Category: English

Welcome, visitors of the Malala Yousafzai Learning Center. I hope you have an enjoyable time learning about my life and eminence.

 

Malala Yousafzai Learning Center

 

Bibliography

Alexander, K, L. (2020) Biography: Malala Yousafzai. Women’s History. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/malala-yousafzai.  

Boko Haram. (2021). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boko_Haram. 

Golgowski, N. (2021). Malala Yousafzai Reveals She Got Married With Stunning Wedding Photos. Huffpost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/malala-yousafzai-marries-asser_l_618acd8fe4b0ad6f5889a0e7. 

He Named Me Malala. (2021). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He_Named_Me_Malala. 

I Am Malala. (2021). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Malala. 

Kugelman, M. (2017.) Why Pakistan Hates Malala. Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/08/15/why-pakistan-hates-malala/. 

Malala Fund. (2021). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malala_Fund. 

Malala Fund. (2021). Malala’s Story. https://malala.org/malalas-story?sc=header. 

Malala Fund. (2021). Working for a world where all girls can learn and lead. Malala. https://malala.org/. 

This is the website of Malala’s organization, the Malala Fund, and it has very valuable information such as statistics of the number of girls out of school and insight into Malala’s life. I also used a quote I saw on it as inspiration for my eminence paragraphs: “I tell my story not because it is unique, but because it is the story of many girls.” 

Malala Yousafzai. (2021). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malala_Yousafzai. 

I used this source as a basis for most of my research. I picked out the most relevant and interesting information I saw and used it as a guide for other areas I wanted to research. I mostly used this article to find the events used in my Timeline and Achievements tabs. I also used some of the information from the article to write more detailed parts of my Learning Center, such as Malala’s nomination for the Children’s Peace Prize. For the areas I wanted more information in, I researched them specifically. 

Rucker, P. (2013). Malala Yousafzai meets with the Obamas in the Oval Office. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2013/10/11/malala-yousafzai-meets-with-the-obamas-in-the-oval-office/. 

The Nobel Prize. (2021). Malala Yousafzai – Biographical. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2014/yousafzai/biographical/. 

Yousafzai, M & Lamb, C. (2013). I Am Malala. Little, Brown and Company. 

I read Malala’s Autobiography so I could get an insightful, in-depth, look at Malala’s story. I did not use any information I read directly from the book on my Learning Center other than the date Malala woke up from her coma, but the book was very useful for gaining an understanding of Malala’s country, religion, life, and activism. 

Yousafzai, M. (2013). Malala Yousafzai: 16th birthday speech at the United Nations. Malala. https://malala.org/newsroom/archive/malala-un-speech. 

Yousafzai, M. (2014). Malala Yousafzai: Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. Malala. https://malala.org/newsroom/archive/malala-nobel-speech. 

I read Malala’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech here and it gave me valuable insight into what Malala’s specific views are about children’s rights and education, and what developed countries and governments should be doing to help. I used this information to help write my eminence paragraphs. One of the big takeaways was her talking about how guns, tanks and war seem to be so easy to get but books, schools and peace are not and how developed countries have a responsibility to help the developing ones. 

For Eminent this year, we were tasked with interviewing someone about our eminent person, or even the eminent person themself. I began my search for an interviewee by looking at Malala’s non-profit organization, the Malala Fund. On this website I found out that Malala is often too busy to be interviewed for school projects. I understood this perfectly, so I crossed Malala off my list of possible interviewees. The next step I took was to send an email through the website asking to be directed to someone who could be interviewed about Malala and her work. I sent this email a bit less than a month ago, and didn’t get a reply back, so I had to think of some other ways to find someone to interview. I didn’t personally know anyone who knew a lot about Malala, but one day near the end of the project I was talking to Anita about possible interviewees, and we came up with a great idea! Since Malala’s main goal is education for all children, we realized that it would make sense to interview someone who knew a lot about education and how important it is. It would also be great if this person knew a bit about Malala. I decided that I would write some of my old teachers an email asking if they would be up for an interview about the importance of education and how Malala has influenced them. However, by the time we came up with this idea the deadline was getting close, and I was so busy with other schoolwork that I didn’t have a chance to write the email until it was too late. So, what could I do next time to avoid this situation? I think one action I could have taken is to reach out to more people. Outside of internet searches, I only asked my family and Anita if they knew anyone who was knowledgeable about Malala. I could have reached out to more of my classmates and asked my parents to ask people they know. I could have also tried scouring the internet more thoroughly. I mainly looked at Malala’s website for possibilities because I couldn’t find anything else, but I’m sure there were more resources out there that were a bit more obscure. Lastly, I could have managed my time better so I didn’t run out of time to send emails to my old teachers! Truthfully, I thought the interview was due later than it was, and I had more time, even though I had written the due date down in my planner. What I have learned from this is that I need to look at my planner more often. I’m doing way better at this than last year, but this project has shown me that there is still room for improvement! I know having an interview would have been incredibly insightful for my eminent project, and now I know how to do better next time. 

October 31st, 2021 

Humanities 10 

Xylia 

 

I have been doing many interview-related activities for the past few weeks, and one of them was the Eminent Interview Practice. All of these experiences not only helped me practice the action of interviewing and being interviewed, but also allowed me to receive valuable feedback from my group members! The feedback that I got during this interview suggested that I speak up more, as it was sometimes hard to hear what I was saying. My assessment person also said that I was fidgeting with my papers a lot, which I personally realized after the interviews were over. These two actions will be hard for me to fix, as I just do them automatically, but I will make an effort to improve on this for future interviews! However, many other aspects of my interviewing went quite well. I am personally quite happy with how I delivered my questions for my interviewee, as I had them prepared beforehand and I elaborated on them, occasionally adding to the conversation. My observer noticed this, and wrote how that was a useful addition to my interview. Additionally, I made sure to engage with what my interviewee was saying, by nodding and keeping some eye contact. (I usually do this actually, but once I did so while interviewing someone on the phone, and that was obviously not as helpful because my interviewee could not see me!) This experience was very useful, as all practice interviews are. I was able to learn from my mistakes and shortcomings and think about how to fix them for future interviews, but also take note of what I did well so I can continue to improve on my strengths too! There was also one more aspect of the practice interviews that I learned from, and that was the observation of my peers. I watched three different interviews take place, each person involved having different strengths and stretches. I took away valuable information from each one, whether that be confident sounding questions and answers, well prepared answers, or focus on the interview. This will help me because I now have an additional perspective on useful and not useful approaches for interviews, and I can apply the useful ones to my own. All in all, I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to improve my interviewing skills and learn from my peers. It was a very valuable experience, and I will be sure to apply what I learned to future interviews. 

“I am the same Malala. My ambitions are the same. My hopes are the same. And my dreams are the same … I am here to speak for the right of education for every child. I want education for the sons and daughters of the Taliban and all the terrorists and extremists. I do not even hate the Talib who shot me. Even if there was a gun in my hand and he was standing in front of me, I would not shoot him.”

Malala Yousafzai, July 12th, 2013, UN speech 

I was six years old when Malala was shot and she began being recognized all over the world. I remember being very proud of her and inspired by her bravery to stand up for her rights! Malala’s vision of the future is one where women have equal rights for education. She has always fought for that peacefully, and I think that’s equally as important for her eminence as her activism itself. Her morals, objectives, and uniqueness are a huge part of what drew me to her and inspired me to conclude that she would be a great choice for my project. Malala has been speaking up for women’s education rights since she was little by protesting against the actions of the Taliban, an Islamic political movement, when she was only eleven! Her activism only grew from there. But while Malala being recognized helped her activism efforts, it also brought danger, and Malala got shot. She luckily survived, and her story sparked support for her all over the world, which helped Malala bring to light the injustices women face in education. Despite her near-death experience, Malala persevered and kept working towards a better future. Malala’s story just radiates eminence, and I’m excited to go in-depth for the research, using sources like her memoir, to share her story! For the next phase of my research, I plan to read said memoir, as it’s sure to be an invaluable resource, and begin looking for some people to interview.

Malala and I, while being very different, also have lots of things in common. A goal of mine is to make the world a better place, and that’s exactly what Malala has done! We both know what it’s like living as a girl in a society that’s often unfair to them, and that has motivated us to care more about women’s rights and education. We both have big visions of the future that we want to achieve and are very determined to make it happen. Lastly, Malala’s integrity and selflessness leads her to help others escape injustice, not just herself, and I strive to do the same! Malala would make a good TALONS student and is a great role model for this program. She has very strong leadership skills and has spoken to very prominent figures such as Barak Obama. She’s been in many situations that require exceptional leadership, people, and communication skills! She has made a positive difference in the world, and I think that’s a goal we all have. She’s also well educated, as that’s the very right she fought for, and that’s also a goal of TALONS! I don’t know much about Malala’s country and faith, so that’s a barrier I will have to overcome during my eminent project. However, I intend to use my time researching Malala wisely by also learning about Pakistan and the Islamic religion, with the hope of connecting better with Malala and having that show in my project. Malala has inspired millions of girls and other people all around the world to stand up for their rights and freedoms. Malala has unwaveringly fought for women’s education rights, and that has improved the lives of so many women and girls. I think Malala will be remembered for a long time. She’s already done so much in her life, and she is only twenty-four years old, so just imagine what she might accomplish in the future! Since she’s inspired so many people to follow in her footsteps, her actions will likely be carried on by many future generations. 

Malala has been an incredible inspiration for me, and I want to pay that forward during my eminent project. 

Want to watch Malala’s UN speech? Click here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SClmL43dTo

Research Sources:

Strauss, E. (2013, October 17). What about Malala’s religion? The Forward. https://forward.com/life/185751/what-about-malalas-religion/. 

Spary, S. (2020, June 19). Malala Yousafzai finishes Oxford University, says now is time for ‘netflix, reading and sleep’. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/19/world/malala-completes-oxford-studies-scli-intl-gbr/index.html. 

Malala Yousafzai. (2021, October 18). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malala_Yousafzai. 

Image Sources:

Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai Announced as Key Speakers at IIFMENA Conference. (n.d.). Middle East Business. https://middleeast-business.com/nobel-laureate-malala-yousafzai-announced-as-key-speakers-at-iifmena-conference/. 

Education Campaigner and Nobel prize-winner Malala Yousafzai celebrates straight As in GCSEs. (2015). itv. https://www.itv.com/news/2015-08-21/education-campaigner-and-nobel-prize-winner-malala-yousafzai-celebrates-straight-as-in-gcses

Joshi, P. (2017). Malala Yousafzai Received an Offer to Study at a Top UK University. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/nobel-prize-winner-malala-yousafzai-received-offer-to-study-at-oxford-university-2017-3