by Emily Keaveney
Revolt Against the Taliban
After a year of being banned from school, Malala decided she needed to do something about this unequal rule imposed by the Taliban. She began blogging and explaining what her life was like under Taliban rule. To ensure her safety, she blogged for the British Broadcasting company anonymously (Alexander, 2018). When the Taliban took over, violence arose in her hometown; Malala was scared for the safety of herself and her family. She knew the Taliban was very violent, but this did not stop her from advocating for her rights to attend school.
Her anonymous blogs grew popular, and she began producing more about the day to day events in her hometown–which was becoming increasingly more violent. In 2011, Malala and her family decided they had to leave their hometown because tensions were rising and causing their safety to be threatened (Alexander, 2018). Malala and her father spoke out about the inequalities in women's education and campaigned for girls in Pakistan to receive a free equal education (Alexander, 2018). Malala’s drive to campaign and advocate for women's equal rights came from the influence of her father. He always told Malala how important education is for everyone, and how girls should receive the same opportunities as boys. Growing up with his influence made her ready to attend school again, despite the Taliban rule.
Shortly after the Taliban banned girls from school, Malala still tried going; she would hide her books under her shawl and claimed she “walked to school in fear” (Yousafzai, “Malala: I Survived the Taliban, I Fear For My Life,”). In 2012, after many years of being banned from school, Malala decided she wanted to go back. She had since been a target of the Taliban because they heard her speaking out against their extremist rules. One day, after she boarded the bus, a Taliban member got on and asked “Who is Malala?”, and then proceeded to shoot her on the left side of her head (Malala Yousafzai, Malala’s Story).
Malala was in a coma for ten days, and the left side of her face was paralyzed after this incident. At first, she was airlifted to a military hospital in Pakistan, but since the gunshot wound was so severe, they transferred her to an intensive care unit in Birmingham, England (Alexander, 2018). She had to go through months of surgery and rehabilitation to heal the paralyzed left side of her face. Her family decided to move to England to live in a safer place. After months of recovery, Malala enrolled at the University of Oxford to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics (Malala Yousafzai, Malala’s Story). In 2018 she graduated with her three-year undergraduate degree, and focused on her fight to ensure all women receive the same opportunities as men.
Works Cited
Alexander, Kerri Lee. “Malala Yousafzai.” Biography: Malala Yousafzai, 2018, https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/malala-yousafzai.
Yousafzai, Malala. “Malala: I Survived the Taliban. I Fear for My Afghan Sisters.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 17 Aug. 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/17/opinion/malala-afghanistan-taliban-women.html.
Malala Yousafzai. (2013) Malala’s Story. Malala Fund. https://malala.org/malalas-story
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