Chased down by the Taliban, shot in the head and left for dead… only to come back with a vigor and determination almost unheard of for a mere sixteen year old. Sounds pretty interesting, doesn’t it? Certainly capable of making an amazing novel, worthy of being read across the world, let alone in the author’s own nation.
This is the story of Malala Yousafzai, a 16-year-old activist campaigning for women’s education rights around the world. However, private education ministries in Pakistan seem to be doing everything in their power to silence her incredible story.

Malala initiated her journey as an activist for women’s education in 2009, when she began to blog about the Taliban control over Swat Valley, and the impact this had on her daily life and schooling. As her popularity began to grow, her voice also grew, prompting the Taliban to begin threatening her life if she continued with such actions. Malala, however, took no heed and continued her activism.

“I would tell him that I even want education for your children”

On October 9, 2012, a Taliban gunman followed Malala’s school bus home and demanded she show herself. In order to save the other students with her, she did so, giving the gunman the opportunity to shoot her from behind. The bullet pierced her head, neck, and shoulder. Despite all of this, Malala survived the attack and has refused to back down. To this day, she insists that although she initially wanted to throw a show at any Taliban member who approached her, the best course of action would be “to fight this battle through peace, dialogue and education.” In a recent interview on The Daily Show, Malala also said “I would tell [the member of the Taliban] … that I even want education for your children”.

Such humility, courage and wisdom is astounding to hear coming from the lips of a sixteen year old, and this almost fictional sounding story is one that deserves to be heard around the world. This, however, does not appear to be the case according to the All Pakistan Private Schools Federation, an organization with over 40,000 affiliated schools across Pakistan.

All Pakistan Private Schools Federation has banned Malala’s book “I am Malala” on grounds that she is representing the West, and not Pakistan.

This is nothing but blatant bigotry. Malala’s views are her own, and if anything, as a Pakistani native, they are Pakistani views. The All Pakistan Private Schools Federation is overstepping its bounds by categorizing any of her thoughts as representations she has not claimed them to be. Its chairman, Kashif Mirza, goes even further to claim that through this book, coauthored by journalist Christina Lamb, Malala has become a “tool in the hands of the Western powers”.

Although Malala may indeed be a tool, she is a tool for nothing else but her self-proclaimed mission to guarantee access to education for all women in Pakistan, and across the developing world.

As we drone on towards the end of another semester in a swarm of assignments and final papers, it might do us all good to step back and recognize exactly what we are doing here, and the power of our accomplishments. We are all here to receive a world class education, and we are all here to learn what we may do with it beyond our years at Cal.

May it be educating a new generation, pioneering environmental solutions, or fighting off a terrorist force as strong as the Taliban… an education is a privilege that plays a vital role in each of our lives. So I challenge you to get excited about that, even in the midst of the doom and gloom of this end-of-semester push. Let’s take advantage of the fact that in this country, we can pick up “I am Malala” at will and read it to our heart’s content.

“I don’t know why people have divided the world into two groups, the east and the west. Education is neither eastern or western, education is education and it’s the right of every human being.”
– Malala Yousafzai

To learn more or donate, please visit http://www.malalafund.org/.

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