Malala

Are words as powerful as weapons? Malala Yousafzai has often made this analogy in her speeches and written works, and there is some merit to the idea that words have a power that is similar to the power held by weapons. She’s said, for example, that “books are more powerful than guns.” 

The analogy is not a new one, but Malala is a poignant example of this idea in action, having survived an attempt on her life, merely for speaking strongly in favor of girls’ education rights. For Malala, this analogy is what got her started, and has proven to drive her since that point. 

What she means when she says this is simple. Guns, as a form of violence, can harm or kill people, but they can only harm or kill each person individually. Even weapons of mass destruction that could wipe out an entire civilization would be hard-pressed, in the digital age, to wipe out the ideas expressed by that civilization. Words, therefore, are arguably more powerful than weapons because they have greater power to shape the way that people think, they are harder to kill than any individual person, and words ultimately will live on much longer than the person who wrote, said or sang them.

Words have the power to influence far more people than weapons do. Malala’s point is that violence can silence an individual person but if that person speaks to others, and records their words, then those words could contribute to influencing people for centuries. The classic example of this is Socrates, who was put to death for his ideas in ancient Athens. His ideas live on to this day, and continue to have influence. This shows the value of words as a powerful source of influence that can live on, and how difficult it is for people to suppress the power of words once those words are out in the world.

When Malala says that words are weapons, she is right, and they are incredibly powerful weapons. Words have often changed the course of history, something weapons can also do, and these are among the few things that genuinely can alter the course of history. The distinction that she draws is that words last much longer than violence, and can have much greater influence all over the world and across time. Her life and legacy are proof of the power that words have, even greater than the power of weapons.