Snapchat was definitely my favorite thing on March 8th; there were women all over celebrating International Women's Day and it gave my feminist heart such joy! I was so excited to see all of the excitement and participation. Props to Snapchat for having a live story for the holiday!
Because of all my geeking out about International Women's Day, I decided to make this article about one of my all time heroes, Malala Yousafzai. She is such an inspiring young woman that has accomplished so much. She is brave and powerful and refuses to back down from her beliefs. You can click here to look at her website for more information, but I'm still going to fan girl about her for a little bit. I just can't help it!
Malala has always believed in women's education. Her father was instrumental in helping her realize she deserved the chance to read and write and learn just as much as boys. She attended school secretly before a member of the Taliban shot her in the face on her school bus. Her harrowing tale is also described in her book, "I Am Malala." This is of course one of my favorite books. Her voice is so powerful and inspiring and uplifting.
One of my favorite Malala moments is when she attended the "The Daily Show" as an interviewee and rendered Jon Stewart speechless. If you have watched Jon Stewart and know who he is then you know just how difficult that is to do. I think Malala should get an award for that alone. You can watch the magical and hysterically funny moment by clicking here.
There are so many other women that deserve the spotlight on International Women's Day, but Malala is just my personal favorite. She is so young and yet so powerful! She means a lot to me even though our cultures are so different and I have never had to struggle for my education because of my gender. I think I relate to her because of her youth and the influence she has obtained. Whenever I have deep conversations with people who are older than me by fifteen to twenty years, if I end up refuting their every point and make sense but it's against what they believe in, instead of standing up for their values and attempting to refute my points they simply tell me they're not going to have a conversation with someone so young. I'm not "in the real world yet" and won't understand anything until I'm out of college and can see the big picture. If youth really relates to intelligence and ability to examine the world then how is Malala so influential and powerful? Please explain this to me.
Malala doesn't just stand up for women's education. She is a representation of what our generation is capable of and what we can do. We are powerful because we are young and we can see the mistakes our past generations have made. We have the technology, awareness, and energy to really change our world and make a difference for everyone. Malala reminds us of this and even if we want to stand up for a different cause, she is still an inspiration on how to be a spokesperson for a disadvantaged group of people and a wonderful example of how to be diplomatic and yet unrelenting when it comes to providing justice for a group of disadvantaged people. We can all learn something from Malala Yousafzai. That is why I wanted to give her the spotlight in honor of International Women's Day.
