Malala
Yousafzai was destined to greatness. Her father named her after Malalai of
Maiwand, a young woman from a nearby village in Afghanistan who inspired
fearful soldiers to defend their homeland by standing on a mountain top and
giving a moving speech. In an ironic twist of fate, Malalai was shot and killed
for displaying bravery against enemies who sought to destroy her homeland.
Malala Yousafzai was born in Swat Valley, Pakistan, a conservative region where
many females, including her mother, were illiterate. Her father was dedicated
to education, and held the progressive belief that Malala’s gender would not
inhibit her learning. He ran a school for boys and girls, and was a passionate
teacher. Even as a small child, Malala was drawn to school and she soon became
the top student in her school. When Taliban forces entered Swat Valley from nearby
Afghanistan, everything changed quickly. Soon the tyrannical forces insisted
that girls should not be educated, and began destroying schools. Any opposition
to the Taliban was met with swift and brutal punishment. Malala’s father was a
vocal opponent to the Taliban, and the family lived in constant fear of
retaliation. Still, swayed partially by the belief that the Taliban would not
harm a child, her father allowed Malala to speak out publicly as well: first
through pseudonymed BBC interviews, and then on television using her real name.
A Taliban soldier sought her out for execution on her local school bus. She
managed to survive the ordeal, and exiled in the UK, she awkwardly adapts to
the foreign world with her family. Now a vocal advocate for girls’ education
all over the world, Malala was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize (which she
lost in the movie, but was awarded later.)
I
would recommend this movie for middle and high schoolers. The violence
portrayed in the movie is often animated, but is still powerful. It will be eye
opening to young viewers to see the price a 15 year old paid simply for wanting
to learn. Education is not revered and often taken for granted in this country.
The bravery and forgiveness that she displays are truly inspirational. Her
dedication to peacefully protesting injustice will be empowering to young
students who seek to change the world.
Works Cited
Parks, W.
(Producer), & Guggenheimn D. (Director).
(2015.) He Named Me Malala [Motion
Picture]. United States:
Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Malala’s Nobel Peace
Prize Lecture https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2014/yousafzai-lecture_en.html
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