Dubai: “Education is not only about going to class and doing your homework; there should be a change in the education system. It should also be about listening and learning from each other,” Malala Yousafzai told the Dubai audience at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, on Friday, via a video.
Malala was shot on a school bus in Pakistan on October 2012 for voicing her views on girls’ right to an education after the Taliban banned girls from going to school.
After the shooting, the 16-year-old education activist became a public figure known for her powerful stance in favour of education for girls.
During the session titled Hearing Malala, The Sunday Times Foreign Correspondent Christina Lamb, who collaborated in writing the book I am Malala, spoke about the girl’s inspirational personality and journey.
“I was first hesitant when I was approached to write the book because she was only 15. I was not sure if there was enough to write about. But after meeting her in the UK, where she is now studying, I was captivated by her,” Lamb said.
Lamb said she was taken aback by the fact that Malala had no anger towards what had happened to her despite having to go through many surgeries as a result of the bullet entering her eye socket.
“The only thing she was angry about was not being able to speak to the gunman before he shot her. She wanted to tell him why it is important for his sisters and daughters to go to school,” she added.
One of the challenges Lamb faced when writing the book was that Malala did not remember the actual shooting. “She just remembered being on the bus and singing. I had to speak to other girls who were on the bus and each one recollected it differently.”
Lamb said most people would think that Malala being shot would have been an instant trigger to mobilise people against the Taliban.
“Unfortunately, it was the opposite. People started saying she was from the CIA and they tried banning the book in Pakistan,” Lamb said.
At the end of the session a video of Malala was played on the screen with a message to the Dubai audience saying that she wanted to be at the festival and enjoy the warm Dubai weather but was not able to because of her studies.
