“Of all the evils for which man has made himself responsible, none is so degrading, so shocking or so brutal as his abuse of the better half of humanity; the female sex.” – Mahatma Gandhi.
Discrimination is a major issue in society today. Some are oblivious to it, but it’s happening. One major type of discrimination is sexism. Sexism isn’t brought up as much as it should. People believe that women are less than men. For centuries, women have struggled to be equivalent to men. Despite the dramatic change we have seen in the past decades some countries remain the same. Many women are still facing discrimination, especially in third world countries. Things that we have become accustomed too, some people are still deprived of.
One example of someone standing up against this discrimination is Malala. Malala was living in Swat Valley, Pakistan when the Taliban took over and changed the rules. They said that girls were not allowed to attend school, because they thought girls were better suited as workers. Many fell silent, but one person was not going to roll over without a fight. When Malala was born, her birth wasn’t celebrated because she was a girl, and her parents didn’t have the money for a big feast. Her father named her Malala after a fearless woman who led troops into battle against the British. Her mother was illiterate, like most women who did not have the opportunity to go to school, Malala’s father was a teacher. He opened up a school for girls and boys, but women had no intentions of pursuing education. Malala was encouraged by her dad to learn and be an independent woman rather than a humble wife who cooks, cleans, has children and never leaves the house.
When the Taliban took over there were radio broadcasts telling everyone to burn books, CD’s, DVD’s and mostly keep girls away from schools, so they could return to the old way of Islam. Where women were slowly gaining some rights, the Taliban believed that women were made to be inferior to men.
However, despite the Taliban’s demands Malala continued seeking education. She began to give interviews promoting education and women’s rights. As a child she captured attention from many people. She wrote blogs, spoke publicly, she described her life underneath the Taliban rule. Her family encouraged her, she received many threats for what she was doing, the Taliban were very violent, and were racking up death numbers daily. For many years the Taliban reigned over the country until the government stood up and started a war.
In 2012, Malala was on her bus home. The bus came to a halt and this man got aboard. He shot at all the females, striking Malala in the head. Malala was rushed to the hospital but she was getting worse by the minute. She was transferred to a military hospital, and then relocated out of the country to a hospital in England, where she spent many months in surgery. It was a long process, but she received the support from all over the world. Many important people visited her, and she was only 15.