Continuing to celebrate Women’s History Month, the CCB Club is proud to write about two young women who have and continue to change the world despite troubling circumstances. Malala and Anne Frank both manifested resilience and perseverance against odds. Both women focused on the good parts of their lives. May their story inspire each and every one of us to be kind to everyone and to always have hope.
Malala is a young female who was born in 1997, July 12, in Mingora, Pakistan, located in the country’s swat. Malala attended a school that her father founded which was for girls. In 2009 Malala started a blog for the BBC saying how living under the Taliban’s threats denied her education, soon she was discovered to be that blogger. In 2012, Malala was awarded Pakistan’s first National Youth Peace Prize. During that time, Malala’s family learned that the Taliban had death threats against them, although they believed that the threats were not to be acted upon. Then on October 9, 2012 when Malala was 15 years old, she was riding a bus going home from school. A masked gunman came on the bus and asked who Malala was, all her friends looked toward her confirming her identity, which led to her being shot. In critical condition she was sent to a medical hospital in the U.K. Once she was taken out of the hospital she was then transferred into the school in Birmingham. Nine month laters on her 16th birthday in 2013, Malala gave a speech at the United Nations making her focus on activism on women’s rights and education. In October of 2014, at age 17 she was the youngest woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Malala has inspired many young women across the globe on education and rights. People have seen this as an inspirational act, as do I. She is a person many girls at young ages can look up to for education, because Malala has shown everyone that we all deserve to receive education no matter your race, sex, or what you believe in. Everyone is created equal and should be treated equal. That is what we should all do as decent human beings and decent creatures. Malala Yousafzai has shown us that from her protests and blogs to her speeches, this young lady will be remembered for what she has done through the years. Her name is something we can remember and think about. Malala’s name and face is a strong representation of education and individual rights, but overall, a strong woman who is proud of who she is.
Anne Frank is a young girl who documented all of her experiences hiding in an attic apartment, from the treacherous Nazis that could easily kill her. Once World War II began, the lives of many Jews were at risk; among those lives were Frank’s. In search of shelter, the Frank family moved to Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, where they hid in an abandoned building which was once Otto Frank’s (Anne Frank’s father) work space. Precisely, their hiding spot was in an attic apartment, with a massive bookcase blocking the entrance. To prolong their chances of survival, they asked some close friends to secretly deliver food and other necessities. Anne decided that since she’s living her last years, it’s better to pursue her dreams now, then never. Her dream was to be a journalist, informing the world of the latest news. So, Anne chronicled events in a diary she received for her 13th birthday. But the Frank family secret would stay a secret so long; the Gestapo forced everyone into concentration camps, and Anne’s family was found and was forced to flee there. There, she and her sister, Margot, died. The only Frank to survive the war was Otto Frank. He later returned to Amsterdam, and met up with one of the people supplying the Frank family with nourishment, Miep Gies. Miep handed him a heap of papers she rescued from the attic, and among those papers was Anne’s diary, which later became globally famous. Anne Frank contributed to the knowledge of real events that happened to her and her family during horrific times that has given us a glimpse into our history. Anne overcame her fears, and courageously persevered, writing her thoughts down her life through her diary. Her documentation changed many people’s perception of life forever. Something that inspires me about Anne is that even though she was in such a terrible situation, where her life was at risk, she still pursued her dreams and didn’t give up in her chances of survival. Anne Frank will never be forgotten, but always be remembered as a symbol of resilience and lost innocence in the face of the Holocaust.