I am Malala
Text: I Am Malala – How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World
Task:
You are the Chairperson of a new school club, Current Affairs Society. In the
upcoming meeting, you need to deliver a speech on female rights. You have read
the book
I am Malala, an autobiography of a Pakistani girl, Malala Yousafzai, who lives in a
society where females are inferior to men and are oppressed. You would like to
make use of the theme “female rights” from the book for your speech to highlight
the following:
1. The background of the protagonist, Malala, and her education
2. How she fights for equality and rights for her gender
3. Things that you have learnt from her when facing a crisis
4. Encourage students to meet adversities valiantly when realizing their goals
5. Any other relevant ideas
Good morning everyone. Welcome to our weekly meeting of the Current Affairs
Society. It’s my honor to give a speech on female rights. As we all know, we are
entitled to the human rights, no matter what gender, what race we are. However, in
some developing countries, female are not treated fairly with boys. Today I am going
to share a about the story of Malala, a protagonist of gender equality.
Before we start, I would like you to think of two question. Firstly, imagine how will
your life and daily activities be restricted just because you are a girl? Secondly, will
you voice out your opinion even though you are being oppressed? This was what
happened to Malala in Pakistan. Who is Malala? Born in Mingora in 1997, where
women are inferior to men, Her name Malala, was named after a national folk hero
of Afghanistan. However, thanks to her father, a teacher who ran a girls’ school in her
village, she was given every opportunities a boy would have, thus knowing the
importance of education. Unfortunately, Taliban took control of her hometown in
2008. Under the ruling of extremists, owning a television and playing music were
banned, let alone receiving any education for girls
You may wonder, how did she fight for women rights? Despite the harsh
punishments for those who defied Taliban orders, in the belief that both male and
female should have the same opportunities to be educated, Malala fought for her
right to be educated through various campaigns such as allowing foreign media to
publish her diary which mainly about life under the Taliban's ruling. Not only would
the advocate drew the international attention on female rights, but it also had put
Malala into threats, becoming a target of Taliban. Eventually, one day on the way
home, a bullet was fired into the her head at point-blank range, nearly took her life.
Yet, she was only 15 years old. What were we doing when we aged 15? We were
probably going to school daily, worrying about our academic result. Being such a
young kid, Malala suffered from the danger and pain which supposed not to have.
Nevertheless, she still continued to voice out her opinion. She has given speech to
media like BBC and even in the United Nation. Malala Fund was also set up, aiming
for the female rights which they should enjoy.
This story is awe-inspiring, and I was inspired by the perseverance of Malala
especially when she was under Taliban's ruling. In spite of receiving death threats
constantly, Malala and her father still voice out her opinion bravely and even seek
help from western countries. What illegal acts had she done? She was just standing
in front of the crowd, talking to people, fighting for the female right. After receiving a
bullet, she have never given up, becoming the prize winner of Nobel peace prize. The
passion and the courage are so impressive and only because of their effort, western
countries started to concern about the situation in Pakistan and help them. Instead
of the quote of Malala, I would like to share a sentence from her father, the one
giving of paramount support to Malala pursuing her dream----- all children over the
world can access to education. " At night our fear is strong, but in the morning, in
the light, we find our courage again." This inspires me that nothing is impossible
despite how complicated and difficult the problem seems. We should have faith in
the future, as tomorrow is a better day.
Besides, Malala story tells me that we are already blessed. We were born Hong Kong
such a peaceful city, with 12 years’ free education to children. Everyone has the
opportunities to be educated. Shouldn’t we complain anything in our life, isn’t it?
We can have entertainment, the chance to pursue our dream, and do not need to
care about our living. We should be grateful for all these blessing. Rather than
pursuing our dream, why don’t we think more about others like what Malala did?
Although we may not have the ability to fight for the rights, but taking baby steps to
lend a helping hand is definitely doable for us.
We dream, we hope, we achieve. I hope when we are facing difficulties, encountering
obstacles, we can learn from Malala, who persists in fighting for female rights,
notwithstanding her age and difficulties. Remember, every cloud has a silver lining.
Darkness will fade one day. Just work our best when we face adversities, and we will
finally succeed.
Thank you.
