“In a moving TED talk, Ziauddin Yousafzai, the father of Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai who is famous worldwide for her girls’ education activism and for surviving an assassination attempt by the Taliban, addressed a question he is asked frequently: how did he raise such a strong and resilient daughter in such oppressive conditions?
In his talk, Yousafzai spoke about the experience of girls and women in many parts of the world as “a story of injustice, inequality, violence and exploitation.”……. As a teacher, he strove to use “education for emancipation. I taught my girl students to unlearn the lesson of obedience. I taught my boy students to unlearn the lesson of so-called pseudo-honour….plight of millions of women could be changed if women and men think differently — if they can break a few norms of family and society, if they can abolish the discriminatory laws of the systems in their states that go against basic human rights of the women.”
Ultimately, in answer to the question of how he raised such an extraordinary young woman, he states: “People ask me what is special about my mentorship that has made Malala so bold and courageous, vocal and poised. I tell them, ‘Don’t ask me what I did. Ask me what I did not do. I did not clip her wings, and that’s all.'”
A Mighty Girl Recommends the following books to introduce kids to Malala’s story:
“Malala: A Hero for All” – ages 6 to 9
“Malala: Activist for Girls’ Education” – ages 6 to 9
“For The Right To Learn: Malala Yousafzai’s Story” – ages 8 to 11
“Who Is Malala Yousafzai?” – ages 8 to 12
“I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up For Education and Was Shot By The Taliban” is available in a Young Readers Edition for ages 10 and up.
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