Why I Love Malala

Thoughts on the series “My Next Guest” by David Letterman on Netflix.

First time I heard Malala’s name was among the cacophony of opinions – those of despair, of hope, and of indignant voices.  It was a combination of sympathetic and apathetic views.  Some viewed Malala as a “poor” girl trapped in the backwards world of the Taliban where every women has to dodge bullets to go to school.  Others viewed her as a strong girl with grand visions for the treatment of women in Pakistan.  And of course, let us not forget the purveyor of conspiracy theories which detailed the way it was all a “set up to make Pakistan look bad.”  Of all of them, the most upsetting was the last one. Although, now that I know better, the other views also seem grossly unjust.

Rather than hearing about someone, it is always better to hear from that person directly.  When I watched the interview with David Letterman a week ago, I was amazed at who Malala had become and formulated my opinion about her.  Her voice was sure, with purpose and vision.  She has taken her trauma and turned it into a drive.  To be honest, I am not sure if I am capable of that. But there is something else that stuck out to me in that interview:  She is the embodiment of a strong woman.

When asked about how it all started, of how she began her fight for women’s education before the attack and after, she is always coming from a position of strength.  She does not look back at what happened as a dent in her plans.  She answers with so much grace and without embarrassment, and without diminishing her background or where she is from.  It left me without any doubt that she is a Pashtun because Malala proudly stated what she loved about her people.

Of course, as a Muslim, I was viewing this from another perspective.  When Letterman bated her towards talking about Islam, she refused to make her tragedy anything about religion.  She clearly stated that the views of the Taliban in regards to their treatment of women came from a place of misogyny disguised to look like a religion, and it would have looked like something else in a different society.  I loved how she does not view the world as having two different sides rather she appreciates the different cultures and viewpoints that she has come across.  I loved how she took in the compliments and responded with logic.

The interview was enlightening, enjoyable, light hearted, and empowering.  If there are women like her as examples for our children, then I think we have great things in store for the future.