A girl, named Malala Yousafzai, bravely and wholeheartedly stood up for the education of girls after having it taken from her. She even wanted her enemy, the Taliban, to have \u201ceducation for [their] children as well\u201d (pacificism). But none of that would be possible if not for her father.<\/p>\n
Her father, was not like others, he was different, because he did not follow all traditional values of the Pashtuns. In Pashtuns culture, when a boy is born it is common to shoot guns and to \u201cthrow dried fruits, sweets, and coins into [the] cradle,\u201d (Yousafzai and Lamb\u00a0 14) but for girls it was not to\u00a0be done, \u201cit\u2019s a gloomy day when a daughter is born\u201d for Pashtuns (Yousafzai and Lamb\u00a0 13). However, he encouraged everyone to do the same for Malala (Yousafzai and Lamb\u00a0 14). When the Taliban took over Swat Valley, beheading people in the middle of the streets, many were beginning to leave (Ellick), but not Malala\u2019s father. Being \u201cdifferent from most Pashtun men,\u201d he stayed (Yousafzai and Lamb\u00a0 13).<\/p>\n
Malala was influenced by her father\u2019s thinking, how different it was from others. She was also influenced by Adam Ellick, from the New York Times,<\/em> who was doing a documentary on Malala, who \u201cbought [her]\u2026. American TV programs like Ugly Betty\u201d<\/em> (Yousafzai and Lamb\u00a0 163). Even Before this Malala had encounters with \u201cJustin Bieber songs and Twilight movies\u201d (Yousafzai and Lamb\u00a0 7) These exposures helped her to dream of a better future and also helped her to move toward her goal.<\/p>\n But I ponder if she needed western thinking, like her fathers, to see what she wanted was possible? Do we need to see the existence of what we want, in order to chase it? Or can we chase our hopes blindly? Do we have to see it done in another place, for us to also strive for it? Park Yeon-mi, a girl from Korea, was able to overcome it after contact with the western world.<\/p>\n She had to live under the cruel laws of North Korea in the time of \u201cNorth Korea\u2019s black market generation\u201d (“‘Watching Titanic . . . in My Country'”). However, this did not stop Park Yeon-mi from watching the movie Titanic, <\/em>that opened her eyes to how much she could do in life and the limits placed on it by her country. \u00a0She says that \u201ceverything in North Korea was about the leader\u201d So it was shocking to her that, Jake in the Titanic<\/em>, \u201cgave his life for the woman and not for his country\u201d (“‘Watching Titanic . . . in My Country'”). \u00a0The mindset that the westerns had, motivated her to leave North Korea in 2007, and now \u201cshe works for the . . . Freedom Factory Co\u201d to help bring attention to the hardships faced by those still in North Korea (“‘Watching Titanic . . . in My Country'”).<\/p>\n These two girls, had exposure to western thinking, which helped them to create change for those they wanted to help. They saw something so uncommon to them but it appealed to them. Is it only when we see something that is beyond what we know, that causes us to believe in it or has us strive for it? Both girls lived in a place where they were made to think limitedly, and not allowed to let their minds venture further to unexplored territories. And did not dare to, until influenced by her father and the titanic. <\/em>Which begs the question is it the existence or the difference of thinking that inspired them?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Work Cited:<\/p>\n “Escaping From North Korea In Search Of Freedom | Yeonmi Park | One Young World”. YouTube. N.p., 2016. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ufhKWfPSQOw<\/u><\/a> \u00a0Accessed September 17, 2016<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “‘Watching Titanic Made Me Realise Something Was Wrong in My Country,’ Says North Korean Defector<\/em>.” The Guardian<\/em>. Guardian News and Media, 2014. Web. 17 Sept. 2016.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2014\/aug\/26\/north-korea-defector-titanic<\/u><\/a> accessed September 17, 2016<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Reads Twilight, Listens To Bieber: Meet Youngest Nobel Peace Winner Malala – Firstpost<\/em>“. Firstpost<\/em>. N.p., 2014. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.firstpost.com\/world\/reads-twilight-listens-to-beiber-meet-youngest-nobel-peace-winner-malala-1751343.html<\/u><\/a> accessed September 17, 2016<\/p>\n <\/p>\n pacificism, That. “That Time 16-Year-Old Malala Yousafzai Left Jon Stewart Speechless With A Comment About Pacificism<\/em>“. Business Insider<\/em>. N.p., 2016. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.<\/p>\n