In Pakistan Somehow life continued despite the bomb blasts and killing. The school remained a haven from the insanity of a city in the middle of a war. There was a whole war between Swat and the Taliban. Now that the Taliban took control over Pakistan it was a lot different. A regular girl like Malala Yousafzai was in this situation. Malala Yousafzai was a Pakistani Girl who had a different opinion than the Taliban's. She thinks girls and boys should be treated equally and she Also thinks girls should have the option to go to school. The Taliban said that girls should not go to school and they should stay in their house cleaning or taking care of their children.
Going to school for girls in Pakistan was difficult. You didn't know if your school was a safe space. There have been a lot of cases about schools for girls being bombed in Pakistan. It was so difficult that Malala heard that the Taliban destroyed a Primary school for girls. Malala prayed for her school and her valley. She also prayed for the violence to stop.
In 2008 alone, the Taliban bombed two hundred schools. Suicide bombing and targeted killing were a regular occurrence. A lot of daughters and sisters were prevented from going to school. During Ramadan, some people didn't have power or gas because the Taliban had blasted the electricity grid and the gas line.
Madam Maryam and Malala's Father worked with her and her friends on essays and speeches in which they expressed their feelings about the Taliban's campaign to destroy girls' schools and about what their school meant to them. They planned an assembly where they would make their speeches they called it a "peace rally".
On the day of the assembly, a Pashto TV crew arrived at their school. They were all excited and surprised because they thought people wouldn't care about what a group of girls had to say about peace. Some girls were nervous, but Malala had given a few interviews before, and it was more comfortable in front of a camera.
Malala knew that it was an important opportunity to spread her message of peace and education. As soon as they put a microphone in front of her, words came out sure and steady, strong and proud “This is not the Stone Age “, she said. “But it feels like we are going backward. Girls are getting more deprived of their rights." She spoke about how much she loved her school and about how important it was to keep learning.
Living in Pakistan is difficult and other countries should help solve the problem. We hope this war in Pakistan with the Taliban ends, and that girls have the same rights as boys. People need to make a change if they want to stop the problem. Malala is a clear example of changes you can make, even if you are young.
Note from the editor:
Malala was shot by the Taliban in 2012. The Islamic fundamentalist group ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until the U.S.-led invasion in 2001. The Taliban returned to power in 2021 after regrouping in Pakistan and waging an insurgency against the U.S.-backed government in Kabul. Since then, the region has been simmering for months with threats, tension, and violence. Girls are being forced to leave schools, and woman to leave their jobs. Many Pakistani who do not agree with the Taliban regime have had to flee the country and become immigrants somewhere else, searching for security and safety.
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