Education is an acquisition of learning, and it is necessary for everyone in the world. It is a basic right of every human being that he/she should get an education. Our world is so modernized and global, but sadly, in many parts of the world today, education is banned, and many extremist people do not allow their children to get an education. It is a sad and true reality of our world that most girls and women do not get and avail the opportunity of education as compared to men. Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani girl who also became the victim of this extremism that women do not have to get an education. Malala belonged to a Pashtun family in the Swat Valley of Pakistan. Pakistan is a Muslim country in the continent of Asia. Malala is a Muslim girl, and she became the victim of an extremist group named Taliban. Some men of the Taliban attacked Malala and shot her in the head, but she survived and left Pakistan. Her fault was only that she was an advocate of women’s educational rights. Malala’s challenging life experiences drove her to create a variety of women’s rights matters because of her family and friends’ support.
Malala was born in 1997 in Mingora, Swat Valley of Pakistan. She belongs to a Muslim Pashtun family. Her father is an educated person, and his dream was to build a school. He accomplished his dream and started running a school in Swat valley. Malala is greatly influenced by her father from her early childhood. Several changes occurred in Pakistan when the 9/11 attacks happened in the United States of America. The extremist group named Taliban started to attack the national places and people to force the Sharia Law on them. They are the most extremist and brutal group of individuals in Pakistan, and this group is led by an extremist man named Fazlullah. They applied many rules in the Swat valley, such as TV, DVDs or CDs were not allowed in the region, and women have to do Pardah (Islamic Veil for women and girls). They also said and applied the rule that girls should not get an education, and they do not have to get an education. The rule of not getting an education was intolerable for Malala, and she did not accept it. She and her father started to protest against this rule, but one day, some men shot her in the head to kill her. She survived and left Pakistan, now she is an activist, and she also got a Nobel Prize for her bravery.
Many sources motivated Malala to speak out about this cause, but the major source was her father. He always encouraged her to get an education as much as she could. He believed that lack of education is the root of many problems and his ideology and thinking inspired Malala. After the attack on Malala, all her family left Pakistan and never returned. Her father is a brave man, and when he was in Pakistan, he continuously spoke against the rules of Fazullah. She emphasized greatly the character of her father in her book. She admired her father and stated that “Education had been a great gift for him (Ziauddin). He believed that lack of education was the root of all Pakistan’s problems. Ignorance allowed politicians to fool people and bad administrators to be reelected. He believed schooling should be available for all, rich and poor, boys and girls” (41). It is a fact that education and schooling should be available for every human being in the world, and this will enhance the factor of equality among the people of the world.
Her father joined a group named Qomi Jirga to challenge the extreme rules of Fazullah. He was the spokesperson of that group and encouraged the people to reject the rules set by the Taliban and Fazullah. It was a good step taken by the father of Malala that he was brave enough to challenge the extremist group of Taliban within the territory of the Taliban. Malala states, “My father would say to me, ‘Any organization which works for peace, I will join. If you want to resolve a dispute or come out of conflict, the very first thing is to speak the truth. If you have a headache and tell the doctor you have a stomachache, how can the doctor help? You must speak the truth. The truth will abolish fear.” (139)
The bravery of Ziauddin is adopted, implemented and followed by her daughter Malala. She bravely fought for women’s education rights in Pakistan, and now she is an activist working for global women’s education rights.
Malala remained focused on her mission because she believed that her nation needed some true role models, and the place of missing role models influenced her to focus on her mission. Her faith helped her so much that she trusted in her God and her abilities. The death of Benazir Bhutto (the first female head of the Pakistani state) was a shock to all Pakistani women leaders and activists. She is a true role model personality for Malala. Benazir was a great politician, and her goal was to fight for women right’s in Pakistan; she wanted to fight against the forces of Muslim extremism in the country. Malala was influenced by the great personality and traits of Benazir Bhutto.
Malala was also inspired by her mother. She realized the importance of education when her mother told her that she regretted her decision not to go to school (26). Her mother got her primary education from a local school, and her family wanted her should learn further and join the secondary school studies. But she realized that all her female cousins had stopped their studies and stayed at their homes. She became jealous of them, and she also preferred to stay at home and not go to school for further education. When she married the father of Malala Ziauddin Yousafzai, she realized that her decision was wrong. She always used to tell Malala about her stupid decision, and now she regrets her decision badly. She told Malala that she wanted Malala will learn and gain knowledge of education.
The rules, regulations, and distractions made by the extremist group Taliban greatly affected Malala and the other people of the Swat Valley. The extremists demanded and implemented my rules and regulations on the people of Swat forcefully, and one of those rules was that girls must not be educated. This rule was unacceptable for Malala above every unfair act. She decided to raise her voice against that brutal rule along with her father and continued their mission on a level achievable by them. During all these circumstances, the army invaded the area when the situation got extremely worse after the 9/11 incident, and along with a lot of people, Malala’s family had to shift from Swat for almost three months.
They came back when the army claimed the area to be wiped up and cleaned by the Taliban, but after a short period, it was unrevealed that the army’s perception was wrong. The area was not free of the Taliban. They began to target people who stood against them one by one, and Malala’s father was aware of the fact that sooner or later, he would be attacked as well. The fear became a reality, and one day, when Malala was on her way back home on her school bus, a Taliban stopped the bus, asking for Malala by her name. Being the brave person she was, when she lifted her hand to make herself prominent among other silent students, less than within a second, she was shot in her head by the same Taliban.
Malala was lucky that her head did not go in severe hemorrhage and the stroke did not happen at once, which could have taken her life on the spot. She was immediately taken to an army hospital when doctors concluded that she had to moved to a better place for her immediate treatment if she was to survive because she was shot in her head and every little second was determinant for her life at that time. With the support of all the prayers for her, she miraculously managed to survive as a result of the proper treatment given to her at the time. The memory of Malala was badly affected after this incident (123-124).
The points that make Malala’s story very inspiring and impressive are her protests against the policies of Fazlullah and its impacts on him as he agreed to reconsider his policies towards women. It was a huge step and victory indeed. Her protests and continuous efforts forced and cornered Fazlullah to rethink his policies and modify them according to what is true and authentic and what is a part of Islam. Malala protested at a time when it was necessary to protect herself, but she sacrificed her security and continued to write against the policies of the Taliban when the situation was much worse in Swat. She also pseudonyms her writing just for the cause that she may directly not get caught, but it did not work in last. Because of the efforts of Malala, Fazullah agreed to lift the ban on girls who attend the schools (166).
The ultimate mission of Malala was and still is to educate the women around the globe and to help remove the obstacles that are in the way of education of women all around the world especially in Asian countries and his own land Pakistan. She states in her book, “Let us pick up our books and our pens,’ I said. ‘They are our most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world.” (310).
She started her work by focusing on the girls in Pakistan, but her target includes all the girls and women in the world. Her target audience in her book is all the girls and women around the globe. The ultimate purpose behind her writings from the very start of his campaign was to educate and inspire girls with the knowledge of how important they are and how important education is for them.
The most influential people in Malala’s life are her father, mother, teachers, friends and role models characters. All these personalities influenced her decisions and made her a great personality. These people helped her so much and added so much value to her personality. Malala is now an education activist, and she got the Nobel Prize for her work. She was one of the most influential people lists of London in 2015.
Malala encouraged the fact that pen is better than guns and wars. Women should not be stopped from getting an education by anyone. She was greatly influenced by her father who is an educated person and helps Malala in every part of her life. He is the most influential role model for her. She and her father started a campaign and said that it should be the right of every human being to get an education. Malala protested against the extreme rules of the Taliban and rejected them. She believes that it is the right of every girl to get an education and knowledge.
As a result, the Taliban shot her, but she survived and became the most influential person in the world at a very young age. She bravely fought with the scars and pain of her body and head. She showed the strongest behavior of a girl that every girl in the world should learn. She has an excellent influential character, and she is now working globally for the education of girls all around the world. She stated in her book about education that “Peace in every home, every street, every village, every country – this is my dream. Education for every boy and every girl in the world. To sit down on a chair and read my books with all my friends at school is my right. To see each and every human being with a smile of happiness is my wish.” (313).
Works Cited
Yousafzai, Malala. I Am Malala. 1st ed. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2015. Print.
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