- Hi, hello.
My name is Beth,
I've been wearing this
shirt for the past 42 hours,
and this is Rad Portraits,
a show where I pick
somebody out of pop culture
who I think is remarkable,
tell you why I think they're remarkable,
and then I draw 'em in a
new and interesting style.
Also I got glasses.
I got glasses.
Am I a manic pixie dream girl yet?
Cause I'm trying real hard,
the button up, and the
hair, and the lipstick.
For a bunch of weeks, you
guys have been suggesting her,
and I've been holding out until now
because I wanted to give her a real...
My 180, my 100%.
Not 180, what does that mean?
This week we're drawing Malala Yousafzai
and let's get into it.
(soft rock music)
Malala Yousafzai at such a young age
already has more conviction
and tenacity for what she believes in
than anyone I can name.
If you don't already know her story,
sit back, cause it's incredible.
Malala was born and raised in Mingora,
a town located in northwest Pakistan.
Her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai,
was and is a teacher and
advocate for education
and an outspoken opponent
of the Taliban efforts
to restrict education,
specifically for girls.
Growing up with such a father,
it's not surprising that
Malala shared that same passion
and became an activist in her
own right when she was 12,
writing a blog for the BBC Urdu service
under a pseudonym.
In 2009, TV and music
were banned in her county,
and Ziauddin's school
was being pressured by
the Taliban to close.
Nevertheless, the duo continued
standing up for education,
even after numerous death threats.
In the years to follow,
a documentary made by the New York Times
revealed Malala as the
author of her BBC blog,
and the publicity led to her being awarded
Pakistan's first National
Youth Peace Prize,
and nominated for the International
Children's Peace Prize.
In another country,
this would be no more
than an incredible honor,
but her national recognition
put a target on her back
and Taliban leaders voted to kill her.
On October 9, 2012,
Malala was shot in the
head by a masked gunman
who boarded her school bus
and asked for her by name.
The bullet entered through her forehead
and traveled through
her neck and shoulder.
Miraculously, she survived,
and her attack sparked
such worldwide outrage
that in the weeks afterwards,
over two million people signed
a Right to Education petition
and the National Assembly
swiftly ratified Pakistan's first
Right to Free and
Compulsory Education bill.
My first exposure to her
was on her 2013 appearance
on Comedy Central's The Daily Show,
where, at 16 years old,
she delivered her poignant
message in such a compelling way
that Jon Stewart cried, and so did I.
I'm going to read what she said verbatim
when Stewart asked her how she reacted
after finding out the
Taliban wanted her dead.
"I started thinking about that,
and I used to think that
the Talib would come
and he would just kill me.
But then I said, if he comes,
what will you do, Malala?
And then I would reply to myself,
Malala, take a shoe and hit him.
But then I said, if you
hit a Talib with your shoe,
then there will be no difference
between you and the Talib.
You must not treat others with cruelty,
and that much harshly
you must fight others
but through peace, and through dialogue,
and through education.
Then I said, I will tell him
how important education is
and that I even want education
for your children as well.
And I will tell him, that's
what I want to tell you.
Now do what you want."
This young woman is living
a self-actualized life.
She's solving conflict in the
most difficult way possible,
through peace and understanding.
She actively creates opportunities
for underprivileged women
to be given an education
through opening a school
near a Syrian border,
and establishing the Malala Fund,
which brings awareness
to the social and economic
impact of girls' education,
and to empower girls
to raise their voices,
to unlock their potential,
and to demand change.
She was a co-recipient of
the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014
and continues to selflessly
work for the goal
of making it so that every child,
every child can go to school,
a right that I and so many
of us take for granted.
There is not much more I can say.
Malala is an incredible human being
who embodies the best things
about being a human being,
and we should all try to be
a little bit more like that.
(soft music)
Like this video if you liked it,
subscribe to Snarled
if you haven't already,
if you like what I do
and want to see more,
subscribe to me at BethBeRad,
my own personal YouTube channel.
Let me know in the comments down below
who I should draw for
the next Rad Portraits
and I read every single one of them.
Some of you guys are like,
she's not gonna see this.
Uh huh, I can see 'em better now.
Reduced eye strain, that's what
these glasses are all about.
(bird coos)
Did you hear that sound?
Make noises for me baby.
(bird coos)
I'm just gonna leave
the end card like this.
(bird coos)
