Review: He Named Me Malala

Review: He Named Me Malala February 21, 2016

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HE NAMED ME MALALA is an intimate portrait of Malala Yousafzai, who was wounded when Taliban gunmen opened fire on her and her friends’ school bus in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. The then 15-year-old teenager, who had been targeted for speaking out on behalf of girls’ education in her region of Swat Valley in Pakistan, was shot in the head, sparking international media outrage. An educational activist in Pakistan, Yousafzai has since emerged as a leading campaigner for the rights of children worldwide and in December 2014, became the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
HE NAMED ME MALALA is an intimate portrait of Malala Yousafzai, who was wounded when Taliban gunmen opened fire on her and her friends’ school bus in Pakistan’s Swat Valley.
The then 15-year-old teenager, who had been targeted for speaking out on behalf of girls’ education in her region of Swat Valley in Pakistan, was shot in the head, sparking international media outrage. An educational activist in Pakistan, Yousafzai has since emerged as a leading campaigner for the rights of children worldwide and in December 2014, became the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

On Monday Febuary 29, 2016 at 8pm est on National Geographic Channel a documentary about Noble Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai will premiere globally commercial free. I watched He Named Me Malala  with my husband and two of my kids: my 17 year old son and 14 year old daughter.

This documentary is amazing. It is so very well done. It follows the story of Malala and her family and shows the devastation of having the Taliban destroy their home. Her father is a boss and was a voice speaking out against terrorism when the Taliban started taking over his town. When the religious leader in their village began to speak about girls no longer being able to go to school Malala began to follow in her father’s footsteps and speak out saying she would go to school no matter what.

This documentary shows us where Malala got her name, which her parents are and shows her with her family. It shows her life both before and after the Taliban tried to kill her. Her brothers talk about her like any little brothers would about their big sister. Her youngest brother is hilarious and I think he should be given his own show.

I was inspired by this girl’s spirit, bravery and her fearlessness. As a Catholic mother, I am in awe of her faith and her love for her parents. She is Muslim and I have long seen the similarities between the Muslim faith and Catholicism. Watching this documentary about the life of such a brave girl who loves God and fights for the rights of children to go to school while telling leaders of countries to do their job and care for their people, just further convinced me that there is more good that can come from working together than there is by insisting that there is no room for unity by only focusing on our differences.

I feel like I got to know this world hero a little more through this window into her life. She is a brilliant speaker, yet when asked about her suffering or boys and she turns into a teenage girl.

Malala is a great inspiration not only as a woman, but as a student. My children and I have a very hard time doing our homework. We take for granted that we live in a country where we do not have to fight for our education. We are not living in war torn parts of the world where we have to flee bombs. Instead, we have our education handed to us on a silver platter and we watch TV instead of doing our homework. After watching this, I will never look at my work the same again. We all have the ability to make changes in the world and be a voice for the voiceless. A lot of us will not do it in front of a million cameras or in documentaries about our lives but we each have a mission in this life. The greatest sin would be to not fulfill it because we would rather binge watch Netflix than do our homework.

National Geographic will also be launching a full Social Media campaign to show support for the Malala fund on the days leading up to the premiere. More information can be found at www.supportmalala.com.

I highly encourage every family to watch this documentary together. My kids got up off the couch and went straight to their rooms to do their homework! That right there is reason enough to watch it. Also, keep an eye on this girl, she is going to be something great.


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