Should Freedom Of Speech Be Protected At All Cost?

However, an instance where freedom of speech should be protected at all costs would be when this particular free speech benefits a country or society’s progress. As this freedom of speech is to be protected at all cost, it means that the speaker could be risking their lives or their families’ lives for a cause that they believe in. An example would be Malala Yousafzai, a 17-year-old Pakistani. As the Taliban began to take control over her hometown, Swat valley, they started to ban girls from attending school. Malala felt that this not only took away her education rights, but also, other girls in parts of Pakistan under the rule of the Taliban. Therefore, she decided to speak up against the Taliban, standing up for the other girls who are unable

to attend school. Subsequently, she received multiple death threats from the Taliban as she started to advocate more on the issue of education rights for girls. On October 9, 2012, on her way home from school, a gunman fired at her, hitting Malala in the left side of her head, leaving her in a critical condition. Two other girls were also injured in the attack. Despite receiving death threats and almost being killed by the Taliban, Malala continued advocating using national and international media platforms, like BBC, on the right on education for girls. This shows that although the Taliban had tried to censor her speeches by trying to kill her, she still fought against it and her speech helped to benefit many girls in her society. Therefore, in this circumstance, freedom of speech should be protected at all costs, as it benefits the society in terms of rights for education.

All in all, freedom of speech is a basic human right and it is very important in a society as it can benefit the society. However, it must be practiced with responsibility and caution lest it causes more harm than good, like causing violence and distress.