I was so moved by her words, the words of a 16-year old that I cried. And I cried when I talked to my dad about it. It's no surprise, I cry easily but the only thing coherent thing that came out of my mouth whilst crying was, "What a beautiful person." As my older sister, Kyla, said, I loved what she had to say as a woman, as a Pakistani, as a Muslim, as a young person, and in general, as a human being. I've decided at this point in my life I know what I want my legacy to be. In the future biography of me, I want to be known as an activist for women's education.
This is a major problem in our world, even at home in the U.S. Girls around the world are denied an education or flat out don't have the opportunity to go to school. Here at home, young women are not encouraged enough to pursue careers in math and science fields. I went to a private liberal arts college in Boston and I think the ratio of women to men at the time I attended was about 70:30. Yeah. I think a lot of it has to do with the expected gender roles of little girls and how they really haven't changed at all since forever.
One of my current favorite websites to visit (upworthy.com) recently uploaded a video about a new toy for girls that promotes engineering and problem-solving skills at a young age. I'd totally buy that for my girl. This is not to say I'm putting down the arts, I love the arts! The arts as far as I'm concerned. the arts is where it's at. I wasn't bad at science or math (except for calculus...first C ever in my life) but from a very early age I really loved to read and write, you can ask my parents. But if I had been encouraged to do something along the lines of this new Goldieblox engineering toy, who knows?
As for getting more global, a project that I have really been interested in is Skateistan. It really makes me wish I knew how to skateboard and the Dari language. This program targets young girls in Afghanistan (and now Cambodia!), giving them the opportunity at an education and the chance to learn a really cool skill.
I try to keep up with foreign affairs as much as possible because my parents always encouraged me and my sisters to be aware of the world around us. On top of that a professor from college scolded my class for not knowing about anything about the Bosnian War in the early to mid 90s (ahem, I was aware fyi) and said that you cannot be a good writer or even a good person if you don't pay attention to your world. While I know some people that would argue that in the case of several classical writers, I think he's right. We have such a globally connected world that you can't just ignore a part of it because you don't like it. Be aware and try to have a positive influence on the parts that don't work so well. Education is the first step understanding and compromise on both sides. Just imagine what that little girl picking her nose on the bus could grow up to be. I'm not a scary hooded figure and I'm not just a pretty face. I am an advocate, an activist, and representative for the education of everyone, of Muslim women, the Oxford comma, and the belief baked goods are good bandages for bad days.
Thinking of all of this makes me swell with pride (and more tears, I can't help it) and this is just the sort of positivity I want to push forward in the world. What makes you happy?
