Yousafzai’s speaker event served as an inspiration for UC Davis students
By VRITI SHAH — features@theaggie.org
Malala Yousafzai is a renowned Pakistani activist, best known for her advocacy for the right of education for girls and women from all around the world. As a teenager, she worked to spread awareness by speaking at events and running a blog that urged governments to lift the ban on women’s education. Due to her outspoken activism, Yousafzai was targeted and shot by the Taliban in October of 2012, but fortunately lived to tell her story.
At 16 years old, Yousafzai started the Malala Fund, an organization that fights for the freedom of girls’ education and for the “more than 122 million girls [that] are out of school today.” The Malala Fund works to enable “transformative change from reducing school costs for girls living in rural areas in Pakistan to supporting young mothers to go back to school in Nigeria to driving global policy change that impacts millions of girls,” according to the organization.
In 2013, Yousafzai published her award winning memoir “I am Malala,” which detailed her first-hand experience fighting for women’s educational rights and her violent encounters with the Taliban. In 2014 — at just 17 years old — she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and is the current youngest winner in history.
Now, 12 years after the release of her first book, Yousafzai has just published her second memoir “Finding My Way.” In this more recent autobiography, she details her journey after surviving the attack by the Taliban.
Most notably, Yousafzai discussed her learning experiences growing up — recalling trying cannabis in college, which led to a triggering of her post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) — and her changing relationship with therapy. She also described stumbling her way into finding love and the universal struggles that go along with coming of age: especially in the public eye.
On Nov. 18, Yousafzai spoke about her newest memoir, “Finding My Way,” with UC Davis Chancellor Gary May at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. The event, “An Evening with Malala Yousafzai,” was one of the fastest-selling speaker events in Mondavi history.
UC Davis students that were present at the event described their admiration for Yousafzai from a young age and into adulthood, explaining how their perceptions of her shifted after reading her new memoir.
“Well, I first heard about her story in seventh grade and, as an American student, I feel like we don’t really hear about how education in non-American parts of the world is,” Renata Lee, a third-year art history major, said. “I think it’s just, like, an eye-opening experience to people who have the privilege to go to school and may not know [the privilege of education].”
Other students suggested that it’s Yousafzai’s illustration of the relatable struggles she has faced that empowers readers by proving you can be struggling your way through your 20s and simultaneously be an accomplished activist.
“I remember reading about her when I was in elementary school and thinking that she’s like this […] higher-level person,” Morgan Peters, a fourth-year psychology major, said. “But she’s really just like us. Like, she’s in her 20s [and] she was a college student and so I really resonated with that. She’s able to do all of these things and, like, advocate for people with her book and stuff while also being relatable instead of […] unattainable.”
Amber Campos, a fourth-year political science major, described another inspirational aspect of Yousafzai’s memoir, which has brought appreciation for the privilege of education offered to UC Davis students.
“Honestly, I learned about her from elementary school and just hearing her story [was] super inspirational,” Campos said. “I think for students specifically, it makes us kind of appreciate our education, especially as women.”
While Yousafzai has made a vital impact in the freedom of education for girls all over the world, the work is not yet over.
“We’re kind of in a world right now that has made a lot of progress in terms of human rights, like education,” Peters said. “But, we still are clearly suffering in some areas and the human rights of people around the world are being threatened right now.”
Peters discussed the current pressing need for international activism — especially from voices as influential as Yousafzai.
“It’s important for people like Malala to take a stand,” Peters said. “It’s great to have people who are working towards making [the world] better and more accessible for women, especially since they are already discriminated against.”
Yousafzai finished her interview by sharing the main message of her memoir: Making mistakes and struggling doesn’t mean you are unsuccessful, it just means that you are human.
“The message is that — when we go through the lowest point in our life [or] when we feel anxious — it doesn’t describe us, it doesn’t make us weak, it is all a part of us being human,” Yousafzai said. “The most important thing is that we stay true to ourselves. It’s okay not to have an answer to every question. You know, we should just allow ourselves to navigate our way through these experiences. The most important thing is for us to ask for help and support when we need it and — especially to students and people here — it’s so important that you enjoy your time and have a lot of fun as well.”
Written by: Vriti Shah — features@theaggie.org
