‘MALALA YOUSAFZAI: The Feminist “Mahatma”

Malala Yousafzai, a fourteen- year-old Pakistani blogger, was shot on October 10th for speaking out against traditional Taliban ideology on her blog, hosted by the BBC.  Yousafazai, who has been blogging since she was 11, has been in a coma since the attack in a Birmingham, England hospital. 

Since the ceasefire with the central authorities in 2009, the Taliban came to power imposing a politics Islam to its population. The schools for women were closed, which pushed Malala Yousafzai, at eleven, to create an anonymous blog. According to the New York Times, she denounced the terrorism and lamented her inability to become a doctor - a dream that would be impossible without an education.

Zahra K., an Afghan college student in the U.S., who used to live in Pakistan, had made it her personal project to arrange a meeting with Malala Yousafzai. The terrorists’ attempted murder against Malala Yousafzai upset Zahra K., not only because she was a child, but because, “she represented hope of a brighter and better future. It is not a case of hitting or killing a 14 years old girl. It is beyond that. It shows the dark side of those people and how far they can go to force their beliefs and opinions on others.”

President L., from a women’s college, was affected regarding this issue. President L. believes Malala Yousafzai is “a heroic young woman who understands something very important -- that women's access to education is fundamental to a just society and must be fought for wherever it is threatened.”

This event is even more tragic because it embraces numerous issues that the world is still struggling to solve.  'When educational opportunities are denied to any group of people because of their racial, ethnic, or religious identities or their economic circumstances, society becomes less stable, less just, and less productive” President L. emphasizes.  “Any nation that fails to realize the tremendous power of educating and enfranchising half its population is making a grave error. “

Clemence F., a French mother of two daughters who attended a college for women, also has admiration for Malala Yousafzai. “I don't know how I would act in her position. We are so established in this comfort and access of knowledge. We even don't realize anymore this luck”.  Her shot woke Westerners up in their lethargy.”

Malala Yousafzai could be frightened, which would be expected of a fourteen-year-old girl, but as Zahra K. says “she refused to be a victim of a terrorist group who wanted her to act and do what they wished.”

Malala Yousafzai’s criticisms of the Taliban has led many to think more about this 21^th century issue, which is increasing around the world: How to protest against terrorism and the oppression of women? Moreover, is protesting worth the effort, especially due to the fact that women who speak out have been the target of violence? According to Zahra K., “it is very important, because we are part of a community like men, women must speak out loud as men do.” In Pakistan, as in Afghanistan, the freedom of speech for women is suppressed. Their place in society is not held in high regard and it penalizes the functioning of countries.  « How can a country move forward, when half of the population of that country is forced to keep quiet” stated Zahra K.

As Miss F. remind us, “unfortunately, we need a martyr to spark the minds.” This issue is also not only about terrorism but about the ideology that they promote, like the banning of education for women. Zahra told us that Malala’s father, also the headmaster of her school was the one who inspired her.

President L. emphasizes the importance that she grants to education for women.  Indeed, to her, this access is also a civil asset, which “contributes to the health of their families and communities and nations in many ways -- both economically and socially.” 

In Pakistan, the place of a woman is not the same as in our occidental countries. But the power held by the Taliban worsens the importance of women in society. As Miss F. says, “it is more than a political or a religious issue. We don't force the women to be educated, but we offer to people to have the choice to be educated or not. These Taliban are the illustration of oppression because they took away her choice; access to education should be a right.”

This fourteen-year-old girl forces us to react, even if it is just by realizing how studying is a privilege. As President L. says, “American women should remember that their own rights to education are relatively new, historically, and that women in many other nations do not enjoy what we often take for granted here."