Case study Malala Youasafzai
Introduction:
Malala Yousafzai is the youngest female activist and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in
October 2014. She lived in the region famously known as the Swat Valley, KPK, Pakistan. In this
region, there is a strong network of Taliban. She was a young female activist who called for
women's freedom and education. In the same village where she used to live, her father also coached
a girl school. The Taliban were against the freedom and education of women because of their
radical ideas. One day, the Taliban attacked her when she was coming back home from school.
She was shot in the head. She is currently a women's activist and lives in Britain with her family.
She was also awarded the Noble Peace Prize due to her dedication in her teenage years.
The Challenges:
The Taliban believe in traditional but radical Islam and consider the Madrassa (school of Islamic
study) as their religious and political point of view. According to their viewpoint, the girls who
got education go against the Islamic teachings, and specifically, they were against the co-education
where both girls and boys study together. In their beliefs, Islam has no concept of modernization,
and their culture also does not allow any girls to receive an education. The Taliban, who reside in
this area, launched their religio-political movements against women's education. Malala’s father,
Ziauddin, was coaching a girl school in this region. As the Taliban were deadly against the freedom
and education of women, they warned the school management so many times to shut off the school
and to blockade women's education. When the school did not answer and acted in accordance with
the warning given, the Taliban showed that they were not all words but could prove to be
dangerous. As Malala was the daughter of the school’s head, Ziauddin, the Taliban attacked her
when she was coming back home from school in a school van.
Dawn newspaper of Pakistan posted this update on Malala’s story:
“Malala was shot in the head when she was returning from school. She was first taken to
a military hospital in Peshawar and later flown to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in
Britain.”
There is another cause of this attack, Malala was women activist who talked about the freedom of
women. For instance, one day, when an interviewer from one of the news stations came to the area
to interview the school, she decided not to stay silent anymore. Later explaining her actions to
CNN’s anchor, Christiane Amanpour, talking about the problem “was a better idea, because
otherwise they were going to kill us – so it was a better idea to speak and then be killed,” silence
was no longer a choice for her. From then on, her courage and bravery only increased, and she
gained worldwide recognition when, in 2012, a member of the Taliban attempted to murder her.
“We realize the importance of our voice when we are silenced”
(Malala Yousafzai)
Malala’s contribution and achievements:
Malala was a very young female Pakistani who did not know that she would become a bridge for
the youth of Pakistan as well as the rest of the world when she stood up to and challenge a
conventional power, the Taliban in Pakistan. Her brave acts indicate that she directly challenged
political interest articulated group. Her psychological reaction created a very different youth
political school of thought, which again created some indicators to inform the world that the youth
of Pakistan, especially females, know how to protect their rights and protect their friends in their
schools as well as their communities. Malala had strong beliefs when it came to women’s rights,
but it was always in the limits of Islam. As she states in her book, I am Malala:
“In Pakistan we had had a woman prime minister and in Islamabad I had met those
impressive working women, yet the fact was that we were a country where almost all the
women depend entirely on men. My headmistress Maryam was a strong, educated woman
but in our society she could not live on her own and come to work. She had to be living
with a husband, brother or parents”.
“In Pakistan when women say they want independence, people think this means we don't
want to obey our fathers, brothers or husbands. But it does not mean that. It means we want
to make decisions for ourselves. We want to be free to go to school or to go to work.
Nowhere is it written in the Quran that a woman should be dependent on a man. The word
has not come down from the heavens to tell us that every woman should listen to a man.”
Malala Yousafzai, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. “Malala has, for many years, been an
advocate of giving girls the right to their own education” [1]. She started when she was 11 years
old by writing an anonymous blog about how the Taliban had imposed their strict rules and
threatened her home, an area in Pakistan called Swat Valley, from sending girls to school. Her
father, Ziauddin, then the owner of one of the schools in the area, did not comply with the orders,
and continued to support his daughter and encourage her to further her education. Malala began
wondering why girls were being denied one of the most basic rights: a proper education.
Expectancy – Value theory:
Expectancy- value theory states that to understand a person’s action and behavior, someone must
understand his belief and values. This mean that nobody can fully comprehend what that person
want and why he want until he do not truly realize and take into count his background. He should
realize about the persist conditions under which he raised, he live through, how he was taught and
he preserved the world. No one can predict about anyone without knowing about his past.
Relevant to Malala’s story:
This theory has a key link to Malala’s story. Since her birth, she has been influenced by the
prevailing conditions in her social life, which made her an activist from a very young age of 11
years old and enabled her to win the Noble Peace Prize. Her beliefs were strongly impacted by her
childhood experiences of where and how she lived, as well as the example her father set for her.
This way of fighting is not a physical attack, but rather an aim at changing the mindset of the
community towards girls getting an education as well as the viewpoint of the rest of the world of
how Pakistan is a backwards society towards a modern and more positive view of Pakistan’s youth.
She suggests in the following words:
“"If he [the Talib] comes, what would you do Malala? …If you hit a Talib with your shoe, then
there will be no difference between you and the Talib. You must not treat others…with
cruelty...you must fight others but through peace, through dialogue and through education…then
I'll tell him [the Talib] how important education is and that I even want education for your children
as well… that's what I want to tell you, now do what you want." --In a Daily Show interview.
Malala defines herself in the following statements which elaborate on her personality, perception
of the world around her and their reactions to her actions, as well as on her sociopolitical school
of thought.
“I speak not for myself but for those without voice... those who have fought for their rights... their
right to live in peace, their right to be treated with dignity, their right to equality of opportunity,
their right to be educated.” [2]
Conclusion:
Finding facts through the previous discussion that education and the Pakistani educational
institutions are creating a sense of revolution in the light of progressive education. Malala’s
statements explore new dimensions for the youth of Pakistan who are hopeful for a future filled
with peace and tolerance. The balanced personality of Malala has also drawn the world’s attention
that a young girl can be such a strong symbol of education, dialogue, and courage to challenge
terrorism. Her trust in the law of equality and equity for the promotion of peace and tolerance is a
great hope for the democracy in Pakistan.
She believes that hatred cannot allow a peaceful political culture. The Taliban must be brought to
the process of dialogue and the message of moderate behavior and respect for humanity should be
conveyed. Malala has created a powerful impact in the world which has resulted in a Nobel Peace
Prize for Pakistan, a unique and remarkable service done by Malala for her country.
Citations:
1. Nobel Peace Prize Committee. (2014, Oct. 30) The Nobel Peace Prize 2014 - Press Release.
Retrieved from http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/
2014/press.html.
2. "Malala Yousafzai." BrainyQuote.com. Xplore Inc, 2015. 24 October 2015.
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/malalayous569382.html.
3. Gresko, J. (2013, Oct.11). Obama Meets Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani Teen Shot by
Taliban. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/11/obama-malala-
yousafzai_n_4086585.html.
4. Couch, R. (2014, Oct. 10). The 5 Most Important Things Malala Has Done in 2014. P1.
Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/10/malala-nobel-peace-prize-
winner-important_n_5965490.html.
5. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283284423_Political_Psychology_A_Case_Stu
dy_of_Malala_Yousafzai_Nobel_Peace_Prize_Holder.
