Sarah Labrie

I am Malala Book Review

Critical Pedagogy 2
Spring 2014
I Am Malala: The girl who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban

We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back, said Malala Yousafzai in
an interview about her experiences as a young girl growing up in Pakistan. Malalas life
dramatically changed when she was shot in the head by the Taliban on her way home
from school on October 9, 2012. After she was shot, Malala was flown to safe ground in
Birmingham, England, where she was given the power to speak freely, and has since
become one of the most influential people on education in history, even being nominated
for a Nobel Peace Prize. Malala has become a substantial trigger and figurehead for not
only peace in the Middle East, but for education of females globally. Though Pakistan has
not yet welcomed her and her ideas as a country, and they rather protest her movement
due to many conspiracies, fear of showing support, and a strong population of males,
both Taliban and not, that believe the status of womens education should change, the
stories of Malala, her family, and countless other Pakistani girls, have knocked over the
first domino in the line for ending the marginalization of women in education, and
empowering universal human rights. These ideals of critical pedagogy are what the
Eastern world desperately needs if they want to advance. Even after Taliban attacks, and
no appearance of the terrorists backing off in her homeland, she remains married to her

cause saying, I think of it often and imagine the scene clearly. Even if they come to kill
me, I will tell them what they are trying to do is wrong, that education is our basic right.
Malala Yousafzai grew up in a town in Pakistan known as Mingora in the Swat
Valley, where during the entire course of her life so far, the Taliban has run rampantly,
and war has scavenged the land, the people, and much more. From the time she was born,
Malalas father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, believed she had the ability to achieve great things,
which is why she was named after poet and warrior, Malalai of Maiwand, the greatest
heroine of Afghanistan. She was described by Malala as the Joan of Arc of the
Pashtuns (Yousafzai 15.) Her father Ziauddin, a well educated man, and a prominent
activist for peace and education, is clearly an enormous influence on the motivational and
inspirational young woman that Malala has become. He helped her to realize her full
potential and to become empowered by her education amidst the turmoil and controversy
in the educational system of Pakistan. Unlike most others, she was encouraged to speak
her mind and to promote the universal human right to an education.
Unfortunately, Malalas forward-thinking mindset, supportive family, and liberal
educational experience are uncommon in many parts of the world, and especially in the
Middle East. Hegemony is prevalent in most of the area, with females being suppressed
for so long that theyve come to accept their lower status position. Because the culture
has come to this point, women now fear to fight for equal rights in education, and in
general. The hegemonic practice of keeping women at home because of religion and
tradition is the biggest problem in the Middle East right now. If the educational prejudice
in the Middle East is to change, that change needs to start internally in order to be
effective. Malalas story and ideas have touched the people of the West who already have

the privilege of a right to equal education, but in order for real change to take place,
Malalas ideals and the ideals of critical pedagogy, which go hand in hand, need to be
accepted and acted upon by her own people. Instead, she is greeted by persecution in
Pakistan and the Middle East. In a New York Times article by Salman Masood, a scenario
is described where The question for the class of 10th graders at an all-girls school here
in this picturesque mountain valley was a simple one: How many of them, a district
official wanted to know, had heard of Malala Yousafzai? The students stared at the
official, Farrukh Atiq, in silence. Not a single hand was raised. Everyone knows about
Malala, but they do not want to affiliate with her. Until the pockets of militants are
swept out of Pakistan and the Swat valley, the people (especially young women) will
continue to be oppressed and afraid to fight for their universal human rights. Though she
may not have the support of her nation yet, they all know who she is. That is a very
important step, because the Middle East is severely lacking in strong female role models.
The only major female role model before Malala was Prime Minister Benazier Bhutto.
She was an incredible politician and spokeswoman for females in the fight for their
rights, and unfortunately was assassinated for doing so in front of her entire country. For
Pakistan and the Middle East, it is crucially important to embrace the ideas of critical
pedagogy, including ending the marginalization of women and realizing that each
individual can have an important contribution, despite their gender, race, etc. This is the
only way to end the hegemonic practices and violence holding them back.
Because of Malala, the world has brought up their arms in the fight for equal
education for women and men. According to The Malala Fund blog There are over 600
million adolescent girls in the developing world. They are an undeniable force for social

and economic impact, but only if given the opportunity. Females around the globe are
being denied their basic right to an education due to factors including but not limited to
society, the economy, and politics. Author Marie Arana, of the Washington Post, writes in
her review of I am Malala, Ask social scientists how to end global poverty, and they will
tell you: Educate girls. Capture them in that fleeting window between the ages of 10 and
14, give them an education, and watch a community change. In a statement by the World
Bank, they claimed that if Kenyas girls were educated, they would be able to boost the
countrys economy by $27 billion over the course of their lifetime. By any resource, the
education of women could be eternally beneficial to every country of the world. Per
capita income would be raised, economic growth would increase, and the rates of
HIV/AIDS and child mortality would be dramatically lowered. Arana also writes in her
article, whether an emerging nation likes it or not, its girls are its greatest resource.
People like Malala are the ones who will help to end this dark period of hegemony and
marginalization in under-privileged countries and even here in the West. A country with
people that have equal rights to education is what she is fighting for, and what we all
need to fight for, in order to provide a better and brighter future for the next generation.