What Has She Done?
Malala Yousafzai is a prominent Pakistani activist fighting for women’s rights and female education. She gained her popularity by writing as an anonymous blogger for BBC since the age of 12, portraying the life of her family in an area occupied by Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (Garcia, 2019). She is the receiver of a Noble Peace Price for her efforts to improve female education in Pakistan and the rest of the world. She also managed to survive an assassination attempt from the Taliban (Garcia, 2019). She received a grievous injury to the head, but recovered. This event brought her international attention, and helped propagate her cause among the western and Muslim communities. Malala’s actions, from the perspective of structural functionalism, are aimed to affect not individual actors, but the system as a whole. To achieve better coverage, Malala Yousafzai worked closely with many national, educational, and religious leaders in order to allow girls access to education and jobs. She also stated that women’s problems worldwide exist not only in the Muslim world, but also in Mexico, Norway, and all other countries (Garcia, 2019). Malala preaches unity and solidarity to overcome the hurdles before true equality of genders.
What Could She Do Better?
Malala Yousafzai already did much for women on Pakistan and the rest of the world. However, from the perspective of structural functionalism theory, there are a few issues she could handle better. Namely, her approach towards education should focus less on getting approval from the West, and more towards reforming the culture back home. As it stands, the majority of the Muslim world is ruled by patriarchy, who hold the power over female education and rights (Garcia, 2019). Therefore, Malala Youssafzai should seek to alter the perception of these men towards women, to acknowledge them as equals and deserving of being treated fairly. Without getting men and Muslims on her side, the progress is likely to be much slower.
Reference
García, A. B. M. (2019). Empathy for social justice: the case of Malala Yousafzai. Journal of English Studies, (17), 253-275.