Malala - Bravely pursuing an education

Hand embroidery, machine quilted.    Completed Feb 11, 2018.  Size: 13"x9".

This quilt was made for the week 3 challenge in Project Quilting season 9 - Bold and Brave. 

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist for girls' education, who was shot by the Taliban as a teenager because of her views and has gone on to earn a Nobel Prize and continue the good fight for education. 

For this challenge, I started with the red background, as a bold color. Then I wanted to find a synonym for brave, to learn something new just as Malala would want for all women. I embroidered "Impavid", meaning fearless,  on a book outline.  

None of this said "Malala" to me,  so since it was only Friday and I had TWO  WHOLE DAYS left of the challenge, I decided to add a quote and an iconic image of this brave girl. 

I found this image, and manipulated it into black and white, so I could trace it. 

I've been developing this raw edge color blocking applique, and I really like it here again. I think I didn't get her nose quite right, and I lost a bit of her beautiful ethnic quality, but her head scarf and hair are just the look I was going for.

Finally this quote, speaks directly to how Malala fits this challenge about bravery. 

And I included a version of her  signature. 

Ultimately,  I don't think this is a strong piece visually;  It looks like one of those internet memes, rather than a cohesive art piece.   But it does fit the theme of bold and brave for the challenge this week.


Mostly I liked thinking about Malala Yousafzai in every stitch.  What a brave girl to blog about the closing of girls schools and the exclusion of women from the public sphere in general.  The Taliban retaliated by shooting her in the head.  She was treated at military hospitals and ultimately moved to the UK, where she now lives and writes.  

In our own country, our education system is under attack by an American  religious right wing that denies scientific fact, favoring religious parables (Evolution vs Creationism) and is anti-intellectual at every turn. I'm a life long learner.  I'm a reader and a talker and a listener.  I'm a sesquipedalian - a person who likes big words - and a Malala supporter.

Peace,

Paula