A group of students studying Religious Education in Year 9 at Greenfield College have been engaging with the wider world regarding Human Rights and specifically the rights of girls around the world to enjoy an education.
Inspired by the experience of Pakistani school girl Malala Yousefzai who was shot by Taliban sympathisers following her outspoken views on girl’s education on her blog site, the class wrote letters to William Hague, the British Foreign Secretary, explaining Malala’s situation and asking him to intervene to help girls like her whose rights are denied.
The class received in return a letter from Baroness Warsi, Senior Minister of State who manages the UK’s relations with Pakistan. She informed students she had read all their letters, that she too was concerned that Malala make a full recovery, and was inspired by her nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize. She went on to outline the measures the British Government had taken to support schooling in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, Malala’s home province, through UK Aid. She thanked the students for writing and wished them the all the best in their studies.
The class were very pleased with the letter and this has inspired students to write to other notable political figures on issues they are concerned about. Their teacher, Mr Matthews-John believes this, along with a recent interview of Phil Wilson MP by Greenfield students, is the first step to students engaging with the wider political world and encouraging a sense in them that they are able to make changes and influence the course of events on a local and global scale.
