Her story is one of true courage and determination. Victim of a failed assassination attempt by the Taliban in Pakistan, for actively championing girls’ rights to education, Malala Yousafzai is still moving forward in attempts to pursue her dreams – and she is only sixteen. Whilst the rest of us spend our loans frivolously, and worry about what colour to paint our nails, she is fighting for what so many of us have begun to take for granted: an education.
Who would have thought that in this modern day and age, where we can successfully skydive in space, send photos to the other side of the world in seconds, even determine what a baby will be like before it is born, there are still restrictions on the learning of women? UNESCO reports that the literacy rate amongst Pakistani women is between 12-26% – whereas in the UK this percentage is at 99% as of 2011.
Saying that, a recent study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has shown that 16-24 year olds in England are amongst the bottom in a list of numeracy and literacy rates of developed countries – coming 21st and 22nd out of 24 developed countries for numeracy and literacy rates respectively. England is a modern, westernised country, but it almost seems to be going educationally backward; education being something that is and always has been a traditional marker of modernity and wealth. On the other hand, here is a sixteen-year old girl, brave enough to blog anonymously for the BBC about the issues in Pakistan, recently recovered from having been shot in the head by one of the largest terrorist organisations in the world – and now determined to one day become Pakistan’s second ever female Prime Minister.
It’s hopefully enough to make a student reconsider. When HC Nottingham asked a group of university students if they felt they took their education for granted, 60% answered ‘Sometimes’, and the remaining 40% said ‘Yes’. The fact that none of these students felt they fully appreciated being in education illustrates how perhaps we’ve lost sight of what we have and why we have it. But why is this? Does the possession of something mean we forget why it’s so important? A 2011 survey of 4,000 people found that over half associated university with having fun, but also spending too much money. Acknowledging the links between university and careers development was very minimal.
It’s not to say that university – and education as a whole – shouldn’t be used to have fun, meet new people and have new and interesting experiences. But to lose sight of what education is and does as a whole is something that needs more effort to be avoided here in the UK. Malala recently met with Barack Obama to discuss education, won the EU Sakharov human rights prize only last week, and managed to stun Jon Stewart into silence on The Daily Show with her humility, kindness, and determination to pursue her beliefs (see below). We are not all gladiators and champions of life-changing proportions – we are so lucky in this country, we don’t necessarily need to be. But take a moment to think about the achievements and dreams of this sixteen-year old girl. She is an inspiration, a role model, a figure of strength, kindness, compassion and bravery, fighting all the odds for her right to an education in her own country. And it is something we already have – the least we can do is appreciate it.
Sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-24433320
http://www.indexmundi.com/blog/index.php/2013/06/25/male-and-female-literacy-rates-by-country/
http://www.thenationalstudent.com/News/2011-08-25/words_associated_with_university.html
http://www.unesco.org/education/efa/know_sharing/grassroots_stories/pakistan_2.shtml