Living in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, it’s easy to take Ridge High School for granted. Right at our fingertips, we have phenomenal teachers, a myriad of classes available, and most importantly, equality. Despite her age, 16-year-old Pakistanti Malala Yousafzai has inspired people across the globe to promote education and women’s rights. Her goal is to achieve the very same equality present in Ridge High School throughout the entire world.
However, living in a poverty-stricken area in Pakistan, in which girls had limited access to education, Malala did not have this luxury. In fact, a particular group of people despised her values so much that they wanted to silence her and her campaign for girls’ rights to education forever. On October 9th, 2012, while on her way home from school, Malala was shot in the head and neck by Taliban gunmen.
Either by her strength, her sheer willpower, or a miracle, Malala survived the attack. She then became an international sensation. The assassination even fueled Malala’s motivation to stand up for herself and her beliefs – she refused to end her campaign, regardless of any threats. Time magazine included her as one of the “The 100 Most Influential People in the World,” she won Pakistan’s first National Youth Peace Prize, and she was even nominated for the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.
Malala embraced her new-found fame to give her an international voice. On July 12th, 2013, Malala had the privilege to speak at the UN and emphasize the importance of worldwide access to education. Her once local cause spanned to impact millions of people. Now, her desire to promote education and equality echoes throughout the entire world.
With hundreds of millions of young girls being denied an education, Malala aims to empower young girls to fight against the oppression and demand change. She claims that when denying women the right to learn society is deprived of one of its most profound resources. Thus, in an effort to change the world, she has established the Malala Fund, a foundation dedicated to support a world in which every girl has the opportunity to learn and reach her true potential.
Sheltered in Ridge High School’s warm environment, it may be hard to relate to the inequality that runs rampant in other countries. Sabina Razak ’14 explains, “I think at school, we sometimes succumb to mob mentality and are too afraid to share our own opinions. Malala teaches us how to be brave and speak our minds.”
Essentially, regardless of our circumstances, Malala’s courage and intelligence should motivate us to fight for what we think is right, even in the face of adversity. But most importantly, for us in particular, she teaches to appreciate what we have. Sometimes, we, as students, joke about how we want to quit school because of the stress. However, we must look at Malala and revel at all the opportunities and tools with which our school system provides us. America has made great strides in terms of educational equality. It’s time for us to stop taking our opportunities for granted, and instead, fight for those in other countries without them.