Influential Women : Malala Yousafzai

Despite her age, Malala Yousafzai is one of the most influential women in the contemporary world. She has already had a considerable impact on the public education in Pakistan, where she stood for and still stands for women rights, especially the right to education. Moreover, she is the role model for civil rights activists, who struggle for civil rights and oppression because her example is inspiring and shows the way how to fight injustice, discrimination and terror. Malala Yousafzai has managed to overcome the suppression and discrimination from the part of Taliban which threatened her physically but, what is more important, she has managed to overcome deep-rooted social and cultural biases with regard to women and women education in Pakistan. She was bold enough to keep on struggling for her own education and rights of other women to have education. Therefore, she has become one of the most influential women today due to her contribution to the struggle for women rights and better education opportunities.

The impact of Malala Yousafzai on the contemporary society is enormous but her influence was the result of her personal struggle for her own rights and her life opportunities. In this regard, her life and her personal example became powerful drivers that changed the public opinion and urged the public to change its attitude to women rights and education. At this point, the determinant part of her struggle was the assassination attempt, when she was attacked by a Taliban lieutenant, who shot her (Walsh 4). The assassination attempt has drawn the enormous public attention and made her story of the fight for civil rights renowned worldwide. At the same time, the assassination attempt became the ultimate manifestation of Malala’s readiness to sacrifice her own life for the sake of her education and education of other women and their civil rights (Payne 8). This attack proved her boldness to struggle for her education and rights, regardless of any obstacle or threats. Her example was extremely inspiring and drew the international attention to the problem of the violation of women rights in Pakistan and the lack of access to education for Pakistani women. The stir the assassination attempt made in the world was enormous and boosted Malala’s civil rights activism to a new, global level.

Her blog and work for BBC attracted the public attention to problems of women in Pakistan. Her blog attracted the international attention to those problems and increased the pressure on the Pakistani government to introduce changes to provide women with access to education. Her blogs made the public aware of problems Malala Yousafzai faced in person, but, what is more important, her experience has revealed the fact that other women faced even greater problems because there were just a few women, who were so persistent in her strife for education as Malala was to extent that she was even ready to put her own life at stake to obtain her education. Her blog inspired many women and civil rights activists and contributed to the change of the public opinion and attitude to women education and women rights in Pakistan as well as other countries of the world (Davies 4). The use of video blogs and social media became a strategically important step in the promotion of Malala’s ideas and views because internet and social media have become extremely important in the contemporary society and blogs contribute to the fast spread of information and ideas worldwide. This is why the use of blogs helped Malala to reach the huge audience not only at the domestic level but also internationally. The influence of her online activities were significant because they allowed spreading her ideas online without any restrictions which she would have and did confront in her community and her country.

The international support was very important for Malala but the extensive international support is also the manifestation of the enormous impact of Malala on her own country and the world. The recognition of her contribution to the civil rights struggle for rights of women and better education opportunities for women at the international level involved numerous international rewards, including the Noble Peace Prize she won in 2014 (Cowell & Walshoct 7). This was the ultimate manifestation of her enormous influence on the world struggle for women rights. At the same time, such international support and recognition enhanced her impact on Pakistani society and government because the international support pushed on them to change their attitude to women rights and education. In this regard, the socio-cultural change and impact of Malala were particularly important because such impact and change led to the achievement of strategic goals of Malala to promote women rights and education opportunities. Today, Malala is not a voiceless girl anymore, as she used to be, when she struggled for her right and opportunity to obtain education. Instead, she is an influential civil rights activist, whose opinion does matter not only in Pakistan but also worldwide. Her major impact is the public attention and the stir she makes about women rights and education in Pakistan. Her personality and her experience do not matter in the regard, what does matter is the huge public attention to women rights and education which she has managed to draw and which she may draw at the moment. The public awareness and realization of the importance of respect to human rights and the provision of women with equal education opportunities is the first and major step toward profound changes in Pakistan and other countries to make education really available to all women and to protect their civil rights.

Today, Malala Yousafzai runs the fund of her name which aims at the struggle for women rights and education of women in Pakistan as well as other countries. The Malala Yousafzai Fund is the public, non-profit organization which helps women to protect their rights, which promotes their rights and helps women to obtain education (Taqi 6). However, her Fund also plays an important social role being a renowned organization that may raise funds and provide help to women not only in Pakistan but also worldwide.  The Fund attracts the public to problems of women worldwide, while the personal example of Malala Yousafzai and her life story is inspiring and is a powerful attraction to the public attention and civil rights activists, who learn from her experience to reach their goals and to stand for civil rights in any part of the world.

Thus, Malala Yousafzai is a civil right activist, who has managed to draw the public attention to the problem of the violation of civil rights of women in Pakistan and the lack of access to education. She has drawn the international attention to the problem and made millions of people in Pakistan and the world to re-think their attitude to women rights and education. In such a way, Malala has become the international figure, who influences the public opinion and is capable to shape the public opinion and lead people to actions that aim at the protection of civil rights and access of women to education. The recognition of Malala’s contribution to the struggle for civil rights and access to education for women in Pakistan proves the global impact of her social activism and reveals the global scope of her ideas.

Works Cited:

Cowell, Alan and Walshoct, Declan. “Nobel Peace Prize for Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi”. The New York Times, 10 October 2014. 

Davies, Will. “Malala Yousafzai Gets Amnesty’s Top Honor”. The Wall Street Journal, 17 September 2013. 

Payne, Cathy. “Teenage icon: Rome again honours Malala, father collects reward”. The Express Tribune, 30 December 2011.

Taqi, Mohammad. “Malala and anti-Malala Pakistan”. Daily Times, 18 October 2012. 

Walsh, Declan. “Pakistani Police Detain Family of Suspect in Attack on Girl”. The New York Times, 18 October 2012.

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

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"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

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freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
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[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]
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