Malala Yousafzai yields many titles: education activist, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and hero for girls around the world. The new documentary entitled He Named Me Malala, explores not only the incredible feats that Ms. Yousafzai has overcome, but also reveals touching moments in the daily life of a regular teenage girl.
Day-to-day, Malala attends school in England, and jokes around with her brothers. But not many other girls could include “winner of the Noble Peace Prize” on their high school resumes. He Named Me Malala explains Malala’s inspiring story and was based on her book I am Malala. Early on it, seemed as though Malala was destined for great things. She was named after a brave warrior woman from Afghanistan who led an army into battle. Ms. Yousafzai’s life began in the Swat Valley in Pakistan, which was taken over by the Taliban. Malala first spoke about education and life under oppressive rule through an anonymous BBC blog. Though it was risky, she found the courage to speak out against the oppressive Taliban and called out for girls education. Most famously, in 2012, the Tailban targeted and shot her on her way to school. Luckily, she survived and recovered and continues to advocate for girls’ education world wide.
Though I find Malala’s activism and accomplishments inspiring to girls around the world, what I found most touching in this documentary was her relationship to her father. Ziauddin Yousafzai, was a school owner and an educational activist himself. He always encouraged her education, even when girls were banned from school. Most importantly the film makes clear that Malala chose to stand up for women by her own choice and not through pressure from her father. Despite occasional trips to the United Nations and Skype calls with international schools, the relationship between Malala and her father reflects most loving relationships between father and daughter. It is clear that Malala has certainly lived up to her name and will continue to fight for gender equality in education.
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