by Malala Yousafzai
I want to be Malala when I grow up.
Seriously. Everyone should read this book and then we can
all wonder together what we've been doing with our lives while this girl has
been fighting to make the world a better place. Her bravery and optimism are astounding and the
rest of us can only hope to ever be as cool as she is.
I think my favorite part of this book was the fact that she
points out the irony of the Taliban. As a deeply religious Muslim who has
memorized the Quran, Malala is well equipped to point out exactly how these
people are wrong. While they beat and threaten women into staying home and out
of men's sight, Malala insists that nowhere in the Quran does it say that women
should not go to school. On the contrary, it encourages both boys and girls to
gain as much knowledge as they can. According to Malala, Islam is a
pro-education faith.
Purdah is a touchy subject. I'm not a fan of it personally,
but I'll try to remain respectful of other people's beliefs. While many Muslim women were practicing
purdah before the Taliban came along, the Taliban imposed further restrictions
on women for no apparent reason. Not only did they have to cover their heads,
but they had to wear burqas, could not go outside without being accompanied by
their husband or a male relative, and they were forbidden from dancing. Why the
Taliban is so against music and dancing is beyond me. It reminds me of certain
Christians who seem to think that anything that's fun must be evil. I guess
that's another thing that Christians and Muslims have in common, regardless of
whether or not they'll ever admit it.
I thought Malala made a great point when she said the Taliban
accused women of wanting to disobey their fathers and husbands by going outside
on their own. Malala says that this is not true. She points out that there is a
difference between wanting to make your own decisions and wanting to be
disobedient. I thought this was an excellent point because it effectively shuts
down one of the Taliban's main arguments.
Of course, this is all coming from a girl who has been
granted quite a bit of independence. Her father is an educated and liberal-minded
man who encourages his daughter to study, to work hard, and to speak out for
what she believes in. Malala is truly an amazing person, but it's clear that
she couldn't have done any of what she did without the help and support of her
father. Those two are so adorable. Just look at them.
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