Through the generosity of the Conference on World Affairs, I had the honor of attending the closing speaker event. The buzz around campus of this year’s speaker filled the crisp spring air with excitement and empowerment. Only someone as profoundly miraculous as Malala Yousafzai could have this effect. Her presence filled Macky Auditorium with light, giving the audience the sense that despite the horrors of the current political landscape, we have the power to change our destiny. Malala Yousafzai is a woman of great integrity, in which some of her accomplishments include: being the youngest Nobel laureate, co-founder of the Malala Fund, an Oxford graduate, and author of the bestselling memoir I Am Malala.
I remember reading her first book, I Am Malala, when I was a teenager, and I was irrevocably changed. In her memoir, she recounts her childhood under the Taliban’s rule and the subsequent loss of freedom she endured. Despite adversity, she fought for her right to education, a testament to her valor. Her fortitude was so profound, so threatening, that on Oct. 9, 2012, while on her way home from school, she was shot. As if it was divine intervention, Malala survived against all odds, and, like a phoenix from the ashes, rose up even stronger. After an intense and long period of recovery, Malala was faced with making a pivotal decision: pullback or persevere. Rather than living a quiet life away from political turbulence, she decided to continue fighting for the dreams she never lost sight of: that every girl is entitled to the basic human right of education. Malala did not let fear obstruct her advocacy; she maintained her unwavering tenacity, like a true heroine.
Reading her story filled me with inspiration, awe, and a feeling that I too had the power to change the world. Her influence stretches far and wide, and I firmly believe that anyone who knows her, or of her story, carries her strength with them.
During the event, Malala stated she did not believe herself to be courageous, yet, her dedication to fighting for what she believes in has placed her as an international symbol of peaceful protest. In fact, she was named a UN Messenger of Peace in 2017. It takes someone truly extraordinary to be so humble about her achievements which speaks volumes about where the motivation of her work comes from. As she so eloquently has stated, “I raise up my voice – not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.” In a world where everyone is fighting for power, Malala fights for peace, and I find that to be the epitome of courage. Similarly, Malala’s responses to questions that she most certainly hears all the time; “Where do you find the courage?”, “How does it feel to be an iconic figure”, and “When will we achieve global education for girls?” were met with an honesty that didn’t feel rehearsed. I was struck with how personalized she made global burdens feel to us as an audience. In times where making a difference for your immediate community can feel out of reach, Malala reshaped those ideas to remind us just how impactful our young voices are. In line with the Malala Fund’s mission, her reminder to us was that young people have the curiosity to question issues that we have systematically built walls around as adults, a true testament to her belief in the power of young voices.
While this event was a culmination of the CWA’s events, it was simultaneously a book tour, celebrating the launch of her newest memoir, Finding My Way. This memoir, as she described, is a more personal look into her college experience and finding her identity as a young adult. For anyone who attended public school, you might remember the impact of hearing her story. At the very least, Malala has become a name synonymous with courage, resistance, and selflessness. Being introduced to her first memoir, I Am Malala, in third grade brought on some complex emotions for an 8-year-old, where I was utterly shocked by the violence and resilience of her childhood. The disbelief I felt reading about her at 8 years old resonated with both me and girls around the globe alike.
As Malala’s story became known nationwide and she traveled to the U.K. to attend university, she made it clear that the world’s perception of who she should be and how had boxed her in against her will. Malala described the difficult ways she continued to face sexism, from the clothes she wore to the people she spent time with. For the first time, she described feeling an uncomfortable dissonance between her personal life and who the world expected her public persona to be.
In her iconic presence on the stage, it felt almost impossible that she was really in front of us, nonetheless a real person, who had most definitely struggled in her life. Almost contradictory to her iconic and respected image, she was very funny, relaxed, and relatable with all of her answers. Many of her questions relieved us as listeners to know that she is, in fact, still figuring things out, as all college students are.
While listening to her deliver these eloquently put answers, I was simultaneously in awe and also considering the idea of how we choose to idolize people. When musicians, advocates, or politicians are given a platform, we tend to lose sight of the humanity in them, even those whose main mission is to deliver that unto others. The idea of watching a speech and simply hearing the message, without a “selling point” or assignment has become an underrated experience for college students in particular.
In her honor, I went home that night and reflected about my experience. How privileged was I to have attended that event, but even more salient, I was reminded of my privilege to attend a university. More often than not, and especially at this time in the semester, we tend to get caught up in the vexation of college. We regard essays as nuisances, as assignments getting in the way of the bar crawl. We dread finals week and the time we must dedicate to studying for them. Yet, truly, we don’t have to do them. We get to. That is an important distinction to be made. Malala has dedicated her life to fighting for girls’ right to education. So I ask: what will you do with yours? In the true spirit of advocacy, I urge you to give back to your community, to the world. Use your education to be an agent of change. Use your education to fight for what’s right. Acknowledge your privilege and be courageous enough to leave the world a better place than you found it.