Lesson 6

Activity 1. Malala’s speech  

Let’s watch Malala’s speech video at the UN (New York, 12 July 2013). You can find the script under the video.
(6 min.)

 

(10'30'') Peace is necessary for education. In many parts of the world especially Pakistan and Afghanistan; terrorism, wars and conflicts stop children to go to their schools. We are really tired of these wars. Women and children are suffering in many parts of the world in many ways. In India, innocent and poor children are victims of child labour. Many schools have been destroyed in Nigeria. People in Afghanistan have been affected by the hurdles of extremism for decades. Young girls have to do domestic child labour and are forced to get married at early age. Poverty, ignorance, injustice, racism and the deprivation of basic rights are the main problems faced by both men and women.

Dear fellows, today I am focusing on women's rights and girls' education because they are suffering the most. There was a time when women social activists asked men to stand up for their rights. But, this time, we will do it by ourselves. I am not telling men to step away from speaking for women's rights rather I am focusing on women to be independent to fight for themselves.

Dear sisters and brothers, now it's time to speak up. So today, we call upon the world leaders to change their strategic policies in favour of peace and prosperity.

We call upon the world leaders that all the peace deals must protect women and children's rights. A deal that goes against the dignity of women and their rights is unacceptable.

We call upon all governments to ensure free compulsory education for every child all over the world.

We call upon all governments to fight against terrorism and violence, to protect children from brutality and harm.

 We call upon the developed nations to support the expansion of educational opportunities for girls in the developing world.

We call upon all communities to be tolerant – to reject prejudice based on cast, creed, sect, religion or gender. To ensure freedom and equality for women so that they can flourish. We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.

We call upon our sisters around the world to be brave – to embrace the strength within themselves and realise their full potential.

Dear brothers and sisters, we want schools and education for every child's bright future. We will continue our journey to our destination of peace and education for everyone. No one can stop us. We will speak for our rights and we will bring change through our voice. We must believe in the power and the strength of our words. Our words can change the world.

Because we are all together, united for the cause of education. And if we want to achieve our goal, then let us empower ourselves with the weapon of knowledge and let us shield ourselves with unity and togetherness. (15'43'')

Now, let’s read the script again out loud. This time, pay special attention to the expression “I call upon”. Underline it every time you see it in the text. How many times does it appear? (10 min., individual task )

Malala uses this expression to speak directly to some groups of people during her speech and give a message for each of them. Can you join each group with its message?

(9 min., working in pairs)

Main world leaders should change their action plans		to avoid kids from being harmed and mistreated.
Governments must try as hard as they can to take terrorism and violence to and end		to be strong and develop their full potential.
Communities should be more open minded and tolerant		in order to be heard, empowered and change the world.
Every girl in the world should do as much as they can		to reach a state of peace that ensures peace and women's and children rights and empowers their dignity.
We, as brothers and sisters, must be together and stand up		so that women's freedom is ensured and they can succeed.

Activity 2. (10 min., working in pairs, correction out loud)

Look at these words that appear in the text: injustice, independent, unacceptable.  They have something in common, can you guess what?


If you were thinking about prefixes, you guessed right! Let's have a look at the most common negative prefixes in English:
 De- is used before a verb, or a word formed from that verb, and means to reverse the verb’s action. It has other meanings such as for example, it means 'down.'
 
Dis- can be used with verbs, nouns, adjectives or adverbs. It has other meanings besides making words negative.
 
In- is normally used for nouns, adjectives, or the adverbs formed from them (though un- is also used for verbs.) They all mean not _____.
 
Un- is the most common negative prefix in English. If in doubt, it's the best one to try. Even many words from Latin roots are negated in English with 'un.'
 
Non- usually means not, but also may mean lack of something. Non- means 'not' in Latin)

Put the examples in the correct place
Dehydrate, decompose, disrespectful, disagree, disproportionate, immature, inaccurate, intolerant, mistaken, misinterpret, nonconformist, unbelievable, unnecessary, unaffected, uneducated, intolerant, unequal.

de-

dis-

in-

un-

non-

Activity 3. (10 min. working in pairs, quick correction out loud)

Here are some questions about Malala, circle the correct answer:

 

Do you think she wants women in Pakistan to be more dependent or independent? dependent/independent

Do you find her way of expressing herself in English polite or impolite; respectful or disrespectful? polite/impolite  respectful/disrespectful

Judging her by her speech, is she happy or unhappy with the situation for women in Pakistan? happy/unhappy

Is she popular or unpopular in that country? popular/unpopular

Do Malala's aims about education look fair or unfair to you? fair/unfair

Her disobedience to the way of thinking of the talibans shows her dissatisfaction; are her proposals of change ambitious or unambitious? ambitious/unambitious

Is Malala's vision and way of trying to change the future of women violent or non-violent? violent/non-violent

Activity 4. Homework (5 minutes to explain homework)

Look at these four images published by the UN to fight against women discrimination.  Choose one and write in a short composition (about 100 words) if you agree or disagree with the message and why.

 Image 1: "Women need to be seen as equal"

 

Image 2: "Women cannot accept the way things are"

Image 3: "Women should have the right to make their own decisions"

 

 

Image 4: "Women shouldn't suffer from discrimination anymore"