Malala Yousafzai, a 17-year-old activist from Pakistan’s Swat Valley, was shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012 for publicly advocating for girls’ education.
Now recovered from the injury, she travels the globe fighting for the right of all children to go to school. Malala answered questions from teens in Student Reporting Labs, a video journalism program that works with classrooms and afterschool clubs to produce youth-focused stories for public media.
Q: When do you think your battle for education for all will finally be won?
A: Dreams do come true — and, in our history, we have seen that 100 years ago, women didn’t have the right to vote, but now they’re able to vote and they have achieved their — this right.
And long ago, people were struggling for the rights of black people, so that they can vote as well, and they are respected in society. And it’s getting better every day. And now we see that there were dreams in the past, and now they are becoming a reality. So I’m hopeful that the dreams which I have now to see every child going to school, to see equal rights for women, I think, soon, in future, if you continue the struggle, if you work hard, then I will see those dreams becoming a reality.
Q: Why did you continue to speak out for women’s education, even though you knew you could be killed?
A: It’s a very good question.
So, when I was in Swat Valley, at that time, there were more than 400 schools destroyed. And women were flogged, because we’re not allowed to go to school. And, at that time, I had really two options. One was to remain silent and wait to be killed. And then the second was to speak up and then be killed.
And I chose the second one, because I didn’t want to face the terrorism forever. And I wanted to come out of the terrible situation. And I wanted to go to school. It was my love for education that encouraged me to continue the campaign. So, I think, in hard times, we need to raise up our voice. Otherwise, we will have to live in that terrible situation forever.
Q: How can people in the United States, from this distance, support education in a country like Pakistan effectively?
A: When it comes to the developing countries, I think you can do advocacy for that. You can ask the responsible people.
And now social media can be used for this good purpose. And I know it’s good, like, sometimes if you ask — if you put a selfie on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram, but it’s also good that you use it for the good purpose of raising awareness, of doing advocacy, and of highlighting the issues that children are facing, but as well if you donate to the organizations and to the foundations who are working on the ground and who need your support.
And even if, like, you give one dollar, it can really bring a big change in the life of those children who are waiting for someone to help them.
Q: How do you convince a government or an aid agency, or families, to educate children?
A: The first thing is that when we do advocacy and when I do advocacy, I do not speak for my side, but I speak on the behalf of those children, on the behalf of those parents who are suffering so many problems.
So, when I went to Nigeria for the campaign to make sure and to ask the government that the girls who are kidnapped and who are abducted by Boko Haram, more than 200 girls, that they are released as soon as possible, before asking the president, I met some parents, and I met some girls who escaped from the abduction.
And they were crying, and all they were asking was that they want their daughters to come back home. And the girls, they still do not get any education. No one is supporting them. They do not even get, like, health facilities. So I ask the president that I’m raising the voices of these people and raising the voice of those parents who want their daughters to come back. I’m raising the voice of those girls who now need support and help.
And the president then promised me that he would meet the parents and the girls. And he did right at the next week. And I went on my 17th birthday, so I was really happy that I spent my birthday in a place where there are so many children out of school, 10.5 million children out of school.
It’s only about the primary level, but I was happy that the parents and the girls’ voices were heard. So I had a very nice birthday.
Q: How do you relax?
A:
Oh, well, sometimes I play cricket, and I play badminton. I also listen to music sometimes. And then I have an iPad.
I don’t have a phone, but I do have an iPad. And I watch the news. I read some articles to be updated. That is important for me. And I also fight with my brothers, so that’s a good way to be busy.
For more on Student Reporting Labs, visit
www.studentreportinglabs.com
. For information on the American Graduate project, visit
www.americangraduate.org
.
