The Refusal to be Silenced – Malala’s Story

Nareesa K.

The Swat Valley in Pakistan was once a peaceful and nonviolent region, until 2007, when the valley became Taliban territory. In the few years of Taliban rule, Swat had turned into a heartland for Pakistan Islamic militancy. In 2009, in the Swat Valley of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan, the Taliban banned girls from going to school and obtaining an education. Malala Yousafzai was one of the girls who was told that getting an education would not be a part of her future.

 “I want to get my education, and I want to become a doctor,” Malala told the reporters at the New York Times. “In the area where I live, there are some people who want to stop educating girls through guns.” So, Malala began to write for BBC under a pseudonym, in a diary called “Gul Makai”. She wrote about life as a girl in the Swat valley, and how difficult it was to handle the gender inequality that women in Pakistan confronted daily. Amid patriarchy and terror, she gave a voice to a cause that needed it. Malala stood by as the Taliban bombed over two-hundred schools for girls, and denied an education to over fifty-thousand girls in Swat, and she hoped that her writing would someday make a difference.

On January 15th, the Taliban told girls across Swat that if they returned to school, they would be killed. Malala’s father wished to remain in Swat for as long as possible, but in May, much to Malala’s dismay, her family fled Swat to rural Pakistan in order to stay safe. Her father, a social activist, lived separately from their family in attempt to disassociate himself from them. In mid-July, after approximately three months of living in hiding, her family was reunited. “It was a very precious day for me,” Malala says about the day she was reunited with her father in an interview. In August, the school that Malala previously attended reopened. She began to fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor once again.

In 2011, Malala was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize, and she faced a dilemma that could have potentially threatened her and her family. Accepting the nomination required Malala to rid of her pseudonym, and reveal her identity to the world and to the Taliban. The Pakistani girl accepted, and was officially known to the world as Malala Yousafzai.

 Malala and her family chose to keep living in Swat, and she continued to obtain an education and fight for those who could not, until the day of October 9th, 2012. Malala was riding the school bus home with her best friend, Moniba, when the bus suddenly halted. A man with a scarf covering his nose and mouth climbed aboard, and he asked a question: “Who is Malala?"

In an interview with BBC, Malala says, “Nobody said anything, but several girls looked at me. I was the only one with my face uncovered. He lifted up a pistol, and I squeezed Moniba’s hand. I can’t remember anything from that point, but my friends tell me that he fired three shots, and the first one hit me in my left temple.” The bullet scarcely missed Malala’s brain, and she was transported to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, where she miraculously recovered after nearly three months.

 Malala recently wrote an autobiography explaining her life in Swat as an educationally oppressed girl, and how she refuses to be silenced by the men who believe that she does not deserve to be equally erudite. Malala continues to advocate for equal gender rights across the world.

“I am Malala, and they cannot stop me.”

For love of money

By: Chimedum O.

 Consider for a moment the cost of the average song on iTunes: anywhere from $0.69 to a $1.29.

Now imagine a salary of around that – say, $1.14 – split seven ways to pay young children for twelve to sixteen hours of daily work in terrible conditions. This is the reality for children in many developing countries; companies such as Hershey’s, Gap, and Nestlé have utilized or still utilize child labor, making profits by exploiting those who cannot resist.

 However, this atrocity is not only limited to these three companies. Qahir Haji, the WCHS Amnesty International executive leading the protest against Urban Outfitters, noted that Urban Outfitters is “one of the only transnational companies that hasn’t implemented policies to prevent child labor in Uzbekistan.” And UO isn’t the only one swindling children; Uzbekistan’s own government works with the company, pulling children out of school to work in cotton fields that provide material for the clothing UO sells.

 “Basically, most of the people who work in these factories live in these factories,” said Ivy Luu, the Amnesty International executive in charge of the protest against Zara. Most of Zara’s child labor facilities are in South America, where the children sew clothing. Luu stated that “the space they’re in is very cramped; they’re sleeping near needles,” and that there is “not lots of ventilation” in the factories where these children both live and work.

Victoria’s Secret also has children pick cotton in Burkina Faso; if they get tired or try to speak out, they are beaten. The Amnesty International executive Kelly Hurley says that Amnesty International selected the issue of child labor to concentrate on because “it’s something that’s really relatable here, since we buy without even knowing.”

Corporations are abusing children across the globe, relying on the ignorance of their consumers and the lack of labor laws in developing countries to gain billions of profits, all through the blood, sweat, and tears of underpaid, underfed, and overlooked children. But this can change, and you can help: The WCHS Amnesty International Club has written up a petition, which you can support here:

Club Activity Within Western

 Katherine L.

 Mid-term season may be behind us, but there are still seven months of studying, essay writing, and homework to look forward to before summer break arrives. If you’re feeling a bit "bogged down" by the mountain of homework sitting on your desk (as I most certainly do), extracurricular activities are a great way to “de-stress” and add a bit of fun to your busy schedule. A variety of clubs and extracurricular activities are available to Western students, ranging from the academic to the social - whatever your niche may be.

Here is a small snapshot of the great many extracurricular activities available at Western:

• Model United Nations, or, as it is often referred to, “MUN”, meets every Monday after school. Students are led by MUN “executives” in simulations of the United Nations, encouraging participants to practice diplomacy and educate themselves about current events. The “executive” team is composed of experienced seniors that ensure they are ready for the conferences. Participants are assigned delegations to represent, and are required to do some research beforehand to familiarize themselves with their country’s foreign policy. All this work is in anticipation of the citywide Model United Nations conference, which is set to take place at the U of C early next year. Whether you’re in a crisis committee or the General Assembly, MUN is a great way to meet others and make new friends while obtaining a great understanding of the United Nations.
• “Inspire. Involve. Interact.” The Interact Club at Western is a student-run club that provides youth with volunteer opportunities across the city. In addition to providing volunteer opportunities through the Youth Volunteer Corps, the Interact club takes on one local, national, and international humanitarian initiative each year. The club meets on Wednesdays at lunch in Room 088.
•  The Western Photography Club is an ideal club for students interested in photography. Members can take photos of school events, students, and athletics for the Yearbook and school newspaper, and meet on Wednesdays after school in Room 276.
• The Math Club, which meets on either Wednesday or Thursday at lunch in Room 104, is the place of congregation for all sorts of students- whether you’re looking for a challenge, or simply wanting to improve your math skills. Topics that are not taught in regular math classes, like from Diophantine equations and Fermat’s Last Theorem are covered. In addition, members are given the opportunity to write challenging math contests throughout the year. 

 It may already be December, but it certainly isn’t too late to join a club at Western!

Super Typhoon Hits Philippines

By: Katherine B.

Ten thousand people estimated dead. Six-hundred-twenty thousand displaced from their homes. In total, more than eleven million people affected across two-hundred-seventy towns and thirty six provinces. Typhoon Haiyan, perhaps the strongest tropical storm ever recorded, has left numerous cities in the Philippines ruined, torn apart families, and has killed thousands since it hit on Friday, November 8th. The Typhoon hit across a chunk of land roughly the size of Germany, and has caused a humanitarian crisis throughout the world.

Of the many cities affected, Tacloban may have taken the brunt of the damage. Recently ranked the fifth most competitive city in the Philippines and second in the emerging cities category in a 2010 survey by the AIMPC, it is tragic to think just how far this promising city has fallen in less than a day. Houses have been reduced to piles of debris, streets flooded, cars turned over, and bodies piled on edges of roadways. Brigadier General Paul Kennedy describes the wreckages, saying, “Everything's destroyed. Roads are impassable, trees are all down, posts are down, power is down... I am not sure what else there is. I am not sure how else to describe this destruction.” This bleak picture is only the beginning of what survivors are now enduring.

Elena Aquino, who grew up in the Philippines and whose friends and family still live there, describes the situation with tears in her eyes. Thankfully, most of her friends and family have survived this trial, as most live in the northern Philippines, yet many of her friends have not heard back from their relatives who live further south. Some harder-to-reach areas are not getting the aid they desperately require, while others struggle to find clean water, shelter, and food. Still others have been cut off from electricity and are unable to reassure their worrying relatives. As Aquino puts it, it is the unknown that tears her apart: not knowing whether or not her friends are safe, while mourning all those who were not as fortunate as she was.

Currently, the lack of clean water for residents is the greatest concern. Supplies may not be reaching those who need them, and some remote areas are unreachable. Doctors are desperate for medicine, and more than two thousand Red Cross workers are providing as much aid as possible. The Canadian government has promised five million dollars of aid, and to match every dollar Canadian citizens donate to regulation Canadian charities. If you wish to help, the website below has many charities you are able to donate to. Our thoughts and hearts are with all those who were affected by Typhoon Haiyan.

Link to Donation Information