Malala Yousafzai
Most of us know exactly who is being spoken of when we hear the word "Malala".
Her singular name has come to represent so much for so many women around the world - her strength, her bravery, her dignity, her intelligence and her grace.
She is indeed a remarkable young woman, but having being born in Afghanistan and having faced life under the Taliban, she could have found herself uneducated, quiet, and hidden away.
She did not, in part, because of her family's support. Her mother Toor Pekai Yousafzai was open-minded and encouraged education, caring for others and speaking up. Her father Ziauddin Yousafzai (who she references in this quote) similarly encouraged her, supported her and found ways for her to flourish, raise her voice and be heard.
The gift of wings (to anybody) seems to me to be a gift of encouragement, of enabling one to rise above, to see the bigger picture and not be bound or tethered by some beliefs. It could also I suppose be a gift of escape, an opportunity to remove oneself from a bad situation, to lift off and fly away.
I also think the gift of wings gives people agency; it gives them choices about how and where they operate and allows them a sense of self-determination.
I have benefitted from my parents and others gifting me wings at different times - I wish for wings for so many women in the world...
my father gave me wings, even as he clipped my mother's ... I have mixed feelings to this day
ReplyDeleteas for Malala ... I was asked to suggest possible quotes to put on a bookplate for the books on peace and kindness that are being gathered in Virginia for distribution to local elementary schools in the wake of the recent shooting ... I don't know which of those I sent will be chosen, if any, but many of them were from Malala's book ... she is an inspiration to young and old alike
The gift of wings, yet the clipping of others’ is hard to reconcile I am sure. Malala is a remarkable young woman who continues to achieve much good in the world, and inspire. Go well…
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