Two Famous and Known Leaders: Malala Yousafzai and Nelson Mandela

Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist and was born on July 17, 1997, at Mingora, Swat, Pakistan. She is known for being activist for rights of education especially for women. She was former blogger of BBC Urdu and student. Malala became an advocate for female’s education, which was resulted to her having a death threat to her and to her father that came from the Taliban group. She was shot in the head and also in the hand by a Taliban group when she was going home from school, but she was able to survive and continued to speak out the importance of education in women.

She was the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize at the year 2013 and 2014.

I choose Malala Yousafzai because at the very young age she was able to fight the rights of having an education for women of Pakistan. When I heard her story when I was Grade 12, I’m amazed to her for being a brave women for fighting the rights of women to have an education despite of receiving a death threat to her and to her father.

She want it to make it clear that she had no intentions of doing anything wrong to the Taliban group. She did not intend to fight against to them all she wants was to have an education of every women in Pakistan.

She was a hero for many because she has a traits of courage, perseverance, dedication and has an enough knowledge and justice to fights the rights of women for having an education.

Because being an activist was hard because there are many threats will come to you. Despite of receiving some threats through newspaper, people that was passing over her and also in the news like television and radio. She was frightened for her father because the Taliban group next target is his father, but still they managed to continue it so that every woman in Pakistan has the rights to learn, so that all of them have a bright future. Her father was a great support to this movement, because her father teaches and educated the girls at one of the school in Pakistan.

She can be identified as Transformational Leader, Persuasive Leader and Charismatic Leader, because she was able to inspire her followers and transform them to be an educated women. She was a charismatic personality, because her charisma shines and comes some lights during the times of crises of women or under the situations where she needs for a change for a women and girls. Malala is unique in other leaders, because at her young age she was able to fight the rights of women and girls and she turn and bring the changes that she wants for all of them. She inspired many people through her story and she was able to connect with them, because she experience it and Malala’s determination creates some changes in the lives of women and girls.

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela or known as Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918 at Mvezo, Transkei, South Africa. He was known as South African anti-apartheid revolutionary movement. He was a political leader, and philanthropist who became the first president of South Africa at the year 1994 to 1999. Mandela was the South African first black head of state and he became the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. He was died in lung cancer at December 5, 2013 at the age of 95 years old.

I choose Nelson Mandela because he fights the racial discrimination of South African which is black that was bring him in imprisonment many times. He experienced many difficulties before he reach his wants for their country. He travelled around Africa and visited the England to gain some support for the army struggle, after that he received a military training at Morocco and Ethiopia and back at the South Africa in year 1962. When he return back at the South Africa he was arrested for escaping secretly the country without a permit and inciting the people to strike. He was convicted and sentenced to five years’ of imprisonment. Although he experienced this and diagnose at many ill it did not stop him to fight the equality for the South African’s.

Nelson Mandela has a great traits of strength and resilience to face the hardship and adversity of their inequality. When he was under apartheid, the rights and the movement of the black inhabitants and also to the other ethnic groups was still maintained. While he was campaigning at the equality of the South African and also to the black, he was sent to prison for over 27 years of his life, but it did not stop him to claim the equality for the South Africa’s racist. He was an excellent public speaker that make South Africa unite because of his significant and powerful speeches that he made when he became the South Africa’s First Black President. It was a remarkable and inspired many of the South African’s. He finished his speeches with a clear and strong words to them, “Never, never, and never again shall this beautiful land again experience the oppression of one by another.”

Mandela leadership style is charismatic, transformational and inspirational because he was charismatic enough to fights against the apartheid so that they claim the equality that he wants for the people who lived in South Africa. He was the most influential figure to their country, because he captivated and inspired many people, where he held a strong emotional reaction to his followers. He inspired his people by helping them understand the values and importance of his visions. He encouraged them to develop their own understanding of what is the important for their country which is fighting for their equality and eliminate the racial discrimination. This kind of leadership style that he shows he contributed something that the society of the South African will never forget. Helping their country to overcome the apartheid and develop them into a stable modern democracy.