These kids today…
If you are one of those folks who think the kids wandering around this planet today are pretty much a mess, or if you’re a parent looking for ways to support and inspire your children to greatness, or if you’re a teenager who thinks your voice is too quiet to be heard even if what you’re saying truly matters, or if you’re concerned about education and world affairs, or if you just like a good autobiography, grab I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up For Education and Was Shot By The Taliban, by Malala Yosafzai.
It will give you hope, even in this cynical cold time.
The Taliban gunmen who invaded her school bus shouted, “Who is Malala?” before they shot her. The title of the book is her answer to them, and definitive proof that the pen of a brave young woman is mightier than the smoking gun of a heartless man.
Malala’s courage is something I’ve written about before. She is a rarity: a graceful yet bold young woman seized by the power of her convictions and supported by her equally dauntless parents. In a world where standing up for what you believe can get you and those you love knocked down permanently, Malala and her parents stood, and though knocked down hard, they still stand. As a parent, Malala’s father is one of the most remarkable examples of fine parenting I’ve ever been exposed to: he encouraged his daughter’s appetite for education and he has never let external pressures, which in his case were mammoth, prevent him from following his own conscience. He taught his daughter to be brave.
At her school in Swat, her classmates have saved the seat she fought so bravely for. Would that everyone in America: students, educators, parents and citizens, would value the education each school desk represents so highly.
It is my hope that this book become required reading in schools and family rooms all over: few things illustrate the power of education and courage and family more than the story of this family whose lives have been forever altered because they stood up to the Taliban, and said, “No. We will educate our daughter, and your big guns and small minds can’t stop us.”
The best way to illustrate what made this book inspirational to me is to let its words speak for themselves:
“There are two powers in the world: one is the sword and the other is the pen. There is a third power stronger than both, that of women,” Jinnah said.
“Why don’t they want girls to go to school?” I asked my father.
“They are scared of the pen,” he replied.The Taliban could take our pens and books, but they couldn’t stop our minds from thinking.
The secret school is our silent protest.
“I know the importance of education because my pens and books were taken from me by force.”
No one knows how much power they have in their each and every organ until they lose one.
This is your second life. Don’t be afraid–if you are afraid you can’t move forward.
Atta girl.
