by Khushi Faldu
“If we want to achieve our goal, then let us empower ourselves with the weapon of knowledge and let us shield ourselves with unity and togetherness.” —Malala Yousafzai
Born in Mingora, Pakistan on July 12, 1997, Malala Yousafzai was not welcome—and it was all because of her gender. To offer some context, genders are segregated in Pakistan, and women lack access to the government supplied social services that men have [4]. Prominently, that includes education. Even in 2021, many countries around the world assign a lower status to women. Despite that, her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, was determined to give her the best opportunity. Being a teacher who ran a girl’s school, Malala was allotted the education she desired [3].
As such, she enjoyed a satisfying existence until the Taliban took control of the region. Consequently, they banned everything from watching television to girls attending school. When the Taliban began attacking this sacred institution, Malala stood up for what she believed in and gave a powerful cogent speech—“How dare the Taliban take away my basic right to education?” In the following year, she began blogging at the BBC to voice her experiences and hardships. She wrote under the pen name Gul Makai to avoid being caught and was revealed at the end of 2009.
For her activism, she was given the Children’s Peace Prize and Pakistan’s National Youth Peace Prize. Unfortunately, the Taliban has also declared a death threat against her. On October 9, 2012, Malala was 15-years-old when she was riding a bus home from school. Her bus was stopped and a gunman asked for Malala Yousafzai. When her friends looked towards her, the gunman knew who she was. So, the gunman fired and a bullet was shot to her head which traveled down her neck. Two other girls were injured as well.
Malala was left in such a terrible condition that a portion of her skull was removed. When she was flown to the United Kingdom, she underwent multiple surgeries but luckily suffered no major brain damage [2]. The shooting resulted in massive support for Malala during her recovery. She continues to study philosophy, politics, and economics at Oxford University, managing to graduate just last year [3].
In this day and age, women are still underrepresented around the world. She stood up for education and for girls. She was only 15 when she got shot and continues her legacy. Malala will always be remembered.
Sources
9 inspiring Malala Quotes. (2018, August 27). Retrieved March 13, 2021, from https://unfoundation.org/blog/post/9-inspiring-malala-quotes/
Kettler, S. (2020, October 15). Malala Yousafzai. Retrieved March 13, 2021, from https://www.biography.com/activist/malala-yousafzai
Malala's story: Malala Fund. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2021, from https://malala.org/malalas-story
Treatment of women in Pakistan. (2017, September 24). Retrieved March 13, 2021, from https://tribune.com.pk/story/1515421/treatment-women-pakistan
Yousafzai, M., McCormick, P., & Gilkes, J. (2018). I am Malala: How one girl stood up for education and changed the world. Retrieved March 13, 2021, from https://www.amazon.com/Am-Malala-Stood-Education-Taliban/dp/0316322407