He named me Malala tells the inspiring story of a young woman who faced down the Taliban
|||Malala Yousafzai challenged the Taliban’s rules around female education and it almost cost her her life. He Named Me Malala tells her story, writes Debashine Thangevelo
SHE can only half smile as the left side of her face is paralysed. She can’t blink properly with her one eye. But this doesn’t sadden Pakistani human rights activist, Malala Yousafzai. It’s more a reminder of her courage and tenacity to let her voice be heard.
David Guggenheim’s He Named Me Malala revisits Yousafzai’s life from birth and her journey to become the youngest Nobel Peace Prize Laureate winner in 2014. She shared the honours with Kailash Satyarthi “for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education”.
Although she honours her culture – being raised as a Sunni Muslim of Pashtun ethnicity by her equally outspoken father, Ziauddin, a poet and a school owner, and her more conservative mother, Toorpekai – she challenges old-fashioned sentiments when it comes to the subservience of women.
She says: “Sometimes my mother says: ‘Don’t shake hands with men. Look down, look down, don’t look at men – it’s a shame’. And I say: ‘If a man can look at me, why can’t I look at them?’”
He Named Me Malala captures two paradoxical sides of this prominent female activist. On the one hand, she is a shy teenager who loves reading. One of her favourite reads is Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. She worries about her grades at school, revealing what she deems unsatisfactory marks: 73 percent for biology and 61 percent for physics.
She is tech-savvy and often pictured with her dad, catching up with loved ones on Skype, following up on what’s happening in the world and updating her Twitter and other social media feeds.
She shares a close and nurturing bond with her younger brothers. However, the strongest is the father-daughter relationship – he looks at her with such pride in his eyes. They are kindred spirits when it comes to standing up for what they believe in and championing the right to education for girls.
Then you see this young teenager meet with some of the greatest people in history – US President Barack Obama and the Queen – to share her thoughts on education for young girls. When she takes to the podium, she exudes confidence when she speaks passionately about what’s close to her heart.
At the same time, there is a warmth about her. She follows the teachings of the Qur’an and doesn’t harbour hatred against the Taliban.
The documentary also revisits the family’s time in Pakistan, when the Taliban moved in. The dissension they caused with their propaganda seemed unthreatening at first. The fear the community lived with as people were executed in public was an example to others. There was the public burning of all CDS, videos and TVs that were deemed to encourage vulgarity and went against the teachings of Islam. And then there was the terror the Taliban instilled in their vendetta to put a stop to the education of women. They made their point by burning hundreds of schools.
As young as Malala was at this time, she started secretly writing a blog about what was happening and how it affected her and those around her.
She defiantly notes: “I have a right to sing. I have a right to go to the market. I have the right to speak up. I will get my education – if it is at home, in school, or any place. They cannot stop me.”
This fearlessness also made her a target, as her voice became louder in Pakistan. Today, she lives in England with her family. It is a cultural shock and an education for her. But it is one she embraces.
There are plenty of sobering and insightful quotes by Malala.
The most impactful, for me, being her saying: “I tell my story, not because it’s unique. It’s because it is not!”
And her bravery and tenacity as a human rights activist continues to leave an indelible impression on the world. She is an inspiration and a revelation, at the same time!
He Named Me Malala airs on National Geographic Channel (DStv channel 181) on Sunday at 8.05pm.