toward Ziauddin in breaking Taliban’s rules on the prohibition on women’s education. When Taliban give him a warning not to continue the school, he does
not listen to them. Moreover, he and Malala are together in resisting against Taliban’s rules. Therefore, by shooting Malala, Taliban believe that it can
payback Ziauddin and Malala’s action in supporting women’s education. They
believe that it can make them silence and stop in doing their campaigns on women’s education which are perceived as infidel. “They wanted to kill two birds
with one stone. Kill Malala and silence me for ever” Yousafzai, 2013: 115.
Surprisingly, even if she has already been shot by Taliban and moved to Birmingham, UK, she still continues her campaign on
women’s education and gets a Nobel Peace Prize by United Nation. Actually, Malala does her campaign
because she realizes that education is an individual right not only for western people but also Muslim, “The Quran says we should seek knowledge, study hard
and learn the myster ies our world” Yousafzai, 2013: 73.
Second, in the Taliban’s rules on public, women are prohibited to go outside without their mahram because it creates defamation Yousafzai, 2013:
56. Therefore, when there is a woman who goes outside everywhere alone, like going to market, Taliban always shout at them and threatened them until they go
and stay at home. Women should be accompanied by their mahram because men can protect them from danger and it avoids women from defamation. Actually,
this interpretation contradicts Muhammad’s example, in which the first wife
Muhammad, Siti Khadijah was a businesswoman Yousafzai, 2013: 54 and she was doing trading goods to Syria. It shows that Muhammad believes that women
can go outside alone and even work outside home. He believes that she will act within the limit of Islam. If Taliban still blames women for going outside alone,
Taliban actually should realize that in the past Muhammad let her wife work outside home. If it is wrong, Muhammad directly prohibits his second wife to
work outside. Furthermore, it is not stated in the Holy Quran that men should go outside and women should stay at home Yousafzai, 2013: 54. It can be
concluded that the reason why Taliban prohibit women to go outside alone is contradicting Sharia.
As a form of her resistance, Malala still goes outside, like she goes to Cheena Bazar which is banned by Taliban. Then when women are prohibited to
be blown up with public things, like TV, DVD, and CD, Malala still watches TV with the volume low and she moves it into a cupboard to make it safe Yousafzai,
2013: 53. Malala writes her story using pen name, Gul Makai Yousafzai, 2013:74. She writes her journals in British Broadcasting Corporation BBC
about her daily life under Taliban’s regime in order to voice out her aspiration in public. The titles for her journals are Night Filled With Artillery Fire, I May Not
To Go To School Again, The Maulana Goes On Leave, No Firing Or Fear, Do Not Wear Colorful Dresses, I Have To Go To School,
and I am Afraid. She shares her stories are not only through her blog but also become a guest in Power 99
radio station, ATV Khyber, and Geo TV.
3. Family
The majority people in Swat are still upholding the idea of patriarchy in which men are perceived more superior than women. Therefore, as inferior, it is
inappropriate if they are blown up with public activities. For example, Malala’s
mother, Tor Pekai, thinks that the roles of women are staying at home and doing a domestic job. She thinks that education is very useless for her and the one who
should pursue education is man. Therefore, she drops out from the school and prefers to play at home.
My mother started school when she was six and stopped the same term... There seemed no point in going to school just end up cooking, cleaning
and bring up children, so one day she sold her books for nine annas, spend the money on boiled sweets and never went back Yousafzai, 2013: 19.
She is a woman who likes the majority of Pashtun women, conservative and
obedient to the tradition. She does not do the actions which are prohibited by the tradition and religion though those are sometimes unreasonable. “She herself
would never appear in public. She refused even to be photographed” Yousafzai, 2013: 101. In order to make Malala be a good P
ashtun woman, Malala’s mother always asks Malala to behave based on the tradition. For example, she asks
Malala to hide her face when Malala speaks to the media. Therefore, When Malala’s family moves to Birmingham, the one who gets the difficulty to adapt
with the condition there is Malala’s mother, Tor Pekai. This is becasue she has
already belonged to her tradition and cannot speak English. “It’s hard for her here as she does not speak any English. Our house has all
these facilities, but when she arrived they were all mysteries to her and someone had to show us how to use the oven, washing machine and the
TV” Yousafzai, 2013: 143. Although the majority people still
uphold the idea of patriarchy, Malala’s father, who values the equality and freedom for both men and women,
individually chooses to help and empower women. This is because women are as
strong as men, they can taking care everything for the family, like earning money, taking care of the children, and doing domestic job.
Pashtun women are very powerful and strong. Her mother, my grandmother, had looked after all eight children alone after my grandfather
had an accident and broke his pelvis and could not leave his bed for eight years Yousafzai: 2013: 54.
Malala’s father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, always shares and consults everything to his wife, Tor Pekai, when most husbands do not do that. This is
because sharing problem with a weak person, like a wife is perceived as an insult for husband.
Though she cannot read or write, my father shares everything with her, telling about his day, the good and the bad... Most Pashtun men never do
this, as sharing problems with women is seen as weak Yousafzai, 2013: 10.
Another example, when Malala was born, Ziauddin Yousafzai makes a
celebration for her though in Swat it is uncommon and inappropriate to celebrate a daughter.
My Father, Ziauddin, is different from most Pashtun men. He took the tree, drew a line like a lollipop from his name and at the end of it he wrote,
„Malala’. His cousin laughed in astonishment. My father didn’t care. He even asked friends to throw dried fruits, sweets and coins into my cradle,
something we usually only do for boys Yousafzai, 2013: 6.
Based on the sentences above, it shows that Malala’s father makes celebration for her because both boy and girl are blessing for him. Not to mention,
Malala as a daughter is never forced to do a domestic job, like cooking and preparing the dishes in which most of daughters always do Yousafzai, 2013: 28.
Furthermore, Ziauddin never controls Malala but supports her in any circumstances. For example, Ziauddin always supports Malala’s decision to be a
politician though most fathers will prohibit their daughter to be a politician because becoming a politician should be for men Yousafzai, 2013: 6.
In empowering women, he and his friend, Hidayatullah, build a school for both men and women Yousafzai, 2013: 23. He believes that with the knowledge
they can opt out from the oppression under patriarchy. They name it the Khusnal School that is inspired from his great hero, Khusnal Khan Khattak, who fights
against foreign enemy with pens, not sword. However, his action in building his own school gets a warning coming from Taliban and he should close his school.
This warning does not make Ziauddin feels afraid. He believes that Taliban’s
interpretation on education for women is wrong. That is why he still runs his school and invites Malala who is a woman to study there.
Actually, all of actions of empowering women in Swat by her father have already influenced Malala in empowering and helping women to pursue their right
and freedom. For this case, Malala chooses to resist Taliban’s rules on ideal Muslim women by doing campaigns on
women’s education and doing the actions which are contradicting
Taliban’s rules. Not to mention, in doing her resistance, Malala always supported by her parents. For example, when women should wear
burqa by Taliban, her parent does not oblige Malala to wear it. When women
should stay at home, her parent allows her to go to Chena bazaar alone. Then when women are prohibited to go to school, her father always supports her to go
to school. This support is very important because as the daughters, their life in on the
hand of their parents. Though the daughters are brave to fight against Taliban, but
their parent does not allow them, meaning to say, they cannot fight against Taliban and this condition is very common in Swat. On the contrary, Malala
always get a full support from her parents when she chooses to resist against Taliban’s rules on ideal Muslim women. In the case of interview with BBC, for
example, Malala and her friends in the past were interviewed by ATV Khyber. However, when they have entered puberty, they are prohibited by their parents to
be interviewed. This is because when they have already entered puberty, they cannot show their face in public because they should be in purdah. In other side,
Malala’s parent allows and supports Malala to be interviewed about her life under Taliban regime.
The media needs interviews. They want to interview a small girl, but the girls are scared, and if they’re not, their parents won’t allow it. I have a
father who isn’t scared, who stands by me. He said, „You are a child and
it’s your right to speak Yousafzai, 2013: pp. 66-67.
Malala’s father always supports her to do the resistance because he realizes that the nature of parents is to protect and support their children in
everything. “Malala is free as bird... I will protect your freedom, Malala. Carry on with you dreams” Yousafzai, 2013: 31. Therefore, when Malala wants to resist
Taliban because Taliban rules are contradicting Pashtunwali and Sharia, she is always supported by her parent.
In doing her resistance, Malala does not only challenge the rules which are the extension of patriarchy but also reconstruct a new paradigm which is
contradicting Taliban. “Resistance not only challenges the power but also creates
a new social structure which negates power logic” Vinthagen, 2007: 13. In this
case, Malala wants to build a new paradigm that women also have rights and
