Malala Yousafzai: Education for Girls — A Right, Not a Privilege

This episode explores the inspiring story of Malala Yousafzai — a young girl who stood up for girls’ education in the face of danger. It follows her journey from a passionate advocate for learning to a global symbol of resilience and courage after surviving an assassination attempt.

Through Malala’s story, we reflect on the importance of kindness, purpose, and the power of one voice to spark real, lasting change in the world

Please note transcription accuracy may vary.

Music by - Neffex - don't want to let myself down 
Neffex - A year go

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/video/Overview-life-Pakistani-activist-Malala-Yousafzai/-245981

https://malala.org/malalas-story

Transcript

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One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world. That quote by Malala Yousafzai has stayed with me for the longest time. She's always been up there on, I really wanted to speak to someone about her, or I just wanted to talk about her, not just because of how powerful that quote is, but because it sums up so much of what this podcast has been about. I think it's been about kindness, courage, and how they often begin with just one person. Sometimes it starts quietly in a classroom, in a journal, in a moment of defiance or even grief. I've been thinking about all the amazing human beings. I've had the pleasure to talk to people who have changed me honestly in all the best ways. And then whilst I was thinking about them, I thought there must be something they've all had in common in some way. What word would I use to describe them? What word runs through all of their stories? Not just kindness though, that's always there, but a deep sense of purpose, a belief that they could create something meaningful in spite of what life had thrown at them. So today for my final solo episode for now, I wanted to share the story of Malala Yousafzai fight. A young girl who stood up when it was dangerous to do so, who kept choosing heart when the world gave her every reason not to. This is a story of a voice that wouldn't be silenced Malala was just a girl who loved school. She was born in the SW Valley, a Pakistan, a place that would later become known for. Well for the Taliban and what they were doing there, and I know they were doing it in other places as well. But for the purpose of this episode, we are focusing on just this one particular area, not just, I take that back. We're just focusing on this area. But in her early childhood, she was raised in a world that was full of possibilities, especially because her father, well, he ran a school and believed deeply that education should be for everyone, not just boys. That belief shaped her from basically day one. It's almost as if you could feel what would've been the heart in their home. Books everywhere. Encouragement around every corner, and to quiet, but fierce belief that learning was a right, just because I need to repeat learning was a right, not a privilege. And when I say that, I'm putting that out to, I guess, the Mees of the world who have been so lucky to grow up in a part of the world where, fine, it might not be perfect, but I had access to education and that the thought of. There being places where girls can't have access to education. it hurts my heart. By the time she was 11, she was writing anonymously for the BBC describing what life was like under the Taliban regime. As they began banning girls from the schools, she used her words to fight back, not with anger. Truth. Her voice had a quiet kind of bravery to it. One that kind of was saying, see what's happening? I'm actually not going to pretend it's normal or it's okay. That early spark that heart, it stayed with her even as a danger. Grew In 2012. Malala was just 15 years old. When she was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman. It happened on her way home from school. After years of speaking up for girls' education, she'd become a target because there are places where that happens. And it's kind of a little bit like, okay, well that doesn't happen here where I live. So that say them problem, non us problem. Yeah. It's actually one World. So it's actually definitely an us problem. After years of speaking out for girls' education, she'd become a target. That moment meant to silence her did the opposite. The world responded with shock. Support and outpouring of love. She was flown to the UK for emergency treatment and the girl who had once written under a pseudonym now had the world saying her name, but it's what came next. That blew my mind. She didn't return with anger. She didn't seek revenge. Instead, she chose to keep speaking louder than ever, not just for herself, but for every girl who'd been told to sit down, stay quiet, or stop dreaming. Her kindness wasn't soft, it was fierce. The kindness says, says, you may try to break me, but I will build something bigger, better instead. Malala would spend months recovering in Birmingham, learning to speak again, to walk again, or simply live with what had happened to her, and yet even that slow and painful process. She never lost her sense of purpose. She could have stepped back and I think we would've understood surely, but instead, she stepped forward, not with rage, but with resolve. The Malala Fund with her father, determined to make sure other girls didn't have to fight the same fight alone. And she did all with grace, not lying, performative grace, not the kind that pretends it's okay, everything's fine. But the kind that says, I've been through something and I'm still here, and I'm going to use what I've been through to make things better. Her kindness lived in her actions, in her decision to forgive. In the way she lifted others up in the way she chose peace when she had every reason not to. In 2014, at just 17 years old, she became youngest ever recipient of the Nobel Priest Prize. But even then, it wasn't about the title, it was never about recognition. It was always about her purpose, her heart. She stood at United Nations at schools in refugee camps, and she spoke. Not just as someone who had survived, but as someone who deeply believed in the power of education to change everything. She kept showing up for girls in Syria. For girls in Nigeria, girls in Afghanistan choose every platform. She had to say, you matter, your voice matters. Your education matters. And yes, I've seen those comments on social media, the eye rolls, the, oh, she's back again. Energy. No. If you are using your voice to fight for girls who've been silenced, just know bin it. No, actually, do you know what?.Get in the bin. Because if you are using your voice to fight for girls who've been silence, annoy someone, maybe she's not the one who needs to be quiet. What stood out to me wasn't just her perseverance, it was her clarity. She knew what she stood for, and she knew how to say it with with heart again and again. Even when the world was loud and messy and imperfect. Malala's story isn't in the past. She's still writing it. She graduated from Oxford. She continues to work with global leaders and grassroots organizers, and through the Malala Fund, she's helping young women across the world reclaim their right to learn. But more than that. She's showing us what it looks like to live with heart, to come through something unthinkable and still choose to stand for others. That kind of purpose, that kind of courage deserves to be heard. She stood up when she didn't have to. She kept going. When stepping back would've been easier. And in a world that often rewards silence or surface level change, she continues to show up with something real thank you so much for being here. Thank you for listening to the stories that spoke to heart. It's a purpose to what's possible, and I like to think if you've listened to some of those interviews, the Harriets, the pain to Purpose. I'm hoping you kind of get it. I'm going to leave you with Malala's words, One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world and sometimes. It really does. Thank you so much for listening and I will leave it with how I always leave it, be kind to others, but most importantly, be kind to yourself.