Poem on Malala’s Portrait on Display in London
Shirin, who has taken the photograph during a sitting in London, has inscribed the poem, which is written in praise of 21-year-old Malala.
A unique portrait of Malala Yousafzai, with a poem written across her face, written in the Nastaliq script is on display at the National Portrait Gallery in London. Artist and filmmaker Shirin Neshat clicked the photograph, she also has inscribed by hand the poem, in Yousafzai’s honor. The poem is written by the Pashtu poet Rahmat Shah Sayel.
Malala who has completed her first year in Oxford, has also expressed hope that the portrait of her will remind visitors that girls across the world are fighting for change, “I am honored to have my portrait included in the National Portrait Gallery alongside some of Britain’s most influential writers, artists and leaders. I hope it will remind visitors that girls everywhere are fighting for change in their communities and countries, their stories must also be heard”.
Here’s the poem-
Shirin, who has taken the photograph during a sitting in London, has inscribed the poem, which is written in praise of 21-year-old Malala. Here the poet Rahman Shah Sayel has compared Malala Yousafzai with a woman with the same name, Malala of Maiwand, who is a national hero of Afghanistan, who spearheaded the local fighters against the Britishers at the Battle of Maiwand in 1880.
Shirin Neshat said, “I knew of Malala as an extraordinary young woman who had marveled the world by her victory over death and her fierce fight for women’s education and for winning the Nobel Peace Prize, all before she turned twenty years old. It was impossible not to feel intimidated. Yet as she arrived at the studio to be photographed, I was immediately taken aback by her timid, gentle and innocent demeanour. To this day, when I look back on our encounter, I am left with impressions of humility, wisdom and a rare sense of inner beauty.”
Shirin took another photograph of Malala, but the second portrait will be unveiled in the year 2020 in Birmingham, where Malala was brought from Pakistan for the treatment after being shot by the Taliban in 2012 and where presently her family has settled.
Malala who describes herself as an advocate for girls’ education and women’s equality, UN Messenger of Peace and the founder of the Malala Fund is presently an undergraduate at Lady Margaret Hall of Oxford University, where is studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics.
Yousafzai, who first came to limelight in the year 2009 when she wrote about her life under the rule of Taliban in Pakistan’s Swat valley and the ban on girls’ education. In 2012, aged 15, she was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman for being vocal. She was shifted and recovered in Birmingham, where she and her family chose to stay and continue with her campaign for education. In the year 2013, Malala Yousafzai was awarded the International Children’s Peace Prize, she then founded the Malala fund to champion the right of every girl to 12 years of free, safe, quality education. In the year 2014, she received the Nobel Peace Prize along with the Indian child rights campaigner Kailash Satyarthi.
