Malala, the Pakistani schoolgirl who won the Nobel
Peace Prize for her work campaigning for education after she survived being
shot by the Taliban, has spoken to Emma Watson about feminism, her father and
her fight for girls’ rights.
In an interview for the opening of the into film festival My father set an example to all parents, to all men,
that if we want equality, if we want equal rights for women, then men have to
step forwards … We all have to walk together; that’s how change will come. This
is the role my father has taken. He believes in women’s rights, he believes in
equality and he calls himself a feminist.
Malala, who now lives in Britain after recovering
from a gun attack in 2012, then described how Watson’s speech to the UN on
gender had prompted her to reconsider the word feminist.
It’s interesting that this word feminism, it has
been a very tricky word: when I heard it the first time I heard some negative
responses, some positive responses, and I hesitated in saying, am I a feminist
or not? After hearing your speech – “If not now, when? If not me, who?”
– I decided there is nothing wrong with calling yourself a feminist. So I
am a feminist and you all should be feminists because feminism is another word
for equality.
In the interview, Malala also disputed the idea that
educating women was a Western ideal that was at odds with her religion, Islam.
People have misinterpreted the religion. For me it
is a religion of peace for the good of all humanity. Live a better life and be
kind. Why is it so hard to love one another?
The campaigner spoke of the need to ensure that 66
million girls around the world who are currently missing out on school were
able to access an education:
If you are stopping half the population from coming
forwards, how can you think of progress and achievement?
Writing about the interview on her Facebook Emma Watson said:
Perhaps the most moving moment of today for me was
when Malala addressed the issue of feminism. To give you some background, I had
initially planned to ask Malala whether or not she was a feminist, but then
researched to see whether she had used this word to describe herself. Having
seen that she hadn’t, I decided to take the question out before the day of our
interview. To my utter shock Malala put the question back into one of her own
answers and identified herself. Maybe feminist isn’t the easiest word to use …
But she did it ANYWAY. You can probably see in the interview how I felt about
this. She also gave me time at the end of the Q&A to speak about some of my
own work, which she most certainly didn’t need to do, I was there to interview
her. I think this gesture is so emblematic of what Malala and I went on to
discuss. I’ve spoken before on what a controversial word feminism is currently.
More recently, I am learning what a factionalized movement it is, too. We are
all moving towards the same goal. Let’s not make it scary to say you’re a
feminist. I want to make it a welcoming and inclusive movement. Let’s join our
hands and move together so we can make real change. Malala and I are pretty
serious about it but we need you.
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