So what would cause such a young, passionate girl to put her life on the line
multiple times? Education. Yes, that’s right, education. The one thing that
everyone in this country is given every single day. The one crucial thing that is
essential for a world of freedom and equality and yet the one thing that us
Brits take for granted. Malala Yousafzai wants one thing and one thing only and
that is education for girls and it is utterly abhorrent that even now in the 21 st
Century people like her are still fighting for something so blatantly necessary.
In the stunning Swat Valley in Pakistan where Malala grew up the Taliban has
taken over and changed it from a place of beauty to a place of violence. They
have taken away all girls’ rights to an education purely because it means
equality amongst sexes. In a remarkable interview with Jon Stewart on The
Daily Show, Malala was asked where her love of education came from. What
came from her mouth could not match the oldest or wisest of minds:
“We are human beings and it is part of our human nature that we don’t learn
the importance of anything until it is snatched from our hands. In Pakistan,
when we were stopped from going to school, at that time I realised that
education is very important and education is the power for women. That is
why the terrorists are afraid of education. They do not want women to get
education because women will then become more powerful.”
What truly strikes me about this young girl is not the fact that she is so
articulate and can so powerfully convey her thoughts and opinions. It is not the
fact that she is so passionate about fighting for rights for women and has such
a vast understanding of what equality is about. It is her unmatchable courage.
This sixteen year old girl was a Taliban threat at fourteen, knew that she most
likely be killed for her actions and has literally seen death in the face. However,
it seems as if she is more determined than ever. There is no stopping this little
Pakistani whirlwind. Malala truly is the perfect example of what women are
capable of.
So why exactly does Malala feel the need to fight for education for girls in
Pakistan? You only have to look at the facts and figures to see why she is so
determined to change the situation of her country. In Pakistan, only 26% of
girls are literate: a skill which is undeniably essential for daily human life. Out
of 163,000 primary schools, only 40,000 allow girls to be taught there and out
of 24,000 secondary schools, only a third teaches girls. It is a well-known fact
that all of this is caused purely because of a misinterpretation of the Islamic
Qur’an. In a world that claims to be moving forward, especially in equality
amongst genders, these shocking facts seem to be quite the contradiction.