The world-famous Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai opened this year’s British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (BAOMS) conference in Birmingham with an address aimed at inspiring women maxillofacial surgeons.
Malala Yousafzai was brought to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham for treatment under the care of maxillofacial consultant and BAOMS president, Sat Parmar. He said he would try to recruit her to become a surgeon while in his care, but was adamant: “No, my country has many good doctors, but not as many good politicians.”
In a question and answer session with BAOMS president Sat Parmar and consultant maxillofacial surgeon Daljit Dhariwal, Malala Yousafzai explained: “A life without an education I would never be able to fulfil myself – only known as someone’s sister or wife. That’s why I decided to speak out. I could have stayed silent but it would have had worse consequences.”
She said that her school uniform became a symbol of her resilience and also for all those young women who have a right to an education.
Sat Parmar asked her why women don’t progress in surgery when “60% of admissions to medical school are women."
Malala Yousafzai said: “It is an issue globally. It is surprising that women do that lack that representation. This is a global topic that we need to talk about.”
She called on women and girls to be themselves: “It‘s about inspiring the younger generations. There are invisible challenges out there, and we need to break that glass ceiling and fight that inner feeling that it’s not for them,” she commented.
Malala Yousafzai will shortly be participating in the G7 meeting in France.
