Malala Yousafzai: The Valiant Activist

“When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.” – Malala Yousafzai (2013)

  Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist for education and women’s rights. Up to this very day, she has been an iconic and significant presence in every life she has touched and inspired. Millions of people see her as the perfect role model for being the change you would want to witness in the world, as proven by her winning the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize. Knowing her story of how young she is to be standing up for discrimination and inequality, netizens all over the world have spread the fire that Malala ignited for empowerment and faith in humanity.

  Since Malala was young, she had already been an advocate for girls’ education because she believed in the importance of imparting knowledge on young children, boys and girls alike. However, this belief resulted in death threats from a group called Taliban, who tried to control the areas in the country and banning education for girls. Yousafzai finds a resolute idea in blogging her experiences through BBC, and how denying a basic human right like education is considered inhumane in a speech on September 2008.

  On October 9, 2012 while riding a bus with her fellow schoolmates, a gunman entered the school bus and demanded to know where among them Malala was, and threatened to shoot all of the passengers if no one would speak. Defying the gun man’s stand, she then prominently speaks on how important education is and she is shot in the left side of her head and miraculously survives through the military hospital in Peshawar. Malala continues to show her ideals and beliefs on rights through assemblies, talk shows, and press conferences, and day by day her bravery and morals instigate young people to believe the same.

  Malala’s speeches and interviews to this day are considered one of the most distinguished historical events that happened in the world. In this day and age, some cultures in countries still prohibit women from obtaining basic human rights, such as education and the rights to recreation, and it is essential that Malala proves to be a living model of how girls can fight for necessary change in societies. It is definitely empowering that a girl with a book can be much more powerful and influential than a terrorist with a gun. Like Malala said in the UN Youth Assembly, “One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen, can change the world."

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Reference: Henry, Z. (2014, October 10). 5 Inspiring Quotes From Nobel-Winner Malala Yousafzai.