A D Iscussion G Uide for Study and Action
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A Discussion Guide for Study and Action For community screenings, panels, workshops, and college courses and seminars In Partnership with USC Rossier School of Education Copyright © 2015 Participant Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Journeys in Film : He Named Me Malala Table of Contents A Letter From Malala and Ziauddin Yousafazi 4 Introduction to the Film 5 About Pakistan 7 The Influence of Family 8 Religious Extremism Comes to the Swat Valley 10 The Global Status of Girls’ Secondary Education 11 Why Education Is So Critical (I) 13 Why Education Is So Critical (II) 14 Reaching Around the World: The Malala Fund at Work 15 What Can You Do? 18 Resources for Study and Action 19 Journeys in Film : He Named Me Malala A Letter From Malala and Ziauddin Yousafzai We hope you enjoy watching You may wonder why we focus on girls’ secondary educa- He Named Me Malala. tion, and it is this: Adolescent girls are the most likely to drop out of school or miss out on school altogether. They We are so happy to be able to are often under great pressure to leave school to marry or share our story with you, and take care of others. Many societies simply do not value girls’ hope it will spark many con- education, so they do not invest in girls’ schools, and girls versations around the themes are not encouraged to continue their studies. Girls are par- presented in the film through this ticularly vulnerable in situations of conflict, which is why discussion guide. we work closely to support refugee girls and girls threatened Many people tell us that our story by violence. is unique, but we do not see it We believe that access to twelve years of free, safe, quality that way. This is not the story of education for every girl benefits all society, not only girls. one girl but of more than 60 mil- When girls are educated, they transform their own lives, lion girls around the world who and those of their families. Basic education enables them to do not go to school, prevented by survive but quality secondary education provides girls the poverty, violence, or social norms wings to fly. that do not value girls’ education. We hope that watching He Named Me Malala and using this While the film tells the story of our family and the difficult discussion guide will encourage you to raise your voice for journey we have made from our home in Pakistan to our girls’ education. We all have a role to play — whether we current home in the UK — we hope it sparks a much wider are parents, teachers, or students. discussion and action to ensure every girl gets a quality sec- ondary education. Please stand #withMalala and show your support for the right to education. Every voice counts. At the end of this guide we will show how you can get more involved and suggest ways to encourage others to do so as well. You will also find more information on the Malala Fund website: www.malala.org. With love and gratitude, Malala & Ziauddin 4 Journeys in Film : He Named Me Malala Introduction to the Film Malalai and Malala: Two Pashtun Heroines The film opens with a short animated sequence about an Afghan teenager, Malalai, a Pashtun heroine who died in 1880 in the Battle of Maiwand. The Pashtun are an ethnic group of more than 50 million who live in Afghanistan and Pakistan; they have long been renowned as determined fighters who defend their territory fiercely. In 1878, the British invaded Afghanistan for the second time, and in 1880, Afghan forces defended their homeland in the battle of Maiwand. Many Pashtun women played important roles on the battlefield, caring for the wounded and bringing water and spare weapons; Malalai, the teenage daughter of a shepherd from a nearby village, was among them. When the Afghan fighters’ morale was fading during the battle, Malalai seized a flag and encouraged them, turning the tide of battle. Although she was shot and killed, she was buried with honor and lived on as a revered Pashtun folk heroine. Born in 1997 in Mingora, Pakistan, Malala is the oldest He Named Me Malala, a documentary by award-winning of three children. Her father, filmmaker Davis Guggenheim, traces the life of Malala a teacher and a founder of Yousafzai, the young Pakistani activist who was the victim a school, was determined to of an assassination attempt because she spoke so passion- give her a good education, ately in support of girls’ education. The film speaks elo- and she loved being in the quently about the importance of raising one’s voice to speak classroom. Following her out against injustice, about the interior peace that comes father’s example, when reli- with forgiveness, about courage under immense pressure, gious extremists began to about the importance of a beloved home and family. It pro- suppress and destroy schools, files the closeness of a father and daughter who both assume Malala began to speak in defense of girls’ opportunities for enormous risks to fight for their beliefs. It shows that in a education. She was threatened by the Taliban, a fundamen- patriarchal society, even a young woman can have a lasting talist organization in Afghanistan and Pakistan that opposed influence. secular education for girls. Despite the threats, she continued to blog, speak, and give interviews promoting her beliefs. Journeys in Film : He Named Me Malala 5 In 2012, her school bus was ambushed by the Taliban for Social Justice (2012); the Simone de Beauvoir Prize for and she was shot in the head; two of her friends were also international human rights work on behalf of women’s wounded. She was treated at a military hospital in Peshawar, equality (2013); and the Nobel Peace Prize (2014). Pakistan, and then in Birmingham, England. Though she This discussion guide gives you the opportunity to join was in critical condition and part of her skull had to be Malala’s movement: learn about the status of girls’ educa- replaced, she survived. Malala and her family moved to tion in the world today, discuss what you have read about England, where she attends school. The Malala Fund she girls’ education, explore resources to learn more, and seek established works to empower girls globally through edu- ways to make a change in your own community and in the cation to achieve their potential and be agents of change wider world. in their communities. Malala’s awards include Pakistan’s National Youth Peace Prize (2011), now called the National Malala Peace Prize; the Mother Teresa Memorial Award 6 Journeys in Film : He Named Me Malala About Pakistan “We lived in a paradise.” — Malala Yousafzai Many of the events shown in He Named Me has been threatened by various regional and Malala take place in Malala’s home country ethnic movements. of Pakistan, a nation of approximately 180 million people. For millennia, it has been a home to many civilizations, including Persians, Malala’s home was in the Swat Valley, Greeks, Scythians, Mongols, Arabs, Afghans, part of the northern province of Khyber Sikhs, and Turks. Pakistan today is considered Pakhtunkhwa. This area has a strong an Islamic state, but its history reflects a cul- Buddhist heritage, in addition to its Islamic turally complex society rich in roots. The Swat Valley is ethnic diversity. only about a hundred miles northwest of the capital, Islamabad, but remains From 1858 until its indepen- isolated because of its dence, Pakistan was under mountainous terrain. It direct English rule as a part is often referred to as the of the British Indian Empire. Switzerland of Asia, because When the British govern- of its snow-covered moun- ment pulled out in 1947, tain peaks. In addition to the empire split into two natural beauty, the area is nations, India and Pakistan. Pakistan was itself divided into noted for historically important Buddhist sites, although two areas—East Pakistan and West Pakistan—east and west many have been destroyed by the Taliban. of India. The eastern section, in a fierce war in 1971, broke Why does Malala refer to the Swat Valley as “a paradise”? In away as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Today, addition to the natural beauty of the area, what factors made the country of Pakistan is divided into four provinces it a happy home for her? (Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Sindh), as well as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas near When and why did her sense of the Swat Valley as a “para- Kashmir and the Islamabad Capital Territory. Pakistan has dise” fade? a democratic constitution, but power has shifted between Why do you think Malala wants to return there? Why doesn’t the military and civilian authority and the country’s unity she go back? In her position, would you long to return home? Journeys in Film : He Named Me Malala 7 The Influence of Family A new branch on the family tree When Malala’s father learns that his daughter has entered the world, he loves her immediately. At one point, his Malala comes from a remarkable family. Her father, cousin brings over a drawing of the family tree, a record Ziauddin Yousafzai, is a teacher who built his own school, that reflects the different value placed on male and female starting with only $150. He has spoken out fearlessly many children. Ziauddin remarks: “It traced back for three hun- times in favor of girls’ education, even at the risk of his own dred years. No woman was mentioned—only men were life.