By Grace Newton
If I walked down the halls of the Main or Brooks campuses and asked fellow students, “Who is Snooki?” I’m confident that most students, if not all, would be able to answer my question. But if I asked, “Who is Malala Yousafzai?” would anyone know?
If you don’t know who this young woman is, you should; we all should.
Yousafzai is a 14-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot in the head by a Taliban gunmen on Tuesday. She was singled out by the Taliban because of the threat she posed as a child activist for girls’ education in her native Mingora in the northwestern Swat Valley in Pakistan.
In 2007, Taliban militants took control of the Swat Valley and ordered that all girls’ schools be closed. According to a BBC report, militants seeking to impose their austere interpretation of Islamic Sharia law, destroyed about 150 schools in 2009 and five more were blown up.
At the age of 11, Yousafzai started writing about life under Taliban control in a diary for BBC Urdu using the pen-name Gul Makai. She exposed the suffering caused by militants and wrote about the struggles she faced to continue her education.
Her advocacy work earned her recognition as one of the most vocal school-aged girls’ fighting for girls education and as a symbol of Taliban resistance. In 2011, the Pakistani government recognized her with the Pakistan’s National Peace Award.
Because she had the courage to speak out for herself and other young girls in Pakistan, she is now fighting for her life.
A gunman walked on to her bus, asked for her by name, then shot her. The shooting left other classmates injured.
According to the Washington Post, a Taliban spokesman said “his organization considers Malala’s crusade for education rights an ‘obscenity’ and accused her of ‘propagating’ Western culture. If she survives, the group promises to try again to kill her.”
Why do I think it’s important for all of us to know Malala? Because she serves as a reminder of how fortunate we are as Americans and as students. She demonstrates courage and what it means to be courageous.
How many of us would have the guts to do what she did? She valued her education and the education of other girls in her community so much that she risked her own life for it.
In our country, we have teenagers who fall asleep in class because they don’t feel like being there, but don’t realize how privileged they are to have the opportunity to be educated.
Of course, I’m not speaking about all American teenagers, but it’s unfortunate that anyone could depreciate their right to education.
Education is power and Americans are freely given the opportunity to that power.
Malala Yousafzai may not be a celebrity or household name, but her courage inspires me. I appreciate my education, my freedoms and those who have fought and continue to fight to keep my freedom.
If someone like Snooki is worthy of our time and attention, then certainly we can give recognition to someone who truly deserves it.
Now you know Malala Yousafzai.
