UCL International Relations Society hosts an evening with Ziauddin Yousafzai
Source: UCL International Relations Society
Tanya Hussain reports on the event held by UCL International Relations Society earlier this month.
Ziauddin Yousafzai is best known for being Malala’s father, a fact which Yousafzai emphasised he is incredibly proud of, given how unusual this is in a culture which only respects sons. At his UCL talk, organised by the International Relations Society on 4th December, Yousafzai began by discussing how his childhood in a village in North-West Pakistan shaped his attitudes towards education and women’s access to it. Yousafzai explained that he saw first-hand the patriarchal discrimination within families as his sisters were given less food, clothes, respect, and education than himself. He also witnessed patriarchal discrimination on an institutional and governmental level, as there were no girls schools around.
Yousafzai decided he wanted a different life for his daughters. What changed him? Education. This belief in change through education pushed him to start his own school. Ziauddin quoted his wife, Toor Pekai: the “only difference between boys and girls, is that we give a pen to the boys but not to the girls”. When asked what he did differently with Malala, he said “don’t ask me what I did do, ask me what I didn’t do”. What Yousafzai didn’t do was clip Malala’s wings and stop her from flying, a key message of Yousafzai’s book, Let Her Fly.
Yousafzai spoke about how he named Malala after the legendary Afghan heroine, who rallied retreating troops and led them into battle during the second Anglo-Afghan war, eventually giving her life. He chose this name because Malala had a voice and was known by her own name; an important fact in a society where women are constantly reduced to being “mother of…” or “wife of…”. Education provided girls with a name and identity for the first time in many girls’ lives. The Taliban didn’t see girls beyond being a chaste wife, daughter, or sister, and so they were fearful of education providing them with their own identity, dreams, and agency to break this role set for them.
Yousafzai was later asked to expand on why the Taliban had targeted education, and suggested that, not having read books themselves, they feared it even more. Yousafzai said that the most difficult thing to do is to reach these people with empathy and bring them back from the darkness. They are completely certain they are doing the right thing. Yousafzai’s call for education, understanding, and compassion, even after his personal suffering, is a true inspiration.
Source: UCL International Relations Society
The Talibanisation of the Swat region led to the targeting of everything that was “about the beauty of life”, as they banned women from going to the marketplace, burnt CD shops and TV sets, and, most significantly, banned girls from being educated and bombed more than 400 schools. It was in these circumstances that Malala transformed from an ordinary student into a fighter for education, and it was in these circumstances that Yousafzai and many others were compelled by their “humanity and dignity” to raise their voices, no matter the risk.
Yousafzai said, “we all spoke but Malala’s voice was special”, in relation to Malala’s blog for the BBC - a powerful weapon against the Taliban oppression and manipulation of narratives. Yousafzai was asked whether, as a father, he ever thought about discouraging Malala. Yousafzai recalls that he asked his wife this question, when Malala was attacked by the Taliban at age 15. His wife replied: “you didn’t give her a gun, you encouraged her to raise her voice”, and that it should be the people who attacked her that should be regretful and ashamed, not those that encouraged her to stand for equality.
Yousafzai ended his talk with hope, discussing the Malala foundation, which works for the advocacy of girls’ education in seven countries, fighting for educational financing, and the destruction of social taboos. Yousafzai concluded with Malala’s famous UN quote: “one child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world”. Whilst we can all agree on the importance of education in theory, Yousafzai was questioned by the audience as to whether education should or could be maintained as a priority in conflict zones. Yousafzai responded that whilst food and water and shelter are obviously important, education is light, and that is also important. Education is the only hope for people to rebuild and rehabilitate their lives, and so the hope that education provides communities for the future is essential too.
It was a truly inspiring talk that left everyone in the audience inspired to fight for justice and equality, in whatever capacity they could. The talk was an important reminder of the privilege that we all have in being at UCL, and, even with all the stress of our degrees, how incredibly lucky we are. It would do us all good to remember the importance of fighting for those that have not been given the same opportunities as us, and to ensure that every girl (and boy) around the world is given a pen.
You can watch the talk via the UCL International Relations Society Facebook page.