All across the world there are controversies over various issues. Only certain people have the courage to stand up for what they believe in and defend it. These people include Malala Yousafzai, Nelson Mandela, Zahra Arabzada and the original peaceful protester, Mohandas Gandhi. These people have a God given right to stand up for themselves. Often times people who stand up for themselves represent a crowd or a cause that many people support. Standing up for yourself takes great strength and courage, especially if an opposing force is stronger. No matter the situation it is one’s right and responsibility to stand up for what one believes in.
Throughout history many men and women have stood ...view middle of the document...
Gandhi began the march with himself and 78 supporters and started his way toward the Arabian Sea. Along the way in different towns and Cities he preached his word of non-violence and gained many advocates. “It was Gandhi who transformed the drive for Indian independence into a mass movement”(Edidin 17). By the time Gandhi reached the Sea he had well over 100,00 supporters walking behind him. When the sea was reached people started jumping into the water and taking out chunks of salt that they would use or sell. This resulted in the arrests of many including Gandhi himself. Although Gandhi, and many others, were arrested, it was a successful act because it led to the imminent independence of India.
Courage is something that many people lose when an opposing force is stronger or more powerful than they. For Malala Yousafzai, courage is unconditional. Yousafzai, a sixteen year old girl from Swat Valley in Pakistan, is a major supporter of women's rights, especially for education. Malala’s father and inspiration, Ziaddin Yousafzai, is also a big advocate for women’s rights and a big supporter of Malalas beliefs of equality. “I did not clip her wings to fly. I did not stop her from flying”(Martin 1). It only works to Malala’s advantage that her father is so supportive or her beliefs. Having her father by her side helps her support her cause with nothing holding her back. The Taliban is a terrorist group in Pakistan that strongly supports men’s rights and opposes women’s rights. When the Taliban became strongly prevalent in Swat Valley, they put a target on Malala and her father because of their oppositional beliefs. Malala was shot by the Taliban in the face and against all odds, survived the attack. Malala now says that she is stripped of all fear because of the shooting.”Before this attack I might have been a little bit afraid of how death would be. Now I’m not because I have experienced it”(Martin 2). Malala Yousafzai is just a courageous girl who is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in.
11 years old; this is how young Malala was when she started advocating for women’s rights. It started as a small campaign to stand up for her beliefs and it was kept in only Pakistan. She spread her word throughout Pakistan and gained many supporters who shared the same beliefs. Her advocation for a cause that the Taliban did not agree with made her a prime target. ”I had started taking the bus because my mother was scared of me walking on my own” (The Bravest Girl In The World 14). The Taliban tried to kill Malala by shooting her in the face on her ride home from school. In a surprising outcome, Malala survived and still preaches her word. The shooting made her cause known around the world and empowered her message to all corners of the world.
Like Malala, it is common for other teenage women around the world to stand up for their rights. Zahra Arabzada is an Afghani teenager who lets nothing get in her way. Born in Konduz, Afghanistan, Arabzada...
