Malala Yousafzai

 

Malala Yousafzai became internationally known for her activism in defense of women's right to education. She was the victim of a Taliban attack and survived.

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist who became internationally known for defending the right of women to have access to education. He lived in a region dominated by the Taliban and defied the fundamentalist group's orders to stop studying. Her activism led to her becoming a target of the Taliban and being the victim of an attack in 2012. She survived and, in 2014, received the Nobel Peace Prize.

Summary

Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1997, in Pakistan.

She grew up in a Muslim family and was encouraged by her father to study.

During her childhood, Malala became an activist for women's right to have access to education.

Because of this, she and her father began to be threatened by the Taliban, a group that controlled the region in which she lived.

He was the victim of an attack, but survived. She was sent to undergo treatment in England.

She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.

Origins of Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai was born in Mingora, a city in Pakistan , on July 12, 1997. This city is in the Swat Valley, a mountainous region in the north of Pakistani territory. This valley stands out for having a large Pashto population, an ethnic group of which Malala is a member.

The Pacho are a minority ethnic group in Pakistan, but are the majority group in Afghanistan . Therefore, Malala's creation had a strong connection with Afghanistan. She was named after a Pashto warrior who fought during the Second Anglo-Afghan War.

Malala's parents are Ziauddin Yousafzai and Tor Pekai Yousafzai. Her father is recognized as an educator, as well as an activist in defense of environmental preservation and education.

Encouraging education in Malala's family

Malala grew up in a very poor family and was raised under the influence of Islam . Another very important characteristic of Malala's family was the influence of her parents on her being educated — something not very common in Pakistan. Malala's mother, for example, only had access to education for a few months when she was young.

Malala reports that she was always a very dedicated student and tried to be the best student in her class. During her childhood and adolescence, she enjoyed reading and had access to a wide variety of works of literature. Education also allowed her to become fluent in Urdu, Pashto and English.

Young Malala studied in an all-girls class at the school her father ran, the Khushal School. In addition, this school also allowed his family to improve their living conditions.

Being a Pashtun and living close to Afghanistan, she came to know, through reports, the violence with which women were treated by the Taliban. Her life changed radically when this group arrived in Swat.

What is the Taliban?

The Taliban is a Sunni fundamentalist group that emerged in Afghanistan in 1994. This group appeared among the Pashtuns of Afghanistan during the period of the Afghan Civil War, and the members of this fundamentalist organization have a radical interpretation of Sharia , Islamic law. The Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 and their rule was marred by violence.

In the case of women, the Taliban's actions were quite oppressive, as the fundamentalists did not accept that they should study. In addition, they only authorized women to work in health services, imposed the use of the burqa and did not allow women to leave the house without being accompanied by a relative.

In 2001, this group was removed from power in Afghanistan, when the country was invaded by US troops. The invasion of Afghanistan was a response by the United States to the Taliban, who harbored Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden on their territory. After that, the Taliban weakened, but did not cease to exist.

Taliban in Swat Valley

Malala and her family's life changed radically when she was around 10 years old. It was at this time that the Taliban arrived in the Swat Valley . Taliban soldiers began to be seen on the streets of Mingora — the largest city in Swat — and a radio station was created by the fundamentalists so that they could broadcast their ideology.

Swat was an extremely conservative region and fundamentalist ideals had a lot of space in that society. Therefore, it was not difficult for the Taliban to penetrate and gain supporters in the region. Initially, the Taliban brought a reasonable message, but as they gained support, they became radicalized.

The leader of the Taliban in Pakistan was Mulana Fazlullah . He used the radio station to broadcast daily preaching and encouraged people to follow the principles of Islam. Fazlullah's message was also critical of the social problems that people in Swat were experiencing — a way to gain the sympathy of the population.

As he gained support, Fazlullah began to radicalize his message. Thus, he encouraged people to get rid of their

TVs, as Taliban fundamentalists condemn watching television programs. Those who did not voluntarily hand over could have their homes broken into and their TVs stolen and destroyed.

The Taliban also began to demand that men no longer shave, banned women from going to the market and punished those who disobeyed them. Eventually, he began to criticize people who sent their daughters to schools. Going to school became an act of subversion and one that represented great risk.

Attack on Malala

The arrival of the Taliban in Swat placed Malala and her family in a vulnerable situation. Firstly because his father was not an extremely religious man and used to publicly criticize the ideology propagated by the Taliban. Secondly, he managed a school that taught girls and his own daughter attended the school. Finally, Malala's father shaved her regularly.

This caused Ziauddin to be threatened by the Taliban and he constantly received advice from people close to him to change his behavior, as he was putting himself at risk, as well as his own family. The family became a de facto target of the Taliban because of Malala's activism for women's right to attend schools.

Malala began her activism in support of this cause as a child and became more engaged as the Taliban radicalized their message. The fundamentalists then began attacking schools. It is estimated that more than 400 schools have been destroyed by fundamentalists in Swat . The purpose of this was to force women to abandon their studies.

Malala was asked to write anonymously for the BBC in Urdu about the Taliban and did so for a few months in 2009. Activism brought Malala recognition and she received a Pakistani award known as the National Youth Peace Prize in 2011. She began to be sought out by press outlets to give interviews.

Malala criticized the Taliban and the persecution they promoted against women. The more famous she became, the more dangerous her family situation became and the more threats occurred. For a while, Malala began to fear what could happen and changed her routine a little to ensure her safety.

Despite her fear of being a victim of the Taliban, Malala did not give up on the cause she defended. She remained engaged and mobilized voices to defend women's right to study. Due to her criticism of the Taliban, this fundamentalist group decided to silence Malala's voice . On October 9, 2012, two terrorists were sent to kill her.

They stopped the bus she was taking to return from school. Upon entering the bus, one of the terrorists shot Malala three times . One of the bullets entered the girl's head, who was just 15 years old at the time. Colleagues who were next to Malala suffered minor injuries.

Malala currently

The attack on Malala caused her to undergo emergency surgery in Peshawar. After the surgery, the Pakistani government, with the permission of Malala's parents, decided to take the young activist to England because there she would have the best treatment available to her. Malala's treatment and recovery were funded by Pakistan.

Malala remained in England and settled in the city of Birmingham, this stay being an obvious measure to ensure her and her family's safety. Malala completed her basic studies in England and graduated from the University of Oxford . She remained committed to the cause of education and created the Malala Fund, which promotes campaigns to encourage girls to study.

The attack transformed Malala into an internationally known figure and generated recognition for her activism. She has won numerous awards, the most notable of which was the Nobel Peace Prize, won in 2014.