We praise Malala for standing up against such vicious and heartless monsters for the sake of women attaining education. She has been celebrated all around the world for her bravery, and has created a lot of positive change. However the voice that Malala raised, is not that distant from the problems at home. It may seem that the issues that she was dealing with are issues that take place in uneducated third world developing countries. It’s easy for us Western world folks to dismiss this as a problem in “that part of the world”. And as great it is that Malala raised her voice in that part of the world, the sad reality is that we must raise our voices inside our homes here in the West just as much.
Physically speaking, as a former student of physics I would argue that a microcosm of the world exists inside of us. There is a universe inside of us, and we are inside of a much bigger universe, with multiple dimensions yet to be discovered. As such when there is a problem taking place in one part of the world, that problem is not limited to there but rather it exists in many places, maybe inside each and every one of us as well.
America has been known as a melting pot, built on the backs of thousands of slaves, refugees, and colonists. There is no straight answer to what being an American means. Because it is one of the unique places in the world where there is no set majority anymore, the new majority is the sum of all of the minorities that created America. That’s what being American is about, we are a united front, we are the United States of America. An American is not white, black, Asian, brown, or anything of that nature. An American is a sum of all of those things. And with that sum also comes a price. A price that a pool of heritage and culture from all parts of the world mixes together and creates something beautiful. But it also carries some toxic elements as well. Elements that we need to recognize and work on.
That there are woman here in the US who are not allowed to drive. Who are not allowed to work. They are not given a say on birth control. They are not allowed to get an education. They are not allowed to go anywhere without their husbands. They are not allowed to pick their spouse.
I know of at least one person who was forced to marry a cousin from “back home”.
Of at least one person who is not allowed to leave the house without her husband.
Of at least one person who is forced to live with her in-laws and extended family in one home.
At least one person who is not allowed to get her license.
At least one person who was deprived the right to birth control.
At least one person who was forced to wear the hijab.
At least one person who was not allowed to play sports in school.
At least one person who was forced to wear an abaya over her normal school clothes.
At least one person who was forced to wear a niqab and cover everything in black except her eyes.
At least one person who was forced to pursue a career she did not want.
At least one person who was forced to say no to a boy that she loved.
At least one person who is not allowed to go anywhere without her brother.
At least one person who is not allowed to attend the mosque.
At least one person who is not allowed to choose who she wants to marry.
At least one person who is forced to have sex by her husband.
At least one person who is forced to not see her own family after marriage.
At least one person who was forced to do an abortion by her husband.
These “persons” are all Muslim women. Muslim women who did not have control, who were not in control of their own life, or their decisions. Who were deprived basic rights. So I want to ask, how can we say that these problems do not apply to the Western world, when they actually are brewing inside the homes of so many here in the West? Why are there not more Malala’s here speaking up against the vicious malice in our own society, not just the men, but women as well. So I ask again, where are our Malala’s?