環(huán)球英語(yǔ) 1349 Malala Yousafzai : One Voice for Education
Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Liz Waid.
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And I’m Nick Page. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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“They cannot stop me. I will get my education, if it is in home, school, or any place. This is our request to the whole world: save our schools, save our world, save our Pakistan. Save our Swat.”
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These are the words of Malala Yousafzai. She is a young girl from the Swat Valley in Pakistan. Malala said these words in a film called “Class Dismissed”. The film is about girls’ education in the Swat Valley. Adam Ellick and the New York Times made this film in 2009. They started filming after a group, called the Taliban, took control of the valley. This extreme Islamist group declared a ban on girls’ education.
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Malala did not agree with the Taliban. She began fighting for her education at age 11. Since that time, she has been a voice for girls’ education. Today’s Spotlight is on Malala Yousafzai and how her fight for education has influenced the world.
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In late 2008, the Taliban made an announcement on the radio. They said that after January 15 2009, girls in the Swat Valley could no longer attend school. The announcement made Malala very sad. She loved school.
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After the announcement Malala kept a diary. Each day she wrote about her thoughts and experiences. But Malala did not keep her diary a secret. She shared her diary on Pakistan’s BBC news website. Malala wanted the world to know about her struggle for education.
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To protect her life, Malala wrote using the name Gul Makai. You may have heard another Spotlight program about the power of her words. Malala told news writer Owais Tohid why she wanted to share her diary on the internet.
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"I wanted to scream and shout. I wanted to tell the whole world what we were going through. But it was not possible. The Taliban would have killed me, my father, my whole family. I would have died without leaving any mark. So I chose to write with a different name.”
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In 2009, Pakistan’s military fought the Taliban. During the fighting, Malala and her family left their home. So did many other families from the Swat Valley. After a few months, the government of Pakistan gained control of the Swat Valley. The Taliban no longer had power. But many Taliban leaders still lived in the area.
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Malala and her family returned to the Swat Valley. She also returned to school. Malala began to speak more publically about girls’ rights to education. Then, Adam Ellick released his documentary film about Malala’s experience. Malala and her father met with international leaders. She appeared on television. She talked with many news organizations. Over time, Malala became famous for her courage to speak against the Taliban.
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People around the world noticed Malala’s efforts. In 2011, officials announced she was a candidate for the International Children’s Peace Prize. She did not win the award. But she was celebrated for her bravery and courage. Malala talked with the BBC about how the news media helped make her work possible.
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“My school Khushal School and College and the news media supported me a lot. If there were no BBC, no New York Times, then my voice would not have reached the people.”
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The people of Pakistan also celebrated Malala’s efforts for girls’ education. In December 2011 officials awarded her Pakistan’s first National Peace Prize for Youth. After receiving the award, Malala spoke to the news media. She told them about her plans for the future.
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"I want to change the political system so there is social justice and equality. I want to change the position of girls and women. I plan to start my own school for girls."
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But not everyone in Pakistan was proud of Malala’s success. The Taliban did not like her opinions. They did not like how she encouraged girls and women to go to school.
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On October 9, 2012 members of the Taliban tried to kill Malala. They wanted to silence her voice forever. It was the end of Malala’s school day. Malala and other students were riding home on the school bus. Men with guns stopped the bus. One of the men demanded to know which student was Malala Yousafzai. When he found her, he shot her. The bullets hit her head and chest. Bullets also hit two other people on the bus. After this terrible event, the gunmen ran away.
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Malala was severely injured. But she survived the attack. Doctors performed an operation to remove the bullets. But people feared she was not safe in the local hospital. They feared the Taliban would try to kill her again. So Malala’s family and doctors decided to move her out of Pakistan. They flew her to England to recover.
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News about Malala spread around the world. Many people were angry that the Taliban would target a young, innocent girl. Other people asked what the government of Pakistan would do about their actions. But most people talked about how Malala’s fight for education had influenced them. Feryal Gauhar [Fairy-all Gah-HAR] wrote her thoughts for Pakistan’s Express Tribune.
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"Her voice was the voice which made us consider that there can be other ways to act. That there can be resistance to all forms of oppression. Today, the attempt to silence that voice will only make her stronger."
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Amina Women's Group and Women2Gether are two women’s rights groups in England. They organized a gathering to support Malala. At the event, they said,
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“Brave Malala said what many of us wish to say but we are too afraid... Like so many people around the world, we are moved and encouraged by her bravery. We wish her and her friends a fast recovery."
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Malala was willing to risk her life to fight for her education. She used the news media to reach the world with her message. And now, people around the world are answering. Her father Ziauddin Yousafzai told TIME magazine,
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“Everyone across the world condemned the attack in strong words. They prayed for my daughter. She is not only my daughter, she is the daughter of everybody, the sister of everybody.”
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The writer of this program was Courtney Schutt. The producer was Michio Ozaki. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again and read it on the Internet at https://www.radioenglish.net This .program is called, “Malala Yousafzai : One Voice for Education.”
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We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.
