'I Am Malala': Reflections on a silent reading, when youth refuse to be silenced

By Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ* 

I am Malala: I was born on 12 July 1997 as Malala Yousafzai in the Swat District of Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. My family was lower-middle-class. It was certainly not easy to make both ends meet. My father was an educationist and ran a girls' school in my village; my mother was a housewife. We are three children: I have two younger brothers. The fact is that my parents did not have enough money for a hospital birth for me, so my mother had to give birth to me at home with the help of neighbours. My name 'Malala' means 'grief-stricken', after Malalai of Maiwand, a famous Pashtun poet and warrior woman from southern Afghanistan.

I am Malala: I believe in education! As a little girl, I loved to go to school. Life changed dramatically for the worse when the Taliban took control of my hometown in the Swat Valley. They banned many things, including television and playing music. Those who defied their orders were given severe penalties. They did not allow the girls to go to school. Sadly, I had to leave my friends in 2009 when I was just eleven years old. At that age, I became an activist. I spoke out publicly on behalf of girls and their right to learn and began blogging about my experiences for BBC Urdu. In a speech which was widely covered by the media, I said, "How dare the Taliban take away my basic right to education?" Yes, we must communicate; we must tell our stories loudly and clearly!

I am Malala: The Taliban, of course, did not like what I was doing. All fundamentalists have the same DNA; just look around you, from the Ku Klux Klan in the US, to the Lehava in Israel, to the Hindutvadis. They are all the same! They feel threatened when someone stands up to them and is able to expose their heinous crimes. On that fateful day (9 October 2012), a masked Taliban gunman boarded my school bus whilst I was on my way home after writing my exam. He asked, "Who is Malala?" Recognising me, he shot me on the left side of my head. I woke up ten days later in a hospital in Birmingham, England. I was just fifteen then. My world had changed! My life had been given a second chance, and I vowed never to look back!

I am Malala: Of the book 'I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban'. It is the story of my life, from the time I was born until I was shot by the Taliban. It was co-written with Christina Lamb. Published on 8 October 2013, it became a bestseller all over the world, though I know that it was banned in some places. The book contains plenty of my own thoughts and insights.

I am Malala: So you can imagine my dismay when a prestigious school in Ahmedabad withdrew my book from its selection of additional reading—'I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban'—together with the much-celebrated book 'The Diary of a Young Girl' by Anne Frank. It is certainly within the right of any school to prescribe books for their children. The sad part about this case is that the books had to be withdrawn after orders from the educational authorities and a fine was imposed on the school. Imagine to what a rotten state education has fallen. It is not about 'my' book; the fact is that the students are deprived at an early age of experiencing pluralism in thought. Ironically, it will be the parents of these children who will be desperate to send their children abroad for higher education.

I am Malala: It is heartening to note that a civil society group comprising more than 150 citizens from Gujarat and elsewhere issued a strong statement condemning the withdrawal of these two books and demanded that there should be no external interference in providing students with the much-needed holistic education. The statement said, "We believe that both these books remain very important and timely resources for students to access. Yousafzai's memoir recounts her fight for women's, children's and girls' education rights in Pakistan, while Anne Frank's diary stands as a historically significant personal account of life under Nazi occupation and the Holocaust".

I am Malala: The Student and Youth Collective Ahmedabad must be applauded and appreciated for organising, on 27 August, 'A Silent Reading Session' in a public park in Ahmedabad. The young organisers made a very meaningful poster for the event which said, "Ban the Censorship, Not the Books," adding "for education free from fear, interference and conformity." Several people (mainly students and other youth) participated in this unique protest. They read books that mattered, demonstrating to others the significance of these books and why they must be popularised in today's India. The power of the youth was simply amazing!

I am Malala: Then the goons of the Hindutva brigade came in! There are striking similarities between them and the Taliban. They were shouting and yelling, not willing to listen. Of course, their levels of comprehension are below average. They came armed with sticks and hockey sticks. They beat some innocent citizens. They were able to prove just one thing: they were fascist thugs determined to destroy the idea of a pluralistic and secular India.

I am Malala: The attack has naturally been condemned by all except by their mentors. The Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (Gujarat) has issued a strong, unequivocal and detailed statement on this assault on democracy. The statement concludes, "The right to sit in a public garden and read a book is sacrosanct. People were hospitalised, women were assaulted, and a young woman was threatened with disappearance for filming a crime. This did not happen because anyone at the reading broke the law, but because of the books in their hands and the religion the mob suspected they belonged to. A national anthem sung to calm a mob was answered with more violence, not less. PUCL Gujarat will closely monitor this case and expects the police to correct the record before this diluted version of events hardens into the official history."

I am Malala: Because I am ME—I have dared to take on the fascist, fundamentalist, fanatic, feudalistic forces that tried to prevent my growth as a person! They did their best to put fear in me and in the lives of others! I fearlessly took them on! Today I tell them in no uncertain terms that I believe in freedom, justice and truth! I am not afraid to stand up to them. There is nothing that confines me! The world is my home. I have dignity, I have freedom! I am inclusive and believe in the equality of all! We are all created in the image and likeness of God; we are all His children. I am yesterday, today and tomorrow. Remember, I will always live!

I AM MALALA: but NOT the Malala you think I am. No, not the Malala who is a Pakistani or a Muslim. Though she is truly my inspiration and for millions of others too. I am Indian! I believe in the idea of India. I am the youth of India: Gen Z and even Gen Alpha. I am neither a coward nor violent. I do not hate; but yes, there is an honest rage in my heart and mind. Too much has been happening, and I am being throttled and excluded. You call me what you want: 'cockroach', 'Dimagi Naxal', 'tukde tukde gang', whatever. I am not afraid. You have destroyed our beloved nation with your corruption, communalism, casteism and crony capitalism. You have kept dividing, denigrating, discriminating, and demonising us. I say 'enough is enough'. Your time is up! I believe in the values enshrined in the Constitution: justice, liberty, equality, fraternity; unity, diversity, and the rights and freedoms guaranteed to all! We will not stop! With the millions who are with me, I am convinced that 'we shall overcome'! Satyameva Jayate!

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*Human rights, reconciliation and peace activist, writer & trainer