By: Connor Schoen
Malala Yousafzai is only 16 years old, but her life story tells much more than that. As a determined and very politically active young girl, she began her life in July of 1997 in the Swat District of northwestern Pakistan. Here, she grew up in a town known as Mingora. Despite international stereotypes, this region of Pakistan was not very chaotic at the beginning of Yousafzai’s life, but rather it was culturally-rich and one of the more peaceful areas of Pakistan. Yousafzai was born into the political scheme, for her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, was an activist who supported women’s education by creating a chain of schools known as Khushal Public Schools.
As Yousafzai grew older, she became more involved with her father’s work and became very engaged in her own education. Taliban presence and pressure soon thickened, though, and eventually schools for girls were shut down in the area in 2008. Outraged, Yousafzai began to blog about her thoughts and feelings on BBC in early 2009. At that point in time, her voice really opened to the international arena.
Due to her influence and much public outcry, Taliban leaders eventually announced a lift of the school ban for late March of 2009. Thrilled to return to a life similar to her old one, Yousafzai started attending school again immediately. She and her father also became in touch with the New York Times who filmed a documentary about their life later that year. Now, Yousafzai’s voice could be heard around the globe and what she said and did really began to matter.
It seemed as though Yousafzai was now free from the oppression under which she had once lived. Many thought the beatings by Taliban militants and rigid attitudes towards all of the citizens were gone. Despite this common thought, the Second Battle of Swat soon began and the Yousafzai family was displaced. Yousafzai’s father stayed in Swat to act as an activist against the Taliban rule while Yousafzai herself simply went to the countryside to stay with other relatives. After the summer of 2009 when this conflict subsided, Yousafzai, seeing her father’s influence and strength, finally decided that politics was the career for her.
As a young politician, she went onto many talk shows to voice her opinion of the situation in Swat. By the end of 2011, Yousafzai had begun to be nominated for many awards like the International Children’s Peace Prize and even won Pakistan’s National Youth Peace Prize in December of that year. Hence, she became subject to the same threat as her father. Receiving many death threats throughout 2012, it was made clear that her life was at stake.
On October 9, 2012, a gunman attacked the school bus on which Yousafzai was riding home. After harshly requesting her identification, Yousafzai spoke up saying, “I am Malala.” She was then shot through the head, two of her friends, Kainat Riaz and Shazia Ramzan, were also shot.
Following these horrific events, Yousafzai, in an unstable condition, was taken directly to Birmingham, England where doctors were able to save her life. Once she became stable again, she immediately came back upon the world where she spoke all around to spread awareness for her cause including at the United Nations. She received and was nominated for countless awards including a runner-up for the Nobel Peace Prize.
On October 12, 2013, a year after the act that almost proved fatal to her, Yousafzai came to Boston College High School where she spoke to a sell-out crowd of excited viewers. Her message was simple and similar to that which it had always been: Everyone around the world should have an opportunity to be educated.
Mainly, she helped the audience to imagine her situation in the past. She told them to envision being in a place you love, but where everything becomes disturbed by chaos and insecurity, and where your father’s political activity as well as yours could be the death of you. While describing this situation, she really brought emotion to each of the viewers and made them cherish all that they had.
Contrary to the insecurities of her life, Yousafzai told her viewers about how she loved Swat and their culture and would definitely return one day. She discussed how much her life had changed over the course of only a few years, and how despite all of the prestigious honors she had received, her favorite one of all was meeting the star of the American TV series “Ugly Betty”. She loved how the characters on the show would only worry about their hair and makeup, and while on the other side of the world, her and her friends were worrying about just surviving through the next day. She said that this show really took her outside of all of the stress and anxiety brought about in her beloved homeland, and that it helped her get through her toughest moments in life.
Malala Yousafzai’s story speaks a message to everyone in the world no matter if they are male or female. It shows us how much power is inside each one of us and how much one person is truly capable of. While most 16 year olds are worrying about their normal high school life and workload, she is touring the world with her powerful message about women’s education. While most teenagers are concerned about their English class or what they’re going to do this Friday, this patron of civil rights is concerned about how she can make her cause more known and supported. In whole, Malala Yousafzai teaches us what true bravery and determination are and to appreciate the lives we can all live.
Works Cited
“A Conversation with Malala Yousafzai.” Malala Yousafzai. Boston College High School,
Boston, Massachusetts. 12 Oct. 2013. Speech.
Peacock, Louisa. “Malala Yousafzai Didn’t Win the Nobel Peace Prize. She Didn’t Need to.”
Telegraph.co.uk. Telegraph Media Group, 11 Oct. 2013. Web. 7 Nov. 2013.
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/10371988/Malala-Yousafzai-didnt- win-the-Nobel-Peace-Prize.-She-
didnt-need-to.html>.
Valluri, Abhijit. “Malala Yousafzai, 16 Years Old and One of 100 Most Influential People In
The World.” Quora.com. 17 July 2013. Web. 07 Nov. 2013.
<http://inspirationalstories.quora.com/Malala-Yousafzai-16-years-old-and-one-of-100-
Most-Influential-People-In-The-World>.
