Malala Yousafzai
"A woman is not only a mother, a sister, a wife. A woman has the right to her own identity."
Nobel Peace Prize speech, 10 October 2014
Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani women's rights activist. She quickly saw herself becoming a spokesperson for girls around the world.
But how? Let me explain...
Future pacifist icon
Malala Yousafzai was born on 12 July 1997 in Mingora in the Swat Valley in northwest Pakistan, where she lives with her family. Her father Ziauddin, her mother Toor Pekai, and her two younger brothers Atal and Khushal.
Ziauddin Yousafzai, her father, is a poet, and notably the founder of a girls' school. He is a teacher and education activist and Pakistani diplomat.
Moreover, since she was a child, Malala has always been encouraged by her father. In fact, it is easy to see that the two of them have a very important relationship and are very close to each other. To quote her, she says, "My father always said Malala is free as a bird"
“I only had two options […]”
In 2007, the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley. First of all, the Taliban is a fundamentalist Islamic movement that wants to establish a pure Islamic state.
What is a pure Islamic state?
A pure Islamic state is for girls and women, certain rules; certain prohibitions and obligations such as:
- a ban on
- going to school after primary school
- driving a car
- working
- going out without their husband or a close relative such as; a brother, father, uncle etc.
- the obligation
- to cover their bodies
Therefore, if a girl or woman broke any of the rules of this law, she was beaten in public.
It became too dangerous to be a girl, a woman under the control of the Taliban. That is why, Malala and her family moved and left the valley.
''[...]The first was to keep quiet and wait to be killed, the second was to speak out and be killed. I chose the second option."
With the agreement of her family, Malala began writing a blog for the BBC. A blog in which she describes her daily life, education but also life under the control of the Taliban while denouncing their violent practices:
- beating girls and women in public
- burning girls' schools
Her struggle quickly spread beyond the borders of her country, and she received more and more threats.
Back in the valley where he was born...
With the Pakistani army back in control of the valley, Malala and her family are back home. Of course Malala is still speaking out!
On 9 October 2012, at the age of 15, Malala was the victim of an assassination attempt during her bus journey. The Taliban attacked the school bus
in which the young girl was travelling. She was shot in the head. Severely injured, Malala was initially taken to a Pakistani hospital, before being transferred to Birmingham, England, to a hospital specialising in the treatment of soldiers injured in Afghanistan.
The attack left Malala partially deaf and paralysed in part of her face.
So the young girl saw this as a second chance given to her by God, and took it. Since then she has dedicated herself to campaigning for girls' education around the world.
Malala Fund
Ainsi en 2013, Malala et son père Ziauddin créent la fondation Malala. Une organisation internationale à but non lucratif portant son nom. Ayant pour but de militer pour l’éducation des filles. 1 an auparavant, l’organisation comptait 48 employés et 58 défenseurs travaillants dans les quatre coins du monde.
So in 2013, Malala and her father Ziauddin created the Malala Foundation. An international non-profit organisation bearing her name. With the aim of advocating for girls' education. One year earlier, the organisation had 48 employees and 58 advocates working around the world.
The organisation's first contributor was Angelina Jolie, who donated $200,000. This was used to fund education for girls in Malala's home valley.
Youngest Nobel Peace PrizeWinner
Thus, in 2014, Malala Yousafzai, only 17 years old, became the youngest winner in the history of this prize.
Finally, to conclude but also to complete this article, I leave you the link of the trailer of the documentary ''He Named Me Malala'', directed by David Guggenheim having followed the daily life of Malala during 18 months.
The title of the documentary is simply her first name to reflect the importance of the documentary, as it is a reference to a Pashtun heroine; Malalai de Maiwand.
https://youtu.be/cug1-eTOVSk