Malala Yousafzai is a fourteen year old girl, living in Pakistan, and is in most ways a perfectly normal child. Last week however, she was shot in the neck and head by Taliban gunmen whilst on the school bus. Why then was she the target of an attempted murder on her way home? Quite simply; she had a voice, and she used it.
Malala first came to the attention of the public in 2009, when she volunteered to write a diary for BBC Urdu. She lives in Pakistan’s troubled north western Swat district, which at that time had seen a enforcement of the Taliban edict which banned female rights to education, with 150 schools being closed within a year. The diary detailed the day to day life of an eleven year old school girl, and importantly, it featured her opinions on how the ban had affected her and her friends. Writing under the pen name of Gul Makai, her words are intelligent and perceptive, but most strikingly they are clearly still the words of a young girl. In one entry, she describes wearing her favourite pink dress to school, as her uniform would draw the attention of militants. She is precocious and confident, it seems. In another she comments: “I AM AFRAID. I had a terrible dream yesterday with military helicopters and the Taliban. I have had such dreams since the launch of the military operation in Swat.’
This is the voice of a child forced to grow up by a troubled political climate, and it is clear that Malala rose to the challenge. When her identity was revealed she was praised by international leaders and Pakistan’s Prime Minister, and was eventually awarded Pakistan’s first National Peace Prize for her eloquence and honesty in the discussion of women’s rights. Her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, is a poet, school owner and educational activist, and saw something special in his only daughter. This encouragement allowed her an educational freedom at home, and though she has met with diplomats and made a name for herself on the international political stage, what lies at the heart of her story is an impossibly simple wish to learn. In a message to Adam B. Ellick, who made a short film about her, Malala said she wanted “access to the world of knowledge.” The fact of the mat- ter is that education, a pillar of any society, is often taken for granted, because most of us are so used to it being readily available.
At a recent conference Malala stated that “democracy is the best rule. This country needs new leaders. I want to study the law and I dream of a country in which education pre- vails and no one sleeps hungry.” Words like these made her an open target to militants, and when Taliban spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan claimed responsibility for the attack, he cited her pro-Western ideals and secular views. He added that if she survived, her life would not be spared. Even taking into account the current political climate of Pakistan, and the frequent images of violence coming out of the nation, this particular attack appears to have resonated around the globe. Indeed, many are declaring this to be the watershed which will turn the public tide against extremism, with support for the girl coming from all over Pakistan.
Thankfully, it appears that Malala is going to make a recovery. But the question remains; will this attack spur her on and those who support her, or is it evidence that her choices are too dangerous? Many have written on her recent attack, and naturally all have expressed their admiration for this young girl, but the word that seems to symbolise her character more than any other is a timeless one. Hope. We hope that she will recover, we hope that she will continue to fight, we hope that others will voice their opinions as she has. But in actual fact, she represents more than that. She represents action. I am older than this girl, I live in a society which affords me all the opportunities she does not have, I have my freedom of speech and yet there are still times when I find myself reluctant to discuss my politics in a public forum. Why is this? Fear? Embarrassment? I don‘t really know. I do know however, that if I were half as brave as this fourteen year old, then I would take advantage of my rights and try to make a difference.
One Pakistani news station described her as “harmless”, but that’s not quite right. With her political ideals, her sense of equality, and confidence in her own voice, Malala has the power to truly change the attitudes of her nation.
