A Girl Who Fought a War and Won

Imani Cox

English 098

June 22, 2020

                                                                                     Malala

                                                             A Girl Who Fought a War and Won

In Mingora, Pakistan a baby girl is born to a village that does not welcome her. She is given a name of a female war hero, a revered woman who risked her life for the betterment of her country. Her name is associated with honor and bravery, she is Malala.

Malala’s love for education begins at a young age—an interest passed down from her father. A girl attending class was unusual to see in her village. Traditionally, boys will go to school while girls stayed home and learned housekeeping duties. Her father, Zaiuddin, made sure the presence of literature and poetry were profound in their household. Malala tells us, “He thought there was nothing more important than knowledge” CHP 3. The principle: “knowledge is power” is something he instilled from a very young age. These are the ingredients that made Pakistan’s future Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Her mother, Tor Pekai, did not take education as seriously as her husband. She too was encouraged to go to school by her father. But she lacked the resilience to fight the social pressure she received. Consequently, like many other girls, she drops out at the age of 6. Malala tells us, “It is only when she met my father that she felt regret.” Tor Pekai tells her daughter of the sweet poems written to her, that she could not read. This allows Malala to see, first hand, what a lack of education could take from her.

By the time Malala is 5, the Taliban has a vice grip on her city. They roam the streets like creatures of the night, with only a goal to terrorize. Maulan Fazlullah, the Taliban leader, broad

casts his harsh beliefs through the radio. This is a tool he frequently used to speak directly to women of Mingoria. Malala recalls messages sent through the airwaves, “...only in emergencies can women go outside...”and “Women are meant to fulfill their responsibilities at home” CHP 9. Women at home everywhere tune in to his words. His statements prove the disdain he has towards women, yet the women of this village admired him deeply.

By the time Malala enters her first year of high school, the Taliban has grown monstrously. Suicide bombers plagued the city. The adversity for girls’ education is becoming even more of a target for the extremist group. Going to school was no longer safe. But for Malala, as she said, “It was school that kept me going...” CHP 11. In spite of the risk, she chooses to keep attending class. Malala is willing to walk through the fire to sit in class and learn, but may of her peers became too fearful to keep walking with her. As a result, the number of students in her school begin to drop dramatically. Around this time is when she begins to publish diary entrees expressing her intense disproval for what the Taliban is doing. This is her first bout of activism for girls’ rights.

Malala and her fathers’ efforts to preserve education for young women did not go in vain. The country of Pakistan spoke out against the Taliban’s insensible restrictions. In chapter 14, Fazlullah was told, “...you slaughtered people...you destroyed schools...but when you banned girls’ education...Pakistan [became] outraged.” After some time bantering, Fuzlullah agrees to lift the ban on girls’ education up to grade 4. With Malala being in grade 5, she hide her true age and was able to get herself back in the classroom.

In 2011, Malala is recognized by the chief minister of Punjab. By then, she had made a wave with her powerful speeches and diary entrees. Everyone has read her words. She spoke at an education gala. She tells us a line from her speech, “...the girls of Swat are not afraid...we 

have continued our education.” This is a statement of pure liberation. Soon after the speech she is rewarded a gift of money that covers the rebuilding of multiple schools in her city. About one year passes when Malala is shot by the Taliban. She is airlifted out of the country for emergency treatment. She spends one year healing from her injuries and, by grace, makes a complete recovery. In an interview she expresses, “We human beings don’t realize how great God is.”

Her fight for education and Pakistani girls has changed her country forever. She is a shining example of what it means to hold onto your courage and to stand for what you believe in. Malala, a hero of Pakistan, surely lives up to her name!

Work Cited

Malala Yousafzai, Christina Lamb, I Am Malala, October 2013

Malala Yousafzai, UN Speech, New York Times, July 12, 2013