Do you know the story of Malala? She is an eighteen year old Pakistani teenager, who was shot in the head in 2012 by the Taliban in Pakistan for demanding that girls be permitted to receive an education. She is the youngest ever to receive the Nobel Peace Prize and she works tirelessly for girls around the world to receive a minimum of twelve years of quality education. You can find out more about Malala by watching the world broadcast television premiere of “He Named Me Malala” Monday evening, February 29th 8/7c on the National Geographic Channel.
I watched the movie last night with my wife and daughter. I was grateful for the opportunity to receive a DVD in the mail so as to screen and write about it before it airs tomorrow evening. The movie was well-worth the 87 minutes it took to watch it. In fact, I felt the film multiplied my time, as it inspired and challenged me in a variety of ways.
Malala’s story inspired and challenged me as a man, as a father, as a Christian, as an American, and as a human being. First, the film inspired and challenged me as a man to consider ways in which I can promote respect for rights for girls and women here and abroad. Here I call to mind a 2010 Economist article that claimed “Killed, aborted or neglected, at least 100m girls have disappeared—and the number is rising.” Neglect includes a lack of educational and vocational opportunities. One may view the Taliban’s ban on girls receiving a quality education as one extreme example, but this extreme example is a widespread phenomenon in regions like the Global South. The doors to opportunity in the West may be open much wider, but don’t we still have issues with glass ceilings? A Forbes article titled “Is There Really a Glass Ceiling for Women?” discusses various obstacles that women must account for in their attempts to climb the ladder of opportunity: “Prejudice,” “Resistance to women’s leadership,” “Leadership style issues,” and “Family demands.” How am I guilty of creating and reinforcing such obstacles for women? What can I do to support women more? The movie inspired and challenged me to think more about these issues and to act constructively upon them.
Further to the previous point, the film inspired and challenged me as a father to consider ways in which I can promote opportunities for my own daughter and inspire her more. Malala’s dad, Ziauddin Yousafzai, says his daughter “is unstoppable,” as reported by National Geographic. In his interview with National Geographic, Malala’s father responds to the following question:
At the end of the film, your daughter says of you: “He named me Malala, but he did not make me Malala.” What do you think she meant by that?
That is very true. As a parent, you can only inspire your child. It’s not like engineering. You can’t construct somebody. I can simply inspire my sons and my daughters. Malala is very wise when she says that “he named me Malala, he did not make me Malala.”
Malala’s name hails from the 19th century Afghan freedom fighter Malali, the famed Pashtun girl who inspired her people to stand up to the British colonialists and who died in battle. Malala’s father is an educator, who prizes giving opportunities to children to learn and develop their skills and abilities; he, too, spoke out in Pakistan against the Taliban who bombed hundreds of schools and banned education. Even now, he takes great pleasure in being known as Malala’s father. Having as his claim to fame that he is his daughter’s father and feeling blessed for it, as the National Geographic article reveals, is quite striking given the very patriarchal society in which he was raised. Malala’s father does not see his children’s lives revolving around him, but sees his role as one of inspiring his daughter and sons to make the most of their lives. How am I doing in this regard? How can I inspire my daughter (and my son) more to seize the opportunities granted her, and to encourage her to overcome whatever hurdles and obstacles she might face?
Third, the film inspired and challenged me as an Evangelical Christian to be more attentive to the complexity within Islam. The movie reveals the struggle that Malala, her father and many other Muslims have faced as they push back against the Taliban’s presentation of Islam, and as they seek to portray Islam in more favorable and liberating ways. It is important that we complexify our views of Islam as Christians, and as Americans, for the sake of an accurate understanding and cultivation of civility and peace. See the Pew Research Center’s 2015 findings on perceptions, as well as Barna’s 2013 study “What Do Americans Think about Islam?” in which the following point is made of Evangelical perceptions of Islam:
Religious ideology and affiliation also affects one’s perception of Islam. Evangelical Christians have the most unfavorable perception of Islam, with two-thirds of evangelicals saying they have an unfavorable impression (62%), and with four in ten evangelicals holding a very unfavorable perception (39%). Only one-fifth of evangelicals say they maintain a favorable view of Islam (22%).
All too often, the general populace has a singular and distorted view of Evangelical Christianity, failing to account for my own movement’s complexity. It is important that we who are Evangelicals account for the complexity within other movements and religions if we wish not to be caricatured or viewed in monolithic ways.
Fourth, the movie inspired and challenged me as an American to cherish more the wonderful opportunities we as Americans have to pursue quality education. All too often, we take for granted the opportunities afforded us. There I was sitting in the comfort of our family room last night, watching the life and death struggle for learning and truth that Malala, her father, and others have endured—and continue to endure. In fact, the Taliban has declared that they will kill Malala if she ever returns home (after Malala was shot in the head, she and her family were evacuated to England for life-saving surgery and rehabilitation; they now reside there). Not only should we cherish our own opportunities as Americans, but also we should consider how we can get more involved in making it possible for others to receive similar opportunities. One such opportunity is the Malala Fund. The homepage for Malala’s organization declares, “Over 60 million girls in the world are out of school. Let’s make it zero.” Malala and others are willing to die for knowledge, for they know that the truth ultimately sets people free.
Fifth, the movie inspired and challenged me as a human being. Very early into the film, Malala states, “It is better to live like a lion for one day than to live like a slave for 100 years.” She would rather die trying to be free than live a life of slavery. This teenage girl’s bravery knows no bounds. As the documentary reveals, Malala is an average girl in many ways, but behind a microphone or in front of a gun or threat aimed at her, she is as brave as a lion. As she shares in the movie, Malala is the same girl before she was shot. While the bullet did irreparable damage to her face and head, she is still electrifying in her clarity and boldness; even so, she will say that she is every girl. Every girl is Malala. She encourages them to take up the fight for the right to education. She also encourages us to do the same. Will we be bold as lions—will we be Malala?
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