In a world of news titles saying “More Than 131 Killed in Taliban Attack on School,” “How Pakistan Fails Its Children” and “Taliban Destroy Womens Education,” the brutal realities of Middle Eastern kids are portrayed.
Girls face the biggest challenge when fighting for an education in the Middle East. Malala Yousafzai is one of the girls who is fighting for her education. She is world renowned for her fortitude in fighting for children’s education in Pakistan and all over the Middle East.
If you don’t know Malala’s story, here it is. In October of 2012, Malala and her female classmates were walking home from school when attacked and shot by Taliban militants. Malala, 14 at the time, was one of many campaigners for women’s education in Pakistan. Malala was targeted by the Taliban and was shot in the head. A Palestinian Taliban spokesmen said, “She was young but she was promoting Western culture in Pashtun areas.” (Taken from an article on The New Yorker) After the attack, Malala and her classmates were flown in a military helicopter to a nearby hospital that was capable of treating the deathly wounds. After Malala recovered from her wounds, she decided to use her attack as motivation to bring awareness and promote a great change.
Malala’s voice was what the world needed to hear. Her efforts to bring awareness to the children in the Middle East efforts captured the nation’s and world’s attention. Funds and organizations have been created to build schools and pay teachers for the girls in Pakistan and other parts of the Middle East. This fight for an equal chance of an education is on its way to an end as more girls are receiving an education. But over the years of Malala’s fighting campaign, citizens of America have been able to realize just how lucky we really are.
With Malala’s efforts to raise political and social awareness in the United States, citizens of the U.S. are able to see the importance of an education. Teenagers in high school (including myself) are guilty of complaining about school on social media and in everyday conversation between class. Americans have had an equal chance of an education for centuries. Teenagers today needed to hear Malala and the girls of Pakistan and understand the true meaning of an education. Education in the mind of an American teenager is viewed as a natural right and something they never had to think twice about. But this isn’t the fault of these teens. The voices of these women and young girls were silent before “the shot heard round the world,” stated in an article on Malala’s attack by ABC News. The silence was forced upon them by ruthless Taliban campaigns against women’s education and the public executions of people who tried to stand up for their education rights. Malala’s protest against the Taliban resulted in a success, and now we are able to hear the voices of these girls and rethink the power of an education.
Redefining lost meaning of an education has benefited people of the U.S and the girls in the Middle East. With the world’s education differences slowly vanishing, countries and nations are able to grow.
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