Walking home after listening to Shiza Shahid, i began to seriously rethink my contributions to society. Malala Yousafzai is an extraordinary young girl, two years younger than myself, who has not only already improved the lives of many school girls in the community in the Swat Valley she grew up in, but she has made the effort to begin a global fight to stand up for women's rights, and everyones rights to an education because education is a universal human right. Shiza Shahid, a women just older than myself, is a social and political activist who stood by Yousafzai's side after the tragic incident in which she was shot at in the head at point blank range. She was shot because she actively fought for her right to an education. Yousafzai miraculously had no long term damage. I remember when this happened, hearing about it on the news, how it came to celebrities attention that a young girl was shot by the Taliban for wanting to go to school. People were publicly saying that more people should join the fight, everyone deserves to get an education. Its heartbreaking that it took the brutality of a young girl getting shot in order for the world to pay attention to the larger issue at hand, the lack of education affecting millions of girls.
In the hospital just after the incident Shahid was by Yousafzai's side, she asked her what the world can do to help because people want to help her; Yousafzai said "I'm fine, tell them to help the other girls". She understand that the attention should not solely be on the attack, but on women's right to go to school, and the reason she was attacked. Even as she lay in her hospital bed, with a bullet having been recently removed from her head, she was still worried about the rest of the girls who don't have an education. She mentioned how women are our most untapped resource prevented from having that knowledge because millions of girls around the world don't even have access to primary education. Groups like the Taliban are preventing girls form having that. Shahid went ahead to quit her job in order to help empower people to follow Yousafzai's beliefs and build an organization that sends her message. I have never fathomed what it would be like if i had to fight to go to school, not only not having easy access to an education, but having people fight against me going to school.
While i have volunteered much of my life, i began to wonder what important work i have genuinely done that would make a global impact, but i couldn't come up with anything. I began to rethink about what Shahid had really said, the importance of people hearing the cry around the world "I am Malala". The importance isn't in being famous for your work as a social activist fighting for women's rights in war stricken countries, but the importance of promising to be stronger so you don't let your fears hold you back, people need to speak out and fight for what they believe in. Following that promise is what made Malala Yousafzai so strong.
Nicki Hulick
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