by Ziauddin Yousafzai (father of Malala)
Copyright (c) 2018
Malala, Ziauddin’s daughter, is an awardee of the Nobel Peace Prize for advocating for girls’ education. She paid for this cause by being shot in the face by the Taliban. Her father, living in the midst of a highly patriarchal culture, sought to lead his family in an egalitarian manner while running a school for girls in Pakistan.
Malala’s story has been well-told in her best-selling book I Am Malala. Her father’s story is told here. It brought tears and warmth to my heart. I appreciate a good father’s heart, and this fellow definitely has that. What’s more is that he has a tale – filled with near-death, courage, redemption, and love – to support that heart.
What’s most interesting in Ziauddin’s journey that inspired him to have an egalitarian household. He married a wife who desired equality, but he lived in a culture which systematically denegrates women’s place. Nonetheless, Ziauddin came to value education and its ever-present value of equality.
This is a good read for anyone of any culture interested in learning what fatherhood is all about. Ziauddin exhibits that role to the utmost and deserves our respect. It takes courage to live the life he’s lived, both in the public sphere and in the private sphere. Credit to journalist Louise Carpenter for sharing this story with the English-speaking world.