Be brave. Embrace the strength within you . . .

When the Taliban took over the Swat District in Pakistan, they banned girls from attending school.   Using a pseudonym, 15-year old Malala Yousafzai began a blog that told about what life was like under the Taliban.  In her blog, she advocated for education for girls.  To silence her, one day members of the Taliban boarded her school bus and shot Malala in the head.  Since her recovery, she has written a New York Times Bestseller, I am Malala, and spoken widely about the importance of education, especially for girls.  

Although she no longer lives in Pakistan, according to reports by NBC News, a spokesman from the Taliban told NBC that the Taliban “will make ‘all out’ efforts to kill her in retaliation for her relationship with the West. The Taliban spokesman said that it ‘will be a pride for the Taliban if she is silenced.’”

That threat would induce fear in most of us, yet Malala said after she was shot, “Nothing changed in my life, except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born. We realize the importance of light when we see darkness.  We realize the importance of our voice when we are silenced.”

Malala also said this in her speech at the UN.

There was a time when women social activists asked men to stand up for their rights. But, this time, we will do it by ourselves. I am not telling men to step away from speaking for women’s rights rather I am focusing on women to be independent to fight for themselves.  No one can stop us, we will speak up for our right and we will bring change. We call upon our sisters around the world to be brave – to embrace the strength within themselves and realise their full potential.

There was a time, when I was trying to work through how I felt about my husband’s sexual addiction and figure out what my rights were in the midst of it all, that I wanted someone else to speak up for me.  I longed to have an advocate who would stand up for my rights. There was only silence.  I’ve learned that if I’m going to have what I want in life, I have to speak up for myself.  I have to rise about feelings of weakness, fear, and hopelessness and find the strength, power, and courage that is within and fight for myself.   You can speak up for yourself in the same gentle way that Malala speaks up for herself.  There are resources on this website to help you with that.  Be brave.  Embrace the strength within you and realize your full potential.