This week's blog post topic asked us to talk about our favorite influential activist or figurehead and it's a hard question to answer. Frankly, I don't have one specific activist/figurehead who I've been influenced by. I've always admired Nelson Mendala and Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi and many others.
Today, though, belongs to Malala Yousafzi.
Malala is a now sixteen year old girl from Pakistan who, from the age eleven or twelve, began blogging under a pen name to bring attention to an issue plaguing her country and the eastern world: education for young girls. If you don't know, Malala lives in a country where the Taliban have near total control and on October 8, 2012, she was shot in the head.
Don't worry though. Malala is alive and doing well. But what inspires me about her is the fact that so much has happened to her but her fighting spirit hasn't been diminished. For example, on her 16th birthday, she spoke to the UN:
Today, though, belongs to Malala Yousafzi.
Malala is a now sixteen year old girl from Pakistan who, from the age eleven or twelve, began blogging under a pen name to bring attention to an issue plaguing her country and the eastern world: education for young girls. If you don't know, Malala lives in a country where the Taliban have near total control and on October 8, 2012, she was shot in the head.
Don't worry though. Malala is alive and doing well. But what inspires me about her is the fact that so much has happened to her but her fighting spirit hasn't been diminished. For example, on her 16th birthday, she spoke to the UN:
Not only that but Malala is also the youngest person to be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize but you would never get that impression from her. Through all of the hardships that this young girl has gone through, she's still fighting and still strong.
For me, I'm glad someone is speaking up for the girls in the eastern hemisphere. I guess I could just imagine myself being a girl who would be denied an education based on her sex. I'm lucky to have parents who value education for all people, including girls, and I'm glad someone like Malala is around to speak for those who can't or are too afraid to.
For a lot of people in America and other first world countries, education is often taken for granted. Malala, to me, symbolizes the hope many people, especially girls, have for themselves. All they want is an education and sometimes, all it takes is one voice to make a difference. Even if she is a 16 year old Pakistani girl.
