Contributions of Malala as a Muslim Female Activist

Regions around the world can be impacted by a myriad of aspects, especially by belief systems. In the region of Swat Valley, Pakistan; belief systems have been impacted by the ideologies of traditional Islam and radicalized Islam. The citizens of Swat Valley have had their lives turned upside down in recent years by an extremist Islamic group called the Taliban. The Taliban took control of the Swat Valley region from the time period of 2002 to 2015. The belief systems of Swat Valley, Pakistan (a historically Islamic region) have been affected greatly by Islam ideology and radicalized Islam ideology, impacting their political and social systems.

The faith of Islam was founded by an illiterate merchant named Muhammad who lived in Mecca. “Muhammad was troubled by the moral ills of Meccan society, especially greed. He often went to a cave in the hills near Mecca to meditate. According to Muslim belief, when he was about 40 years old he heard the voice of the angel Gabriel calling him to be the messenger of God”. Since then, the monotheistic religion has spread around the world, reaching parts of the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and many other regions. Muslim people believe that there is only one God, called Allah. They also follow Sharia Law which interprets their holy book, the Quran. Muslims believe that the Quran includes “...the sacred word of God as revealed to Muhammad….it [also] teaches about what Muslims believe to be God’s will and provides a guide to life”. Traditional Muslims interpret the Quran, while radicalized Muslims take the Quran literally. In the country of Pakistan especially, Islam is the offical religion. The region of Swat Valley is a very religious community that is the homeland of a young woman who was shot in the head by a Taliban member for speaking out about education rights. Malala Yousafzai was born and raised in Swat Valley, Pakistan under the Taliban regime. She has been a Pashtun (a Muslim denomination) her whole life and has had to live under the strict political, religious, and social rules of the Muslim extremist group. Women had many limited rights in Swat Valley during this time period, including not being able to go to school: “‘Why send a daughter to school?’ the men would often say. ‘She doesn’t need an education to run a house,”’. Muslims are usually very peaceful people, which shows the Taliban is far from traditional Islam. She is an example of how a Pakistani’s everyday life has been changed due to extremely radicalized Islam’s political and social ideology.

Radicalized beliefs have definitely influenced the Swat Valley region’s political system as well. A political system includes the form of government, divisions and parties, how power is distributed, rules and regulations, and many more aspects. The Taliban extremist group have definitely turned the political system of Swat Valley, Pakistan into a cruel dictatorship. Pakistan before the Taliban regime used to have a parliamentary republic government system, where the prime minister has the power. Pakistan was founded by Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1947. When the Taliban took control, they turned Swat Valley’s government system that Jinnah had created into a dictatorship-style one. They frightened the citizens, even the ten year old Malala who just wanted to receive an education at school. Malala once said, “School remained a haven from the insanity of a city in the middle of the war”. They turned the people of Pakistan’s freedom into having barely any freedom at all. Women, especially, had very little rights. Maulana Fazlullah was the leader of the Taliban and created many strict rules for the Swat Valley citizens to follow. He had said over the radio to the people: “Stop listening to music, he begged. Stop going to movies. Stop dancing. Stop, he begged, or God will send another earthquake to punish us all,”. Many tried to resist these laws and paid the price, being stoned or whipped and eventually killed by Taliban members. For example, women weren’t allowed to go to school in Swat; many resisted and some were caught and killed. Malala Yousafzai was one girl who resisted the Taliban’s rule of women’s education and almost paid the price by getting shot in the head by a Taliban member. She described the event like this: “I don’t remember the other man jumping onto the tailboard and leaning into the back...And I didn’t hear the crack, crack, crack of the three bullets,”. She is a prime example of how radicalized Islam’s political rules impacted the way of life of Swat Valley society.

Another example of radicalized Islam’s beliefs that has influenced Swat Valley greatly is their social ideology. A social system includes government people relationship, social class or status, religion, customs and many other aspects. In the region of Swat Valley, most people practice traditional Islam with their established customs. The radicalized Muslims and the Taliban have affected these traditional customs of the Swat Valley residents during their thirteen year regime. Many of these became illegal for them and many wanted to retaliate against the Taliban. But, Malala Yousafzai knew that “...one must never disrespect one’s elders—even if they are wrong,” . Most of their customs are thousands of years old, and most traditional Muslims grew up with these traditions that had suddenly changed. Under their notorious rule, those in poverty became poorer because of their unfair regulations. The Taliban had also restricted many things that residents were used to doing, including going to the market (women had to now be accompanied by a male relative), wearing anything other than a burqa (a long women’s tunic covering the whole body except the eyes), listening to radio programs (other than the Radio Mullah), and even women not being allowed to go to school. Many people, especially Malala, wondered: “Why were women treated so poorly in our country?”. Most citizens are terrified of the Taliban, and many moved away to avoid their powerful, unforgiving regime. Few spoke out, and many lives were taken in a devastating fashion. Yousafzai described the ruthless killings in her book, saying: “...‘violators’ were dragged from their homes and killed; their bodies would be displayed in the Green Square the next morning,”. Today, many Muslims, especially in the Middle East, are stereotyped for being “terrorists” by Western countries. In America especially, many have prejudice towards Muslims because of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center by Pakistani Muslims in 2001. Usually, Muslims are very peaceful people, but these extremists are hypocritical of the Islamic religion. This example proves that radicalized Islamic beliefs have influenced not only Swat Valley, but also the entire country of Pakistan.

Throughout the history of Islam and the book I Am Malala, the reader can make the connection of how the Islamic religion has affected the region of Swat Valley, Pakistan both politically and socially. Many examples from both texts proved this to be true, including the history and settlement of the Muslim people in the Middle East and Malala Yousafzai’s experiences under the Taliban. From the regime of the Taliban (2002-2015), Pakistani Muslims have both been treated unjustly and discriminated against. As members of the human race, never again should we treat people the way that the Taliban extremist group had, no matter one’s nationality, race, religion, gender or economic status. Will discrimination and injustice towards others still be a part of your life today?