Sapna
and Malala…
two
teenage girls from India and Pakistan who both took a stand for what they
believed in. Sapna said no to an early marriage while Malala refused to cow
down to Taliban threats and struggled to gain an education, advocating that
girls should have access to education.
How
far would you go to make a stand for what you strongly believe in?
“I don’t mind if I have
to sit on the floor at school. All I want is education. And I am afraid of no one.”
– Malala Yousafzai
When 14-year old Malala from Pakistan was shot by
the Taliban for openly advocating education for girls, the world was shocked
and in uproar at the barbaric attempt to silence her for fighting for girls’
rights to education.
Living at Swat Valley where the Taliban has at times banned girls from attending school, Malala took to blogging under a pseudonym to tell the world of the plight of girls in her valley and the Taliban's attempt to take control. She has gained media coverage and accepted interviews from local and international press. She has since then been nominated for the International Children's Peace Prize by Desmond Tutu and won Pakistan's first International Children's Peace Prize.
Living at Swat Valley where the Taliban has at times banned girls from attending school, Malala took to blogging under a pseudonym to tell the world of the plight of girls in her valley and the Taliban's attempt to take control. She has gained media coverage and accepted interviews from local and international press. She has since then been nominated for the International Children's Peace Prize by Desmond Tutu and won Pakistan's first International Children's Peace Prize.
Malala’s advocacy almost caused her her life. Though
she has started standing up with assistance, she is still unable to talk and only
communicates by writing. She continues to slowly recover in a British hospital
but she isn’t over the woods yet..she is still physically in critical condition and
her life is still in danger from the Taliban who vowed to try killing her
again. Extremists continue in their attempt to smear Malala’s name claiming she
works for and is in connivance with the United States. She knew she could be paying a great price
for what she is standing up for but she never looked back. She is fighting for
what she believes in and her action has only strengthened the resolve on many
that girls have a right to an education as anyone else and should not be
deprived of it.
“I’ll
tell my neighbors that child marriage is against the law and they should
educate their children.” – Sapna
In Sapna’s village, teenage girls were expected to
be married by the age of eighteen. But Sapna had other plans. She wanted an
education. She wanted to work and earn a living…then get married. So when she heard her parents talking about
getting her married off, she drummed up enough courage to tell her parents and
grandfather who raised her that she wanted to study first and not get married. Sapna’s
lucky. She has a supportive family. They listened. They understood. They
supported her decision. Now her village is abuzz. Now other parents would tell
her parents and grandfather whenever they would meet them at the village that
they too would not get their daughters married before they are eighteen.
One little girl’s dream to have an education. One
little girl who bravely took a stand for what she wanted and believed in, and
helped change the outlook of elders in her community. Now they too would want their daughters to go
to school and have an education. They too would not want to marry off their
daughters before they’re eighteen.
Two teenage girls Sapna and Malala, who both took a
stand to be educated, now they are making a difference in shaping the future of
girls in their country…
Videos:
Malala - http://youtu.be/25wW4hwk8Gk
Sapna - http://youtu.be/2qhbdGxDrxI
