A book newly acquired by the Thammasat University Libraries should interest all students and ajarns who care about education for women. I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban was generously donated to the TU Libraries by the Embassy of Pakistan in the Kingdom of Thailand, coordinated by Khun Imran Shauket, Goodwill Ambassador of the Alhamra. The book is shelved in the Pakistan Corner of the Pridi Banomyong Library, Tha Prachan campus.

I am Malala is about Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani human rights and education activist who was cowinner of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize. She was the youngest Nobel Prize winner ever, at the age of 17. If any TU students have younger brothers and sisters who are too pleased with their own accomplishments, they can be reminded that Malala did even more at their age. She was based in the Swat Valley northwest Pakistan, where a local terrorist organization banned girls from attending school, supposedly for religious reasons. She opposed this ban, and was eventually shot by the terrorists. Fortunately, she survived. Her book inspired a documentary film, He Named Me Malala which is catalogued among Audio-Visual Materials at the Rewat Buddhinan Media Room, Pridi Banomyong Library. For students who might prefer to read her story in a Thai translation, that is also available at the TU Libraries, shelved in the general stacks of the Professor Direk Jayanama Library, Faculty of Political Science, Tha Prachan campus. Malala was a writer from very early in her life. Already at age 11, she wrote a blog for BBC Urdu about life in her home town which was occupied by terrorists. After she recovered from being shot in 2012, she launched a fund to support women’s education. She won many prizes in addition to the Nobel honor. Last year, she was admitted to Oxford Univeristy where she is studying for a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, politics and economics (PPE).

Malala has been criticized by some in her homeland, who point out that all the attention on her may have distracted from the problems of many other unknown people who also suffer from the terrorists and other acts of violence. Those who are concerned about children’s rights, women’s education, and women’s rights should be interested in her experiences.

Among Malala’s memorable statements, in an interview on Pakistan television in 2011:

In a situation where a lifelong school break was being imposed upon us by the terrorists, rising up against that became very important, essential… I think of it often and imagine the scene clearly. Even if they come to kill me, I will tell them what they are trying to do is wrong, that education is our basic right.

In the UK, she spoke at the opening of a new library in Birmingham in 2013, where she said:

The content of a book holds the power of education and it is with this power that we can shape our future and change lives. There is no greater weapon than knowledge and no greater source of knowledge than the written word… We must speak up for the children of Pakistan, India and Afghanistan who are suffering from terrorism, poverty, child labour and child trafficking. Let us help them through our voice, action and charity. Let us help them to read books and go to school. And let us not forget that even one book, one pen, one child and one teacher can change the world.

In 2013, she told CNN:

My father says that education is neither Eastern or Western. Education is education: it’s the right of everyone. The thing is that the people of Pakistan have supported me. They don’t think of me as Western. I am a daughter of Pakistan and I am proud that I am a Pakistani. On the day when I was shot, and on the next day, people raised the banners of ‘I am Malala’… They support me and they are encouraging me to move forward and to continue my campaign for girls’ education.

When accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, she said:

It does not matter what’s the color of your skin, what language do you speak, what religion you believe in. It is that we should all consider each other as human beings and we should respect each other and we should all fight for our rights, for the rights of children, for the rights of women and for the rights of every human being.

Education for Girls in Thailand

All Thais can be proud that the Kingdom ranks fourth in Asia in succeeding in promoting the education of women. Girls and boys have the same opportunities in primary school in the Kingdom. From 2007-2010, the enrolment rate in primary education was very close between percentages of girls and boys. To those who may wonder why it is so important that girls attend school, among other reasons it is vital for the economy. The more that girls attend school, the more they are able to contribute as skilled workers. They are more informed about child health and nutrition. Educated girls have a brighter future, less poverty, and other issues that cause problems in society. A small amount of funding for education for girls has very high returns in terms of social development, better than for most public infrastructure projects.

Last year, the UNESCO Bangkok website announced that the Development and Education Programme for Daughters and Community Center in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (DEPDC/GMS), a community-based NGO in Northern Thailand working to empower and stop the exploitation of stateless children and women was one of two recipients of this year’s UNESCO Prize for Girls’ and Women’s Education:

The NGO was recognized for its “Education and Life Skills Training Programme to Help Stateless Children and Women Migrating from Shan State to Thailand”, which uses education and life skills training to protect migrant girls and women from human trafficking…Founded in 1989 by Sompop Jantraka, the DEPDC/GMS helps children to understand their rights and build a sense of self-worth, while also working on family and community development to create environments in which child exploitation is less likely to occur. DEPDC/GMS was formally recognized by the Thai government in 1995, and has been working for over 20 years to protect child rights and empower girls.

As many Thais know, Sompop Jantraka, after earning a bachelor’s degree in political science from Chiang Mai University in the 1980s, devoted himself to work which resulted in him being awarded the 2013 World’s Children’s Prize Honorary Award for his 25-year struggle against trafficking and exploitation of children.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)