Malala Yousafzai's Analysis

“We “We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.” Malala Yousafzai said this on June 12,2013 at the Youth Takeover of the United Nation meeting. Yousafzai meant that everyone cannot become successful if some are held back or restrained as she explains further into her speech. She stressed on diversity and acceptance, which led her into the topic of success. This quote and what we read about the Ottoman and Safavid Empire relate in terms of success. There were certain qualities that were similar between the two empires that lead to their success that ties into what Yousafzai said. The Ottoman Empire were sexist, but a certain female figure, named Hurrem Sultan, had contributed to the success of the Ottoman Empire. The Savafid …show more content…
A good reference to this quality would be from ‘Meritocracy in the Ottoman Empire’. From the account of an Austrian Ambassador in Constantinople named Ogier Giselen de Bursbeq, he said,” In making his [Suleiman] appointments, the Sultan pays no regard to any pretensions on the score of wealth or rank, nor does he take into considerations or popularity, he considers each case on its own merits, and examines carefully into the character, ability and disposition of the man whose promotion is in question”. This quote is about how Sultan Suleiman would judge people based on their merit, not on how wealthy or what rank they are in. This was written during when the Ottoman Empire had its Golden Age so without this quality, the Ottoman Empire would not be as successful as it was. In this quote, Bursbeq says Sultan Suleiman ‘pays no regard to any pretensions on the score of wealth or rank,’. The ruler, Sultan Suleiman, did not acknowledge anything related to wealth or rank. He was the ruler during the golden age of the Ottoman Empire and after him, the empire began to collapse. Sultan Suleiman was the last person to really focus on character when judging people and after that, the government had gone back to its vain judgement. Also, for an ambassador to have such a positive response to the Sultan’s way would imply how impactful and important this way was to the empire. Another reference to the importance of having those in power judge based on merit would be a different account which is called ‘Mustafa Ali’s Criticism of the Ottoman Empire (1581)’. From the account of Mustafa Ali who was a very public critic of the Ottoman Empire in the late 16th century, he says,” [The high-ranking officials in the Ottoman Government] don’t allow those to talk who are by rank inferior to them…”. This quote is about how the ‘high-ranking officials in the Ottoman Government’ would not let