I just wanted to share with you all this really cool video of Malala Yousafzai, a 16 yr old Pakistani education activist. She is an advocate for education for women which, in her country, had been taken away by the Taliban. Malala was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and would have been the youngest person to win the award had she won.
Morality and Politics 
Thank you so much for posting this! I don’t think I would have come across it, if not for this blog. I admit that watching this interview gave me shivers, at points. It is almost pointless to say that Malala is incredible. You know that. I know that. The world knows it. I mean, to be 16 years old and have that much courage, that much resilience, that much life experience is astounding. It is as terrifying as it is beautiful. It’s hard to imagine any one of us being so passionate about or doing as much for a single cause. However, Malala didn’t ask for her life situation, just as we didn’t choose the relatively privileged American lives we live. And yet she truly made the best out of the unfortunate slice of pie life dealt her. She truly is an inspiration for every one us–a sort of reminder that one, our lives aren’t as bad we think they are, and two, we can always turn something ugly into something beautiful, and three, life really is what you make it.
I found myself thinking through the interview, though, is Malala an absolutist? Her passion is education, and she truly seems to believe that it is the solution to terrorism and many, if not all, of the world’s problems. Is this an absolutist and maybe even naive way of thinking, though? I find myself agreeing with her–education is vital. However, I acknowledge that it is a long-term solution to terrorism, to poverty, to hatred and ignorance. Granted, we need more long-term solutions in this world, as the implementation of short-range solutions has often left the world worse-off. On the other hand, the exigency of our many problems makes long-term solutions difficult to implement. Violence, terrorism, deaths, chemical weapons, arguing countries, etc, etc., all demand an immediate response, an assurance, and a promise to action if not an actual solution. Sometimes these short-term solutions involve violence. Sometimes they are words. Other times, still, they are the tension of silence and inaction. I think Malala would agree that for every short-term action we take against the world’s problems, we must also take a long-term action, such as implementing education measures and provisions…unless, that is, she is an absolutist. Certain things, like her heartwarming hypothetical story of refusing to hit her potential assassin with a shoe, make me think she is an absolutist. Other things, like everything she has experienced and gone through, makes me believe that she understands that life isn’t all black and white. Sometimes, our ideals don’t always stand. Compromise is required. There’s a lot of grey. But this is why you take a stand, why one forms ideals to restructure the world into something that makes us more content. Whichever way her light shines, though, whether absolutist or not, the world needs her.
Malala truly is the embodiment of courage. Just from her descriptions of how she lived through the hellish conditions brought upon her by the Taliban was both unsettling in its nature and inspiring in her perseverance. When she brought up the thought of resisting a potential attacker with a shoe and deciding against that scenario, I too was brought to think of the absolute idealist. And I would agree with the above comment that she is a wise individual, and if there are various means to secure peace and advancement, there would be various means (by way of compromise?) of self-preservation and defense. She strongly advocates education, and that is the strongest tool to combat these deep seated problems (war, social inequality,deliberate rejection of new ideas) stemming from ignorance. And quite honestly, she has a better view and is more encouraging than a majority of people spouting their ideas in our pretty sheltered society. Whether or not she personally takes a 100% absolutist style of ethical thinking, she’s still a shining example of a righteous and conscious person.
Wow, great video you posted! I’ve been so busy lately that the only reason I’d even heard about Malala Yousafzai before this was because I saw it for a few brief minutes on the news while I sat in a waiting room. Anyways, I only got a few details out of that very brief coverage I saw, so I was more than interested in watching this video to learn more about Malala. This video did help inform me, so thank you so much for sharing it with the rest of us. I also think Malala deserved to be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, and it’s disappointing that she didn’t win it.
It’s amazing how much students here in the US take education for granted. I mean most of us aren’t likely to thank our teachers for assigning homework and giving us pop quizzes. Most of us just tend to groan and moan and complain about some random test. It’s pretty embarassing for me to think about when I watch this video. I mean, I’m sure Malala and all the other girls in her country and girls in other countries who’ve also been denied their right to education would absolutely love to have the opportunity just to learn something new and be tested on it. Yet, here I am, frowning at the load of homework I’ve been assigned to complete this week and the two tests I’m expecting tomorrow.
I especially liked about this video how Malala mentioned that she didn’t want to fight this war with more violence (or by throwing her shoe at them like her father suggested), instead she wished to end this war and prevent future wars by advocating for education for all. I also really agreed with her statement that a classroom tends to teach us all how to sit next to each other in harmony, and it teaches us how to effectively communicate with each other in a respectful manner. I couldn’t help but think about Machiavelli’s The Prince as I read that; I’m sure he would’ve disagreed with the solution she presented. After all, Machiavelli constantly arged that war was necessary and expected. Malala, on the other hand, although she expects it is hoping to bring about peace with education and equality.
I am so glad that you decided to share this on the blog. Malala is such an inspiring young woman and I am looking forward to seeing what amazing things she will do in the future with education and women’s’ rights. Learning that she was 14 when she began her protests against the Taliban shocked me because she had so much courage for such a young girl. I remember what I was like when I was 14 and standing up to a terrorist organization was not something I would have been able to do. Even now, as a student in college, I do not think I would fight back against a terrorist group. Her strength and courage is to be admired and it was great to see her smile and laugh during the interview. She spoke beautifully and had very profound ideas. She is truly an inspiration.