Current Events

That time I met Malala Yousafzai...

Over the summer I was incredibly blessed and privileged to have met a remarkable woman, Malala Yousafzai. 

For those of you that don't know, Malala is a 17 year old Pakistani education activist. At the age of 11 she was writing a blog for the BBC under a pseudonym sharing her day to day life under Taliban rule.  I asked her, weren't you terrified to share your experience knowing the danger? To which she replied, "yes, but to not share what was actually happening was so much more dangerous". 

In 2012 she was shot in the forehead by the Taliban whilst on a school bus with friends.

Since then, she has been in Time magazine, nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, the list goes on. 

Chances are, if you are reading this right now, it means that you have been able to go/are going to school, and it probably doesn't cross your mind that thousands and thousands of girls live in fear and danger of going to school. Something majority of us take for granted.

I study Politics at university, and sometimes it becomes too much. I am bombarded on a daily basis with facts such as 

1. There are 170 million children across the world that do not attend school.. and of those children, 70 % are girls.
2. Seventy percent of the world's 1 billion people living in poverty are estimated to be women
3. Women work two-thirds of the world‘s working hours, produce half of the world‘s food, yet earn only 10% of the world‘s income and own less than 1% of the world‘s property.
4. Around the world women earn on average 20% less than men. 

Facts are from http://www.facingthefuture.org/TakeAction/FastFactsQuickActions/WomenGirls/tabid/184/Default.aspx#.U_oXl4CwL8Q 

I highly recommend her book, I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban. Not only is it written beautifully,  her message is simple, uncomplicated yet insanely powerful, moving and inspiring.  I love how personal it is. When I met her, I realized in some ways she's just like me, a young girl who is passionate about education, who has brothers that play on their xbox, and wants to make a difference in the world. But then. I asked my self, what do I do that demonstrates my wanting to help people and empower them? Literally nothing, and with Malala she is constantly doing things which reinforce her mission and make a difference. 

So I pose this question to you. What do you truly want, and what do you DO that achieves it? 

Also check out http://www.malala.org/ for more information about Malala and her mission