My daughters are free to go to school, to think for themselves, to decide how they will spend their lives. Had they been born in rural Pakistan, in Saudi Arabia, or in large swaths of the world, they would have no such choices. Culture and religion would assign them “traditional” roles—that is, subservience to men. In Pakistan, 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai dared to demand more. “I have the right to speak up,” she said. “I have the right of education. I have the right to sing.” For this crime, the Pakistani Taliban shot her twice in the head. But as she struggles for life in a hospital, she has become an international hero—a change agent. (See Best columns: International). Like Mandela, King, and Gandhi, she has exposed the ugliness of the thugs who wished to silence her.
I’d like to think Malala’s story would move me just as much if I were the father of sons instead of daughters. But I feel a very personal fury that there are men on this planet who would murder girls for wanting to read, to think, and to choose. That patriarchal backlash, unfortunately, isn’t limited to radical Islam. In churches and legislatures, less visibly medieval men share the Taliban’s alarm. In the 20th century, some men justified bigotry by claiming that God did not intend for the races to mix, or for blacks to stand equal to whites. Those justifications have now fallen into disrepute. In the 21st century, those who insist that God gave women a secondary and submissive role will find themselves in the same dustbin as the racists. In my daughters’ lifetimes, women will serve as presidents and priests. Malala will win in the end.
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