With the launch of Michelle Obama’s Let Girls Learn campaign and the arising use of the #62MillionGirls hashtag, we also were reminded this week of the tragic event that happened to Malala Yousafzai three years ago. As an advocate for girls education in her home, Malala was shot by the Taliban on October 9th, 2012. This past weekend, He Named Me Malala (dir. Davis Guggeinheim), a documentary following her recovery after the shooting and her continued activism for girls’ education, premiered. We were there opening weekend.
The film follows Malala and depicts her in a humble light. Although a world renowned activist, Malala is still a teenager. Recently, she turned 18 and opened up a school for Syrian refugee girls. She is also a Nobel Peace Prize winner, becoming the youngest receiver of the award in 2014. Not to mention her New York Times Best Selling book, I Am Malala, ignited her mass media attention. Yet the documentary isn’t about that, it isn’t focused on her fame and successes. It is focused on Malala’s life as a young girl, who just happened to be shot for the mere belief that girls should go to school.
Malala, like you and me, struggles with physics. She struggles with biology. She is overwhelmed with homework, making friends, and feelings about boys. She is your regular teenager. She is not just the girl who was shot by the Taliban, but she says herself that she is every girl whose education is threatened everyday. He Named Me Malala follows Malala’s everyday life as she balances school work, relationships, and press conferences and interviews. It shows her true character as not just a strong activist but as a young, normal girl that I’m sure all of us can relate to.
This documentary receives critiques just for that reason. It’s not the type of documentary that makes you want to do something, it’s not a call-for-action film…but it is true, it is real. Too often do we expect so much from activists, especially considering that Malala Yousafzai is so young. But this documentary reminds us that these people are just using their voice, they are normal people like you and me.
Watch the trailer here, and learn about the Malala Fund.