Malala And Marjane's Struggle For Freedom

Throughout history, governments and rulers have oppressed every option, idea and freedoms of their citizens. When the people fight back, they fight for different things due to their circumstances, like education or to get rid of censorship in the government and media. In the book Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and Malala Yousafzai’s acceptance speech, both Malala and Marjane experience their freedoms being oppressed. For Malala’s case, her rights were stripped away when the extremist group known as the Taliban over took her town. Her right to an education then became a crime when she wanted to learn and girls were stopped from going to school. Similarly, Marjane’s freedom of expression was persecuted when the new government was installed and censored everything Western. Malala’s and Marjane’s actions are worthwhile because through their sacrifices

and willingness to fight back generate a greater international awareness of the oppressive political conditions in their state.

While they were fighting back for what they believe in, they suffer the consequences. For example, Malala and the girls in her town had a thirst for knowledge and education which inspired big dreams. But as the Taliban spread and terrorism took over, those dreams shattered, schools were destroyed and education became a crime. Although others were disappointed but sat back and accepted reality, Malala chose to stand and fight. She claimed that, “[she] had two options. One was two remain silent and wait to be killed. And the second was to speak up and then be killed. [She] chose the second one” (Yousafzai). By doing so, she put a target on her back, however, that only pushed her to do more. Through her determination, she spoke out to her town and to her country, but eventually her actions caught up to her and she was shot it the head and shoulder. Malala was only fighting against the

injustice of her state which resulted in a near fatal attempt on her life. Likewise, Marjane was being herself and wearing what she would like when she was pulled over and narrowly escaped from an questionable fate. Marjane is a strong woman who was brought up in a household where pushing back against a repressive leadership was a good thing and expressing herself was right. Nonetheless, when she went out wearing sneakers, a denim jacket, a Michael Jackson pin, tight jeans and her scarf low on her head, she was stopped by the group known as the Guardians of the Revolution. There job was to “arrest women who were improperly veiled” (Strapi 132) and they were not required to tell anyone that you have been taken. Although Marjane might have been lucky because she was let free, she languish in the consequences for expressing herself through her clothes. Both Malala and Marjane suffer from the outcome of their disobedience while staying true to themselves and doing what they believe.
Even from the personal toll they receive, they do not give up and remain quiet but share their experiences to the world, making their actions worthwhile. When the Taliban shot Malala in hopes of killing her and her voice, they failed making her voice louder and more importantly global. People from all over heard of her journey in Swat, spreading awareness of the problems the citizens of Afghanistan. Even as the awareness dispersed all over the globe, Malala did not stop there, continuing speaking out to about the obstacles girls face in her country and others. Her actions were recognized, resulting in her and Kailash Satyarthi receiving the Nobel Prize. Again, she did not stop there but rather started a fund: “the Malala Fund has become an organization that, though education, empowers girls to achieve their potential and become confident and strong leaders in their own countries” (“Malala Yousafzai-Biographical”). Through this fund and her receiving the Nobel Prize, the oppressive political conditions in her state and others was revealed. Comparatively, Marjane was able to spread recognition of her state through her words on paper and pictures. When Marjane moved to Austria as a young girl, she did not forget about her home country. So when she saw images of Iran on the television and how terrible Iran was broadcasted to the world, she decided to act and share her experiences with the world. She then constructed Persepolis and since sold over two million copies and had it translated in a dozens of languages. Her book and its images show outsiders what it truly is to be Iranian and she exclaims that “if it opens these people’s eyes not to believe what they hear, [she] feel[s] successful” (Persepolis). Individually, Malala and Marjane have shown the world the oppressive conditions of their state and has brought awareness upon the obstacles they face.
All things considered, even through Malala’s and Marjane’s personal struggle, they bring global awareness to the oppressive political conditions in their countries. From their individual efforts, they were able to prove that one voice can raise many and show the corruptiveness of their countries political state. Without them, the oppressive political conditions of their country might have continued to go unnoticed by the world.