She is Malala
Purpose:/Argument/Prove- Malala is a teenage Pakistani girl advocating for the rights of women to have an education. Despite the many boundaries that have been set on her goals, she has continued to fight. Audience: People with interests in serving women’s rights, more so human rights. She is Malala More often than not today the voice of young adults go unheard due to the fact that we may not always seem politically correct. However, the world is oblivious to the influence our voice truly has and the results that can come from our actions.
Young adults are powerful. Seven thousand miles away from my suburban home in Ohio, there was a girl named Malala who was shot by arguably one of the most violent religious groups in the world, the Taliban. Malala initiated a fight when she decided that the right to her education as a female was more important than her own safety. The murderous shot that came due to Malala’s actions of fighting for her own education as well as many others girls was just the beginning of a worldwide crusade. The taliban are notorious for their sexism, it has been said their biggest fear are not drones but rather educated women.
According to the Global Coalition to Prevent Education from Attack, between 2009 and 2012, Pakistan experienced somewhere between 838 and 919 militant attacks on its schools (Elias Groll). Malala Yousafzai was well aware of the dangers of the Taliban every day on her way to school riding a city bus, but it never stopped her. She began her fight for education from the day she was born. Her father, a teacher, was different from the majority of Pakistani men in the sense that he had hopes and dreams for his daughter. “He believed schooling should be available for all, rich and poor, boys and girls.
The school that my father dreamed of would have desks and a library, computers, bright posters on the walls and, most important, washrooms.” (41)Malala’s father always had many ideas for his small Pakistanian community, Swat, and he continued to pass those ideas onto Malala. Malala’s mother was known to be well reserved, like most Pakistani women. Women were to never leave their home alone without a man, Malala’s mother usually abided by these rules. She was also completely uneducated, she did not know how to read or write.
Malala wanted to exceed the education her mother received and be just like her father. As a result, she wasn’t afraid to break the conformity of the Pakistani culture and advocate for her education. If you hear the name “Malala Yousafzai” you will probably associate it with the girl who got shot by the Taliban for standing up for her education, but she is much more than that. Her experiences outside of that tragic event had led up to the nobel peace prize winner she is today. On October 8th, 2005 the worst Earthquake in Pakistani history had hit during Malala’s school day, not only was her village effected but hundreds and hundreds.
She considered herself lucky when she returned to her mother praying to the Quran, a typical thing to do in times of despair. However over 11,000 children were left without families as they returned to their parents dead, with no extended family willing to take them in due to their economic stance. The orphans, mostly boys, were taken in by the JuD. The boys were fed and were given shelter however they were given a poor and false education. “The boys learn the Quran by heart, rocking back and forth as they recite.
They learn that there is no such thing as science or literature, that dinosaurs never existed and man never went to the moon.” (107). Education no longer became a concern for women, but also men in her own community. Malala’s life unexpectedly changed when she was shot. She was on the way home from her exams at school when she describes a man wearing a peaked cap who seemed younger ask for her. Malala was the only girl on her bus who did not cover her face, it was obvious who she was.
The man pulled a black pistol and shot it directly at Malala’s left eye, forcing it to go through her shoulder. Her life flashed in front of her eyes and in front of everyone else’s on that bus too. Malala was blessed that a foreign doctor was in her village of Swat and was able to treat her with emergency care. She was transferred to Britain where she is now just recently recovering from her injuries. Her family moved to Britain in fear that the Taliban would be after them as well, there they began their new life while still continuing to speak for the rights for education. Malala created the “Malala fund” which encourages and leads women to the path towards an education.
More than 60 million women are out of school, according to the Malala Fund organization. Her fight against the taliban and the restraints that society holds against women has ranged from speaking against crowds, especially in her former Swat community. She has created and successfully launched an organization which specifically assists women into becoming individuals with an education, who are able to be in the workforce just like any man in this world. Women’s rights are human rights. Malala has fought for them. Everyone can fight for them.
