We all want to hear stories of great men and women. Yet, how many of us truly crave for being a story? Indeed, one can possibly argue that we are all stories at the end. But, are we truly living a life worth sharing? Bearing that in mind, today I am going to talk about two great disruptive personalities of our time. In a world where many discussions on girl child are taking place, let me bring two irreplaceable young disruptive souls of our time who had and keep raising voices for a better world. Malala and Greta are indeed stories that are worth spreading, sharing and re-reading.
On a bright sunny day in July, 1997, Malala Yousafzai was born in Minora, Pakistan. Although the birth of a baby girl was not a feast to be celebrated in her country, Malala’s father took every possible measure to ensure his baby girl would get the best of everything. Her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai was a teacher by profession who ran a school for girls. The situation was not the same as before, when her village was taken over by the Taliban. Owning a television, to playing music, many things were banned by Taliban extremists. Most specifically, they insisted no girl child should be sent to school. As a result, in 2008, Malala had to bid adieu to her school mates and school, not knowing whether they would ever get a chance to meet each other.
In 2012, she raised her voice against this menace. She audaciously spoke out the rights of the girl child to study. This made her a plausible target of those extremists. In October the same year, the left side of her head was shot by a masked gunman, and she was unconscious for 10 days. By then she had been admitted to a hospital in Birmingham, England. Due to talented doctors and caring nurses, along with people who genuinely offered prayers, Malala saw the light of day.
After many surgeries and rehabilitation, she recovered in 2014. Although her new life with family in UK solved many issues, she was unsatisfied. It was then that she recognized her calling. A calling to stand against this horrendous menace. She made a pledge to herself and continued to battle until every girl child could go to school. With the help of her father, her light and shadow, she established the ‘Malala Fund’ to pave the way for any girl child who aspires to pursue their goals. This initiative was well-recognized by the world, leading her to gain the Nobel Peace Prize as the youngest-ever Nobel laureate in 2014.
“I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel fear, I feel every day. I want you to act. I want you to act like in a crisis. I want you to act like your house is on fire, because it is”
A teenager shook the social media last year with facts that nobody wanted to hear, or often disregarded as clichés. She was bold, audacious and talking to the point. Her aggressive, and fearless embodiment winged her to inquisitive minds of youth. She is Greta Thunberg, a 17-year old teenager, who skipped school and inspired an international movement to fight climate change.
Although she is a descendant of a family who have won the Nobel prize for Chemistry in 1903 on a proposed model of the greenhouse effect, she had no strong influence from her immediate family members. She learnt the gruesomeness of climate change when she was eight, and her curiosity never faded away. Embarking her journey as an activist, she won a climate change essay competition in 2018 organized by a local newspaper. She skipped her classes, started protesting in front of the Swedish parliament complex, demanding the government to meet the carbon emissions target agreed by world leaders in Paris, in 2015.
Her ‘School Strike for Climate’ gained popularity from various sources and continents such as Australia, the UK, Belgium, the US and Japan, amplifying her voice as an activist against climate change in the global arena. Not only in Sweden, she gave her support for various other strikes conducted in Europe travelling by train which is the least harmful to the environment.
Greta took a year off in 2019 to fully commit herself to her cause. In 2019 she attended the UN climate conference held in New York. By sticking to her principles, she travelled for two weeks to reach her destination by racing a yacht which was her least impact mode of transportation.
“How dare you? You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean, yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you?” She blamed the empty words and promises made by politicians brutally. For the incapability and inconsideration, for their lame excuses and ignorance, she raised her voice and she still does.
She yearns for a better world. She urges large governments and top corporates to take immediate action to solve these burning issues. She behests us to be more vigilant about our ecological well-being. She demands politicians to be awake. Does she gain anything in return? I leave that for you to think about more.
In a country where youth have lost its purpose, Malala and Greta give us hope, inspiration and focus. In a society where youngsters are bred and nurtured to become stars, will there be any space for creatively disruptive souls who are for people always? In a context where educational and professional qualifications have been the whole achievement of youth and are only purpose sought after by youngsters, will there be any source of inspiration for a better world or rather a changed and more evolved atmosphere?
My dear youngsters, we are hopeful. But are you ready?