Members of the Social Sciences Committee have put together a little information on some of our favourite inspirational people who broke racial, gender, and socio-economic barriers on their path to justice.

Malala Yousafzai was born July 12, 1997 to education activist Ziauddin Yousafzai and his wife Toor Pekai Yousafzai. She is the eldest of three children and has two brothers. Malala Yousafzai, also known as 'Malala', is a Pakistani Muslim woman known for being an activist of female education rights and was the youngest winner of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate which she had received in 2014.

Malala was always raised in a family background of activism of education and taught how important it is that females had the right to an education. Her father Ziauddin Yousafazi had owned a girl’s school back in their home country of Pakistan and made sure education was a key part of his daughter's life. 

In 2008, the Taliban took control of Malala's hometown and enforced harsh rules which included that female’s were no longer allowed to have an education. Due to the control the Taliban had on the education system for female’s, Malala decided enough was enough and spoke out publicly against the ideology of the Taliban in 2012. In October 2012, on her way back from school a masked gunman boarded Malala’s school bus and shot her in the head. Malala was terribly hurt but survived the attack.

Malala was able to break barriers in her life. She broke the mold and fought for the rights of female education and established a fund after her name. She is an ally and  an inspiration to women who want to achieve their dreams and future goals. She publicly spoke out against an extremist group and her bravery led to the goal of women being able to have the education they need. She has famously said, “I tell my story not because it is unique,but because it is the story of many girls.” Malala was able to speak for millions of women globally who were or still are going through the exact situation she was only some eight years ago.

- Asiya Mohamed, YR 12 

Toppling several regimes, the Arab Spring was a series of pro-democracy uprisings that swept throughout the Middle East from 2010-2013, starting in Tunisia. It is also one of the first instances of social media organised protests; youth-driven platforms like Facebook and Twitter saw an upturn in users and nine out of ten Tunisians or Egyptians said they used social media to organise protests. Television and mosques also helped to coordinate uprising, particularly in countries with limited internet access such as Yemen. 

The protests proved effective in many places: Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak stood down after a 30 year reign and Tunisian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali also fled Tunisia after 34 years in office. In the long run, Tunisia was the lone success story though, with many of the other countries who revolted sparking long lasting civil wars, violent crackdowns, and other hardships. 

Nevertheless, media had a big role in encouraging people to protest, coordinating action, and drastically changing the political landscape.

One specific example of how social media had an impact would be Wael Ghonims ‘We are all Khaled Said’ blog. Intended to publicise the beating of a 28 year old man to death at the hands of the police, it became a forum of thousands to discuss police brutality in Egypt.

In the same fashion that Facebook usership in the Middle East blossomed, the number of daily and weekly newspapers in France exploded from fewer than 5 to 300 in the first year of the revolution. Likewise, the protest of the late 1700’s also featured anonymous writers

While media is an incredibly important social tool, it must be coupled with action too. In both the cases of the French Revolution and the Arab Spring, they succeeded because they harnessed this power to mobilise people. 

- Bianca Slomp, YR 10 

Katherine Wilson Sheppard was born March 10 1847 in Liverpool, United Kingdom to Andrew Wilson Malcolm and his wife Jemima Crawford Souter. After her father’s passing in 1862, she, her mother, sister and two brothers emigrated to New Zealand where they settled in Christchurch. She is most commonly known for her extensive work within the New Zealand women's suffrage movement, resulting in New Zealand being the first country to allow women to vote in 1893.

In 1885, Kate became a founding member of the New Zealand Women’s Christian Temperance Union, now the oldest surviving national organisation of women, which promoted temperance, Christianity, social reform and the abolishment of drug and alcohol trades. It was here they first began to realise how much faster they could achieve these things if women had the right to vote. She was named National Superintendent of the Franchise and Legislation Department of the Union. This was the beginning of her fight for women’s suffrage, as her role allowed her to communicate with press, prepare and distribute pamphlets, stimulate debate and conduct arguments without resentful backlash.

At the time only males over the age of 21 had the right to vote, classing women with delinquents, criminals and lunatics who were also unable to vote. Alongside her, her organisation took three petitions to Parliament over the course of three years, receiving first 9,000 female signatures in 1891, then 19,000 in 1892, and finally nearly 32,000 in 1983. By this point, Parliament was unable to ignore the demands the women were making and passed the Electoral Act of 1893 on 19 September 1893 allowing women the right to vote in New Zealand. In the following ten weeks before the election, Kate Sheppard and the other suffragettes encouraged 65% of New Zealand women to enrol to vote. Kate Sheppard is now pictured on the New Zealand ten dollar note.

In her lifetime, she broke one of the largest barriers for women in New Zealand, and by association women globally. By forcing the government to listen to the demands of women and allowing them the right to vote,  Kate Sheppard pathed the way for other countries to follow. She publicly spoke out with her famous words “All that separates, whether of race, class, creed, or sex, is inhuman and must be overcome.” Her determination and resilience allowed for women to claim their rightful place alongside men in Parliament, leading to further acts of equality experienced since.

- Jessie Phillips, YR 13

IMAGES FROM CANVA