women all over to keep fighting and to keep letting their voices be heard. I really like how you opened this up with talk about COVID-19 and how everything has been kind of getting taken for granted right now. Yes, the situation is inconvenient, but at least, as women, we're still allowed the right to education in this country. We have fights for gender equality in the U.S, but our wants for our society are not nearly as dire as those in Malala's. She also took a stand in much scarier conditions than one would if they lived in the U.S, because she was speaking out against a violent, tyrannical government trying to strip women completely of their rights. I always knew of Malala and knew the basics of her story, but I never knew nearly as much as presented in this blog. I'm really glad you found as much empowerment from Malala researching her as I did from reading this and I know recognize the things I take for granted as a women that others are battling to keep everyday.
ReplyDeleteI'm ashamed to say that I didn't actually know that much about Malala other than her being shot at a young age for seeking an education and that she survived. I have some background knowledge on the human rights violations happening in Pakistan but otherwise this is all new information to me. I think it's awesome the way you followed her story in such a tangible line through her life, and your own personal lesson that you included at the end made it that much more of an important story.
ReplyDeleteMalala has always been a big inspiration to me. I really enjoyed reading your blog. I can tell by the way you write about her she is a inspiration to you as well. You're closing remarks on her specifically stood out to me. I feel as if people often forget the struggles women face in other places of the world and how we should all be fighting for them as well.
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