Throughout history there has been exceptional women who have impacted the world around them; Malala Yousafzai is one of them. Exceptional women are not defined by what they believe in, but rather how they respond when their beliefs are challenged. Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist for female education and has come to symbolize the plight of young girls around the world. Her resiliency and determination to achieve universal education is a testament to her strength. When the Taliban banned girls from attending school in Swat Valley, Malala became a crusader in the fight for girls’ education. Malala is a role model for people everywhere, especially young girls. She is a “testament to the feminine spirit that we often find as the most promising …show more content…
Her father played an important role in her identity formation. Malala’s father, Ziauddin, was an educated man who ran a school in Swat Valley. He was known as an advocate for education in Pakistan and was an opponent of the Taliban’s effort to restrict education and stop girls from going to school (Yousafzai & Lamb,2013,139). In Pakistan, where Malala grew up, and many other parts of South Asia, families prize and privilege male children over female children (Yousafzai & Lamb,2013,13). Pakistan has about 5.1 million children out of school and about two thirds of them are female (Robison, 2013,5). Pakistan spends only 2.3% of its gross domestic product on education, but is willing to spend seven times more on its military (Robison, 2013,5). Parents often ensure that their sons get some kind of education, but often care less if their daughters remain illiterate. This is because parents do not see the need for their daughters to be educated in order to assume the expected role of cooking, cleaning and raising children (Yousafzai & Lamb,2013,40). In Pakistan the social organization is predominately patriarchal (Tarar & Pulla, 2014,61) There is a strong believe that sons’s are the ones who will provide a safety net and care for the parents when they grow old (Tarar & Pulla, 2014,60). Malala’s father rejected this gender based way of treating …show more content…
Malala Yousafzai is an example of a young woman who has done just that. She is a prime example of the courage and passion that it takes to be an exceptional woman. When the Taliban banned education for girls in Swat Valley she took a path that challenged the norms of society. It would have been easy for her to accept the expected gender roles, but instead decided to fight for change. She stood up for her beliefs and did not back down even when her life was threatened. Even today she continues her fight to bring education to girls and boys throughout the world. She has taken on a huge task of addressing the gender inequality that exists in the world today. However, this does not deter her from overcoming the obstacles before her. Malala Yousafzai has an inspirational story that shows the world that any person, no matter the age, gender or race has the potential to be a hero. Her identity was and is shaped and framed by the people, cultural context and events in her life. She exemplifies for the world that a subaltern can