Category: Malala Yousafzai

At the very young age of 18 years old, Malala Yousafzai had become the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Malala is a voice for women who don’t have one. She stands up for children’s rights as well. Her speech that she gave on the 10th of December 2014, shows that she is very thankful for her parents and all the people that support her. To get her point across she uses logic and emotional language to ensure that her audience understands the importance of the topic.

Malala Yousafzai makes her speech real with stories from not just her life but other people’s life that are around her. It is not some speech that she put together like a class president speech, this is what Malala Yousafzai really feels about the topic of education for all people.

Malala Yousafzai uses emotional language such as: “We wanted to make our parents proud and prove that we could excel in our studies and achieve those goals, which some people think only boys can”. This means that they were working hard in school and wanted to show that girls can do anything that boys can. The girls in the class wanted to be more than just some wife that does what she is told to do by the man. They want the freedom that the boys and men have. Because she has been saying “we” and not “I”, this suggests that Malala wanted to stand up for people and not just do things that only help her. She wants to help all.

Malala said: “I am those 66 million girls who are deprived of education. And today I am not raising my voice, it is the voice of the 66 million girls”. Malala is speaking for everyone can not go to school. She is speaking up for all the children who can not speak out.

Conclusion

Malala Yousafzai puts: “Education went from being a right to being a crime”. Malala states that she has two options. Option number one, sit and wait to be killed, or option two, have a voice and stand up for what is right and be killed. She obviously chose the most logical choice, option two.

Malala says that terrorists tried to stop them from speaking out and attacked her and her friends, but not only could the terrorist’s bullets not work against them or their ideas.

Because of Malala heroic act people had gained hope that one day they could have a normal life.

October 9th, 2012, changed a young 15-year-old teenage girl named Malala Yousafzai’s life forever. One day coming home from school, the voice of an innocent girl was silenced after the blaring sound of the Taliban’s bullet pierced through Malala’s head. After a miraculous recovery, Malala was determined to send a message to the world; one that invoked women empowerment and a new stage for progression for women’s education. To do this she confronted the very enemy that attempted to kill her – the Taliban, a group of men who grew in strength as they terrorized Swat Valley, Pakistan. They not only controlled that area, but also banned women from receiving their education. As a result, Malala stepped forward and voiced her opinions on women’s rights. She believes that nobody has the right to take women’s education away from them. Although she was threatened by the Taliban, she still had the courage to continue to fight for women’s rights, and inspired the youth to become more politically involved in societal issues. The documentary, ‘He Named Me Malala’, drives a sense of motivation to help causes and stir a sympathetic light in the viewer, especially the younger generations about being stronger activists, and how we all are capable of standing up for our rights.

The documentary starts off with an animation featuring Malala, which specifically teaches the viewers about being better activists by taking inspiration from historical events and previous activists. As the Afghans were running away in fear from the British, a girl who was wearing bright pink clothes, caught the audience’s attention. As she saw the Afghans running away, hopeless and scared, she ran to the top of the mountain and raised her voice saying, “It is better to live like a lion for one day than to live like a slave for a hundred years”. Malala with her strong voice motivated the Afghans and led everyone back onto the battlefield, but unfortunately, she died from a gunshot. The animation helps the audience understand the fear the Afghan’s were enduring – it felt as if the audience, to some extent, comprehended the emotional burdens and anxiety the civilization as a whole were experiencing. Malala’s bravery not only inspired the Afghans but guided the audience in their realization that all we need is motivation, especially in today’s political climate. This prehistoric war taught younger generations, such as Malala’s family, that anyone can be brave enough to stand up for what they believe in. Even though there are so many activists out there fighting for what they believe in, it helps more people to do the same exact thing.

The tragedy Malala had experienced helps create a sense of sympathy for the viewer, causing them to understand more, as Malala is being taken to the hospital. This was specifically observed in the hospitalization scene where the people of Pakistan were holding posters of Malala, praying that she would survive— showing that the people of Pakistan admired her bravery. Sympathy and admiration circulated around the neighboring countries, and eventually the whole world. During the scene when everyone was praying for Malala to survive, in the background a newscaster said, “Now millions of people around the world are watching to see if she will die for her cause”. Although most individuals are aware about the incident, it teaches everyone a lesson about how a young girl was willing to sacrifice her life for what she believed in despite being threatened every day by the Taliban. Normally, if someone were to get shot in the head and nearly almost died they would be scarred for the rest of their lives and hide away from those that can hurt them again. It took a lot of courage for Malala to not hide and use her pain as a means to change the world. After Malala’s recovery she went on the news to inspire her audience and still continued to focus on giving every woman a good education they deserve. Towards the end of the documentary during Malala’s speech she mentioned, “They thought that the bullet would silence us, but nothing changed except this: weakness, fear, and hopelessness died. Strength, power, and courage were born. I am the same Malala”. Malala believes that in order for her to become a strong activist, she would never let fear, weakness, and hopelessness hinder her pursuit of helping other young women receive an education. Malala’s goal is to inspire everyone to start being brave and courageous enough to stand up for what they believe in. Not only that, Malala wants the audience to understand that it is okay for all of us to have that fear, but we all need to have faith that will achieve our goals to help make the world a better place.

The story of Malala’s father and his relationship with his daughter teaches us about whenever our rights are being violated, we have the choice to fight back. Malala gained much inspiration from her father, who like Malala, has a strong passion for supporting and fighting for feminism. After Malala’s incident, in the film, Yousafzai said to himself: “I was a child. You should have stopped me. What has happened to you is because of me”. From what Yousafzai has said, the audience can infer that he blames himself for what has happened to his own daughter. Yousafzai’s emotions are understandable because, watching his own daughter barely surviving, he felt that he was responsible for inspiring his daughter into becoming an activist. An article written by Ziauddin Yousafzai, he discussed his life before he got married and had a family. Yousafzai mentioned, “And, worst of all, I saw how I got to go to school, while my sisters stayed home, crippling their future”. Yousafzai realized that he saw women being oppressed in their own household, due to their gender. He believes that women are fully capable of receiving education and have the potential to become successful individuals, contrasting the housewife role that women of that area were taught to become. At this moment, the audience realizes exactly what Yousafzai meant; that the Taliban should have stopped him instead. Yousafzai was fighting for women’s rights and got threatened but never was injured because of the gender difference – Malala is a girl and he was a boy. The Taliban had the audacity to attack a young girl instead of Yousafzai when he was a young boy. The audience realizes the situation occured due to gender discrimination and that we need to stand up and fix this before it gets worse. Yousafzai also realized that in order to end the society’s portrayal of gender discrimination, the first step is not to allow that in his own household. The message of this story is that gender should not and cannot be the character that defines who should and should not be able to speak up for what they believe.

The portrayal of Malala’s ‘normal’ life shows that it allows us to realize that we are all capable of being empowered. During an interview, Malala was asked a question, “Who would you have been if you were just an ordinary girl from Swat Valley?”. Malala replied back and said, “If I was an ordinary girl from Swat Valley, I am still an ordinary girl… So, this would have been my future. You would have seen Malala sitting with her two babies”. Malala wants the audience to realize that it is possible to be a strong, passionate activist while having a normal life. Rose Pacatte discusses this in her article, ‘He Named Me Malala: A Normal Heroic Girl’, where she talks about Malala as an inspirational role model that everyone could look up to. Pacatte mentioned an interesting point in her article, “As most people know, she was the co-winner of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for her continuing efforts to promote education around the world, just as she is a normal girl in Birmingham, England, struggling to get good marks in school”. Pacatte perceives Malala as a ‘normal girl’, which is significant because Malala and her achievements have always been depicted as unattainable for an average person, her being described as a “normal girl” contrast society’s perception of her. Malala’s portrayal as ‘normal girl’ paints her as an ordinary woman fighting for her rights, and if the audience views her as this normal person, it somewhat can make her achievement attainable. As if the audience themselves, if they voice their own opinions that similar results will also occur in their lives. Overall, Malala teaches the audience that we are able to balance our lives by being strong, inspiring activists.

The documentary, ‘He Named Me Malala’, not only inspires the younger generations to become driven activists but also provokes sympathetic emotions from the viewers. The film teaches the audience a valuable lesson that becoming politically involved in the issues that concern them has the ability to inspire others, and maybe even the world. Malala’s determination and experiences induces her audience to have passion and courage to fight for the political issues that occur in today’s society.

A fifteen years old girl was nearly killed in 2012 since she was one of the brave ones who wanted women to have the education and equal rights that they deserved, her name is Malala Yousafzai. Yousafzai is from Swat Valley, which is located in Pakistan. In Swat Valley women do not have rights or freedom. Inequality is a big problem in her community, women to not get respected, can not go to school, work, and they could not go out without a male relative with them. To Pakistanis, women were supposed to obey men, stay home, make food for the family, and have children; while men were going to school or working. Yousafzai did not think it was fair, which led her to fight for educational rights and freedom. She went through a lot just trying to gain her rights and freedom, such as: getting death threats, speaking out, and getting a bullet shot at her head by the Taliban (a terrorist group in her valley). Malala used the fear she was given, the emotional support her father gave her, and her eagerness to have equality and freedom as her motivation to make a change.

To begin with, Yousafzai had a lot of fear when she was trying to make a difference. As Yousafzai stated in ‘I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban’ Chapter 14, “Some people were afraid of ghosts, some of spiders or snakes – in those days we were afraid of our fellow human beings” (Yousafzai, 166). Therefore, the fact that usual things people were afraid of was not what was scary anymore, then Yousafzai knew she had to make a change. The author also mentions, “Mullahs from the TNSM preached that the earthquake was a warning from God. They said it was caused by women’s freedom and obscenity” (Yousafzai, 107). Based on the evidence the reader can take notice that the Mullahs used the earthquake as an advantage to scare women into not wanting to have freedom and equality. Fear was stuck in Swat Valley for as long as the terror of the Taliban were there and Yousafzai used it as a way to keep her motivated to make a difference.

In addition, Yousafzai had a very supportive father by her side the whole time. When she was born, her father did not treat her any differently as he would have treated a male. “He even asked friends to throw dried fruits and coins into Malala’s cradle, something we usually do for boys” (Yousafzai, 17). This indicates that her father also believed that everyone should be treated with the same respect and rights. Yousafzai also claims, “I have a father who isn’t scared, who stands by me. He said, ‘you are a child and it’s your right to speak’” (Yousafzai, 141). The reader can infer that Yousafzai’s father was always encouraging her to stick up for her beliefs. Therefore, Yousafzai always had support from her family and supporters to keep her motivated.

Lastly, Yousafzai did not feel like she wanted freedom and equality but needed it. From the reading, we know “In the Holy Quran it is not written that men should go outside and women should work all day in home” (Yousafzai, 116). Yousafzai believes that if the Holy Quran does not imply inequality and taking women’s rights away, why would humans think they could be able to change that? Women should have to feel the need to give away their freedom and rights for no valid reason. Also mentioned in the text, “In Pakistan when women say they want independence, people think this means we want to obey our fathers, brothers, or husbands. But it does not mean that. It means we can make decisions ourselves, we want to be free to go to school or work” (Yousafzai, 219). The reader can clearly infer that women just want to have their rights, not disobey and rebel. Women’s rights were Yousafzai’s top priority.

As a sum up, all the fear, eagerness, and support to have equality and freedom that Malala Yousafzai had motivated her to change Swat Valley. Fear was roaming in that period of time in Swat Valley and Yousafzai used it as a way to keep her motivated in her situation. Having a supportive father was a great impact on Yousafzai. Her strong beliefs reflected on her passion to never give up no matter how hard the obstacle is or how much anyone can struggle, she was always motivated to keep on going and make a change on her home Swat Valley.

It is rare nowadays to witness young adults make a prominent difference in the world, which is why the Pakistani twenty-two years old female, Malala Yousafzai, has shocked and inspired millions. Her maturity in regards to reflecting on the horrid experiences dealt with in the past is immediately noticed which establishes great fondness and credibility for all that she believes. The right of an education for all is a fight she continues to embark upon until there is no difficulty to reach one’s educational goals. Through her continued determination to get her beliefs across to those who have the power to make her dream a reality, she has already shaped many lives for the better and has brought awareness to this ongoing issue.

It is no secret that Malala experienced a life-threatening event when she was only fifteen years old. While seated on a bus heading home from school on October 9th, 2012, two members of the Taliban stopped the bus and it was then that she was shot, which caused her life to change forever.

Before this tragic event, Malala lived a normal lower-middle-class life in Pakistan. She grew up in the city of Mingora with her two younger brothers, mother, and father. Malala’s early childhood was one of happiness and peace. Her father was a teacher who ran several schools. Many Pakistani girls did not attend school, but this was not the case with Malala. Her father ran a school for girls where Malala attended. Around the time Malala was ten years old, the Taliban began to take over the region where she lived. As the Taliban gained more control, they began to enforce new laws. These laws would soon lead to shutting down the all-girls school that Malala attended. With this happening, soon Malala started a blog using a different name for her safety. She chose the pen name ‘Gul Makai’, a heroine from a Pashtun folktale (biography.com). However, once the Taliban figured out who she was she soon became a target.

The shooting resulted in a massive outpouring of support for Yousafzai, which continued during her recovery. Six months after being shot, Malala went back to school to continue her education. However, the main thing on her mind was how she would be able to inform the world about the eminent struggle for education many still experience today. She stated, “the terrorists thought that they would change our aims and stop our ambitions, but nothing changed in my life except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage were born”.

As someone with a mindset of great determination, Malala has expressed her views throughout the world. Nine months after being shot by the Taliban, Yousafzai gave a speech at the United Nations on her 16th birthday in 2013. She highlighted her focus on education and women’s rights, urging world leaders to change their policies.

Following this event, June of 2015 she visited the United States Congress in Capital Hill and expressed her concerns as an activist for educational rights. With great confidence she publicly stated, “It is time that a bold and clear commitment is made by the US to increase funding and support governments around the world to provide 12 years of free primary and secondary education for everyone by 2030”. Her fight for the right to education and its funding has affected everyone in regards to understanding the true importance of having an education. With continued statements from Malala, she has opened the minds of many and continues to make a difference in this department.

Not only has she come to the United States multiple times to address her concerns, but she has inspired others to take initiative in starting non-profit organizations to help those in need. With her continued spread of awareness about the importance of a funded education, many programs have begun to help transform her ideas into actual actions. When she spoke to the Congress at Capitol Hill, she used the example of when comparing others to activists like Nelson Mandala and Martin Luther King Jr. and added: “But we never realize that they are normal humans like us and, if we step forward, we can also bring change – just like them”.

There is no doubt that with the continuous fight for change Malala has done, some type of recognition is deserved. In October 2013, the European Parliament awarded Yousafzai the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in acknowledgement of her work. In October 2014, Yousafzai became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, at just 17 years old. Pakistani Prime Minister stated: “She is the pride of Pakistan, she has made her countrymen proud. Her achievement is unparalleled and unequaled. Girls and boys of the world should take lead from her struggle and commitment” (Nawaz Sharif).

In 2013, Yousafzai and her father launched the Malala Fund, which works to ensure girls around the world have access to 12 years of free, safe, quality education. The fund prioritizes assistance to its Gulmakai Network — a reference to the pseudonym Yousafzai used when she wrote her BBC blog about life in Pakistan under Taliban rule. These countries, including Afghanistan, Brazil, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey, are where most girls miss out on secondary education.

For her 18th birthday, in July 2015, Yousafzai continued to take action on global education by opening a school for Syrian refugee girls in Lebanon. Its expenses covered by the Malala Fund, the school was designed to admit nearly 200 girls from the ages of 14 to 18. Yousafzai proclaimed, “Today on my first day as an adult, on behalf of the world’s children, I demand of leaders we must invest in books instead of bullets”. These are just a few of the numerous events that Malala has taken part in to promote her fight for the right to education for all.

Malala is an inspiration of many around the world, including myself. I always thought that only certain important people could make a difference in the world, but according to Malala, “You have to come forward and take full participation in changing the world, whether that is through charity work, raising funds, raising awareness, through using social media”. She has opened my eyes to the possibility of creating a difference in the world. My passion for non-profit organizations and the right to healthcare has followed me for years, however my lack of confidence has kept me quiet. Malala encourages others to participate in their passions and beliefs and which is what is so unique about her.

We have the chance to make a difference in our daily lives and Malala stated that, “You have so many resources, so many opportunities in front of you, so you need to ensure that you use that for the good purpose of making the world a better place”. I could not agree with her more in regards to this statement. We are the only ones that can make a significant impact on the world when we fight for what we believe is right.

Malala Yousafzai suffered very brutal wound to the head, but yet she continued to further her education and made strides in the education field. Malala is the youngest person to win this honorable award along with being the first Pashtun to do the same. Malala’s speech was very efficient in how she can be very persuasive with her use of words and rhetorical devices. Her points throughout can be very persuasive and as a kid she puts things in it like, “first recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize who still fights with her younger brothers”. Meaning that even though she was able to be honored with the Nobel Peace Prize she is still a kid on the inside. She made a call to action in reforming education for women and children.

The most noticeable rhetorical device is her use of repetition. This can be seen with specific repeated phrases. She begins with the words, ‘I am’ for example, “I am humbled, I am proud, I am also honored to receive this award, I am here”. She includes ‘I am’ many more times throughout the speech. More noticeably she uses, ‘Let this’ at the end of her speech. Including “Let this be the last time a child loses life in war”, and “Let this be the last time that we see a child out of school” The most touching comes at the end when she says, “Let this end with us”. Using this repetition (which is the rhetorical appeal of ethos) she touches the audience as she is making a cry for action.

Malala uses pathos throughout to interact with her audience. An example of this would be when she stated, “and their own children are in good schools. Now it is time to call them to take action for the rest of the world’s children”. By doing this she chooses not to call out the people in good education, but to instead act on this crisis. She is choosing to not harp on them but reminding them the importance of education. Throughout she uses pathos to really reach out to touch the audience to hopefully try to make a difference. She uses heartfelt messages during her speech to encourage and touch her audience.

For the last rhetorical device that is very noticeable, she uses rhetorical questions throughout her ‘Nobel Lecture’ speech to persuade the audience. Malala asks, “Why shouldn’t they have this right to go to school?”. By doing so she tries to make a point that there are not any reasons that women and children shouldn’t be able to go to school, and really have the reader to think about the fact that it is wrong for them not to be able to go. By stating, “I think the more important question is why shouldn’t they?”, she is saying the exact same thing. Using rhetorical questions, she is being very persuasive and emphasizing her point, which is that there is no reason that children or women shouldn’t be able to further their learning in the field of education.

Although Malala Yousafzai suffered a gunshot to the head, she is still here to make an impact on the world. Her speech to many was very powerful and persuasive to make a change to be able further everyone’s education. While reading ‘Nobel Lecture’ one can also see that no one should take their education for granted since some aren’t as blessed as us to get the education that we all do.

The young girls chatted with one another as the school bus rattled along the road. They had quite recently completed their term paper and sang to each other in cheerfully voices. Little did they know, that the bus would soon be taken over by two men, where one of them would pull a gun at a girl. “Which one of you is Malala Yousafzai?”. No one spoke, some out of loyalty and others out of fear. Despite that, the eyes unconsciously turned to Malala and within seconds, she was lying wounded at the floor after being shot twice, once in the head and once in the neck.

In this essay, I have chosen to speak about Malala Yousafzai. She is a 21-year-old Pakistani education activist and Nobel Prize winner, who got shot by the Taliban when she was only 15-years-old. The reason I chose to speak about her, is because she represents everything good that can be found in people.

I want to tell you about Malala’s steadiness and bravery in facing the Taliban and about her determination in managing the terrible harm she endured that day on the bus returning home from school. This girl has visions that no one has ever had before. She believed and still believes in her right for education and held on to that privilege while turning into an image of rebellion according to the Taliban. Malala’s voice was deemed a threat to the Taliban, when she spoke up for the rights of children to have an education and a childhood. Unfortunately, the Taliban saw schoolgirls death as desirable and justifiable. This shows us how brutal the Taliban are but also demonstrates Malala’s outstanding courage.

The thing that made me choose Malala to talk about, is how despite the dreadful crime that the Taliban committed against her, Malala has not struck back to her attackers in any kind of violent way. Instead, she chose a more diplomatic form of revenge that motivated her even more. At the age of 15, she gave a TED talk to an audience of over 10,000 people about her efforts to attain gender equality and education for women in her home country. At 15 years old, she gave a TED talk to more than 10 000 people about her endeavors to accomplish equality and education for women, especially in her country of origin. Malala’s approach to the attack and way of handling the situation is just amazing. Rather than utilizing violence, she utilized her voice instead. She has shown that words can have tremendous power and a critical effect on the individuals who listen.

The Taliban saw Malala’s belief system as radical, but her supporters saw it as revolutionary.

Young girls are not considered to be worthy of a proper education in Pakistan. Regardless of the cynical culture that Malala lived in, her parents raised her in a liberal way, promising her to pursue her fantasies and do what she thought was best for herself. They underlined her likelihood to achieve something great in life to her, while advising her that her sexual orientation shouldn´t be an obstacle in life. That is truly something that is worth bringing up, since her parents made her the person she is today.

Malala is not a hero because she survived a fatal shooting caused by the Taliban. She is not a hero because she won the Nobel Peace Prize. This girl is rather a hero because the represents all the women of the world that are oppressed in the name of religion, misogyny and gender. She is hero because she stood up for what she believed in – the right to have an education.

From ancient times till today womankind is the pillar behind all minor and major contributions to nearly every positive change around us. However, hardly females were appreciated and gave their deserving position in society. Women were always considered secondary to men in nearly every sphere. Past times had victimized that harshest behavior against feminine, where their development graph was constantly declining. So, to fight against those who dominated women number of voices was raised. Many souls came and went, but few left their footprints in our mind and heart by their deeds. Such deeds which create new pathways for the existing and coming generations. These people who spoke out for the sake of humanity are well renowned till ages. Some of them are found in papers, about some we hear from others, or sometimes lucky enough to live in the same era with those personalities. One such personality who is highlight of my research essay is Malala Yousafzai. She is seen as a leader for feminism in present world, who herself faced many odds for her own life but is now gutful to encounter anything for the sake of women empowerment.

Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1997, in Pakistan. Popularly known as the girl that stood up for education and female rights in whole world. She is an advocate from Pakistan who is the world’s youngest girl to win Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 17. She then majorly made herself an advocate for women only always her main ambition was to bring women at top no matter whatever huddles she had to cross, she continued to highlight women rights as primary. She spoke against Taliban to demand women education because of her demands, she was often threatened by Taliban but still did not back off. Due to her continuous demands in support of feminist development she was shot in head by a Taliban gunman in 2012 but with God’s grace she survived. Opponents thought attacks would frighten her; instead, she came out as a bright star after her treatment. True urge for a good cause, finds its way through all the huddles. Likewise, in case of Malala she was attacked to lower down her spirit but it could not stop her from her mission of women equality. After treatment due to the headshot by Taliban, Malala recovered and came back with a new spirit of passion for women support.

On her 16th birthday, July 12, 2013, Malala delivered speech at the United Nations Youth Assembly, where she aimed at topic of women rights and education. ‘Today I am focusing on women’s rights and girls’ education because they are suffering the most’ (Yousafzai, pg266-267). Everyone observes but there are few who speak up, Malala has been focusing on women growth from long time. So, her topic of discussion at UN was women equality, she said when men and women are born equal by God then who we humans are to discriminate among them? Nobody has the freedom to judge the other one on the basis of their gender. Just because women do not speak up for themselves does not mean they are weak.

Malala, who always foresighted for a better world for girls, actually get her motivation from those girls themselves. She wanted them to know their worth that they are no less than others and taught them how to establish their own empire. In an interview on her new picture book named ‘The sketches of liberty’, she revealed that most of her motivation to fight for women comes from the women she sees around herself. ‘Most often girls I meet, their stories are so inspiring that I don’t have to encourage them they know the importance of education. They inspire me to continue to fight for them’ (Yousafzai, 2017). According to her today’s girl is wise enough to know how significant it is to be educated in these days, all they need to know is how to stand up for their own self.

She is truly an idol for entire world and especially for woman to whom she taught to be self-dependant and to show their women power. Education is the key to success and girls definitely need this key to prove their selves. To sum up Malala’s contributions towards the women development in modern world, I would that say she is a true inspiration to millions. Especially the new generation got a lot to learn from her which will motivate them to be out for their own sake and stand against any situation which tries to dominate them. World will remember Malala for long time for her bravery and deeds for the betterment of society majorly women. Born equally, live equally, demand equally; this should be criteria for all the women who feel or are made to feel like they are secondary to men.

References

1. https://www.biography.com/people/malala-yousafzai-21362253.
2. https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2014/10/11/malala-yousafzai-timeline/MalalaYousafzai(2017)
3. http://ezproxy.library.selkirk.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=126128031&site=eds-live
4. YOUSAFZAI, M. (2013). Let Us Wage a Glorious Struggle. Vital Speeches of the Day, 79(9), 266–267. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.library.selkirk.ca/login?url=
5. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rga&AN=90419703&site=eds-live

Numerous people throughout the globe advocate for education. Education is fundamental to the advancement of survival and prosperity and is therefore crucial to ensuring equality. Malala Yousafzai is amongst one of the most influential activists who advocate for female education. Notoriously known for being the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner, Malala has become universally recognized for advocating human rights and her diary about living under the Taliban rule.

Malala has never been afraid to voice her opinions within the presence of her family or trade over her educational rights in the hands of the Taliban. So much so that the fundamentalist group shot her on her way home in October 2012. Luckily, Malala survived and can share her story with girls and women all over the world. Till this very day, Malala is indeed a courageous human rights activist in education and currently lives with her family of five in Birmingham. Malala inspired many women and girls to convey the message that no one should be able to suppress them and their liberties. She left a long-lasting legacy to all the girls that you should not be silenced by anyone.

In 1997, Malala Yousafzai was born in Mingora, Pakistan. She was brought up by her two loving parents, Ziauddin Yousafzai and Toorpekai Yousafzai. Malala Yousafzai’s relationship with her family is nothing like the standard treatment which Pashtun girls receive. Her father always urged his children to pursue their aspirations and ambitions in spite of what others have said. In 2007, the Taliban dominated the law which restricted girls to education. Violence soon spread across the Swat Valley and threats rained down on girl-only schools. This caused Malala to raise her voice in protest against the extremist forces that oppressed her people.

From the age of 11, Malala under the name of Gul Makai began blogging for the BBC in early 2009 and stood up for girls’ rights to education. Even though she was under potential danger from the Taliban, she wanted to show the world how cruel and atrocious this was to deprive girls of the right to education. The courage shown by Malala was truly remarkable as she was willing to sacrifice her life to influence change in society.

In 2012, while Malala was coming home from school she was shot in the head by the Taliban. After a week of being inside of a coma, she woke up unable to talk and hear. After several head operations and a couple of weeks of rest and hospital treatment, she was ultimately able to come home. This incident caused her to become well known throughout the world as she willing to sacrifice her life for equality in regards to young girls’ education. In 2013, she spoke at United Nations and called for unrestricted education for all children. She was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament, because of her incessant campaign for girls throughout the globe to obtain an education, a year later in 2014 she was the youngest to ever be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. Now studying at Oxford University, Malala continues to advocate for the 130 million girls around the world who are not in school by campaigning for more funding for education and investing in local activists. Malala and her father set up a Malala Fund to provide every girl with the right to 12 years of safe, free and quality education. This helps provide education for local girls and girls in six countries around the world. She travels to several different places to support girls in need. This changed the world because it found a way to support other girls around the world who are fighting for the same educational rights as Malala did. She gives voice to the voiceless.

Malala was also able to express her mind by writing her autobiography called, ‘I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban’ and to share her journey with the world. Her book describes the struggles she went through and the reasons behind it all. Through her experiences, she inspires people and shows how she changed the world with just one voice.

Age is not a barrier to improving the world, and Malala has taught the nation that you can make decisions that can positively shape the world as a whole. Malala Yousafzai is a global icon for her fearless attempts to protect every child’s right to education. Despite living in extremely dire situations, Malala wouldn’t let her age impact her voice and by encouraging other young girls and boys to speak up, she was able to change the world.

Malala Yousafzai is an advocate for girls’ right to education, where at the age of only 11 years old she decided to speak on behalf of nearly 60 million children around the world who do not have the freedom to go to school. In 2008, Taliban militants enforced strict rules on the population in northwest Pakistan stopping women from shopping, as well as banning television, music and the education of girls. By the end of the year the Taliban had blown up nearly a hundred schools. In 2009, Malala had decided to blog anonymously for the BBC Urdu website on how educational restrictions were affecting female students. Malala’s blog entries appeared on the BBC and were reprinted in newspapers; she had also appeared in a documentary film and gave interviews in print and on television, where she has stated, “I have the right of education. I have the right to play. I have the right to sing. And I have the right to talk”. In October of 2012, a masked Taliban gunman boarded a bus and demanded that Malala step forward or he would shoot everyone. Malala ended up being shot at close range, but was kept alive and treated by doctors. The assassination attempt received worldwide attention and produced a wave of sympathy and anger. Since her recovery, Malala has received many awards and met with many world leaders to talk about a number of topics concerning women’s rights, but specifically aiming towards girls’ right to education. Malala has exemplified the virtues of fortitude, and justice through her endless amount of determination to give girls the freedom they deserve even when faced with difficulty and danger. She did not let the vicious acts of the Taliban discourage nor silence her; instead, she let it fuel her desire to commence change and create a world where education is a fundamental right for everyone. She showed and continues to show an astounding amount of courage and justice through her act to take initiative and to stand up and be the voice of 60 million children around the world who do not have the freedom to go to school, as well as continues to actively look for a solution to end gender discrimination and raise awareness of the limitations that girls experience on an everyday basis in some countries. Malala came close to identifying and achieving the standard, also known as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ ethics, which can be analyzed through philosophers Aristotle, Kant, and Levinas.

Aristotle was an Ancient Greek philosopher who explained rationality and how it leads to happiness. Rationality can be understood as thinking something through, or defined simply as prudence. Aristotle noted that rational thought must dictate our everyday actions and that rationally choosing good actions leads to developing a good character. Malala Yousafzai embodies a rational character as the decisions she made had a purpose to achieve an ultimate goal, which was focused on women’s rights. Ultimately, Malala chose the path that would benefit all as a whole. The many courageous acts Yousafzai performed, from voicing her beliefs about justice for women, to risking her own life in order to be heard proves the eagerness she had in order to stand up for all women. Instead of spreading hatred and seeking revenge against the Taliban, Malala aimed to end the violence and conflict that was inflicted, showing complete rationality and the existence of the cardinal virtue, prudence.

Similarly, philosopher Immanuel Kant explained the need for freedom to be able to choose to do good. Kant’s ethics explain the concept of free will, where you ask yourself, ‘What should I do?’. He further explains that we must analyze and choose our decisions carefully and freely, making sure that they are good for everyone. Malala effortlessly displays free choice through her acts as she actively puts her own life at risk despite the consequences or opinions and beliefs of others, for example, during the assassination attempt by the Taliban. The risk Malala took to make a change was an act of free choice as she acted independently, even though her actions were against commonly held beliefs. It is not common for people to stand up for their beliefs and act fearlessly as Malala did through her writings, the shooting, and her speech at the UN. Malala Yousafzai formed her choices with freedom, acting with courage and selflessness. She stood up for herself, for her education and for her fundamental rights, as well as everyone else’s, and did not give up until she was heard despite the danger that came with it.

Philosopher Emmanuel Levinas described ‘The Face’ as a witness of the good. He stated, the face of others shows us the vulnerability and that each person is unique with a past and a story, thus allowing us to act good.

The Standard is unchanging, and is defined as ideals that are followed which ultimately guide our actions. Malala Yousafzai served many aspects of the Standard, ranging from compassion and sacredness of human life to freedom for all people. Malala predominantly aimed to serve the principle of equality as she shed light on the concept of gender discrimination and the fight for women to have equal rights. As an advocate for girls’ rights to education, Malala has shown immense dedication and passion in order to make a difference driven by her own personal ethics and values, revealing her strong beliefs in justice and equality. These standards have ultimately influenced and guided Yousafzai’s actions and accomplishments.

The 2014 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to two advocates for children’s rights, including a Pakistani teenager named Malala Yousafzai, at seventeen the youngest Nobel laureate in history. In her speech after receiving the Nobel Prize, Malala Yousafzai claimed that all children deserve to receive a proper education.

At the beginning of the speech, Malala uses rhetorical devices and appeals such as metaphors and pathos to convey her main argument. When she is thanking her parents for their “unconditional love” and support, she thanks her “father for not clipping [her] wings and for letting [her] fly” (5). Malala uses a metaphor to compare clipping the “wings” of a little girl, to having their opportunities taken away from her, she thanks her father for not taking opportunities away from her and letting her go to school. There are some people that don’t let their children, especially if they are girls, get a proper education; Malala insists that this shouldn’t be happening and that everyone should get an education so they can have a future full of opportunities. Malala then goes on to talk about when she was ten and her home, Swat, got attacked by terrorists and it changed from “a place of tourism and beauty” to a place “terrorism,” “more than 400 schools were destroyed. Women were flogged. People were killed. And dreams turned into nightmares.”(18). She is addressing saddening topics to bring strong feelings to the audience in order for them to listen to her and agree with her. She is trying to show to the audience that she wasn’t the only woman who didn’t get the education they deserved and that she is one of the thousands of people that have to go through violence and are threatened. She uses the feelings of the audience in order to persuade the people to support her and her argument of giving all children the education they deserve. Malala gives speeches in order to educate other people on what is happening in some countries and why they should fight to stop educational injustice.

Next, Malala goes on to use juxtaposition and facts appealing to logos to continue adding to the idea that all children deserve an education. Malala talks about the time when she was attacked by terrorists for speaking up against oppression, however, “neither their ideas nor their bullets could win” (27). She uses a juxtaposition to compare the ideas of the terrorists who stopped girls from going to school to the bullets they shot and the people that stood up to them as she did. Malala gives an example of what she and other girls had to go through, and why she continues to stand up for educational rights. Malala goes on to support her argument by bringing up the fact that there are “66 million girls who are deprived of education.” (38). Malala is appealing to logos because she is using facts to show many girls are not having a proper education so she explains how important her fight for education is. Since she was among those “66 million girls” deprived of education, in her speech, she wants to demonstrate how big of a problem this is and she wants to show why the people should support her and act to reduce this number of girls deprived of education. Malala shows how many girls in the world have had their opportunities taken away from them and everyone should support the idea of giving every child a good education.

Lastly, Malala uses pathos to appeal to the feelings of the audience and an anaphora by repeating an idea. Malala mentions one of her friends who “dreamed of becoming a doctor. But her dream remained a dream. At the age of she was forced to get married.” (44). This is something that currently happens to girls around the world so it makes the audience feel bad for the girls that this happens to because they get their opportunities taken away from them without them having a choice. This adds to why the people should support Malala and this cause so that women can get complete education so they can get more opportunities and have a choice on what they want to do with their future. By the end of the speech, Malala repeats the idea of ending the era of children not receiving proper education, she does by repeating the same expression several times “Let this be the last time that a girl or a boy spends their childhood in a factory. Let this be the last time that a girl is forced into early child marriage. Let this be the last time that a child loses life in war. Let this be the last time that we see a child out of school. Let this end with us.” (63-67). Here she is using an anaphora repeating the expression “Let This…”, she does this to capture the audience so that everyone can come together against not giving education. Malala is telling the audience that if we come together these events will end so she is persuading the audience to support her. Malala uses rhetorical devices to persuade the audience to support her, her ideas, and all the people standing up against women and children not receiving enough education.

In conclusion, Malala used rhetorical devices, appeals, and strategies, such as comparisons, juxtapositions, repetitions, and pathos to convey her argument of all children deserve proper education, and to persuade the audience to support this cause.