They are one young and one very young, but mature, selfless, and assertive proponents and practitioners of inspiring acts which bring to the forefront injustices perpetrated on humanity which can no longer be tolerated.

One of them is a 17-year-old Pakistani woman who was horrifically attacked and injured by fundamentalist criminals in her country for her “crime” of tending to her aspiration and inalienable human right to attend school.   Her name is Malala Yousafzai.

The other one is a 29-year-old American woman who was suffering of terminal brain cancer and in her pursuit of her aspiration and inalienable human right to have her life terminated with dignity she had to move to the state of Oregon in order to avail herself of Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act, to be able to die the death of her choice which would avoid the torture chamber most have to go through when they reach the stage of a terminal illness she had just reached.  Her name is Brittany Maynard.

Malala, after several surgical interventions survived the injuries which were meted out on her and went on to become such an articulate spokeswoman for not only the cause of the inalienable universal right of all women to empower themselves via education, but as well  for the cause of combating he use of drones and other forms of militarized mechanism to attack suspected perpetrators of the criminal act she was a victim, as she emphatically and correctly stated that such tactics which were introduced into Pakistan by the U.S. in effect have become generators of more terrorizing criminality.

Malala contacted President Obama and urged him to end the counterproductive and therefore destructive use of drones in Pakistan.    She went global with her message of peaceful means and educational means to curb unwarranted criminal acts, that she received the Nobel Peace Price.    Most commendably, Malala then donated $ 50,000 dollars to the children of Gaza who had to hide in U.N. schools to protect themselves from the Israeli collective bombings attacks which nevertheless killed 500 children.   Israel maintained falsely that it had a “right to defend itself” in the blockaded Gaza territory,  but in reality it was offending innocent and unarmed Gazans for the “crime” that their leadership Hamas formed a unity government with the Palestinian Authority.

The self-less choices and acts by Malala are already having major positive repercussions worldwide.

Brittany also lead a life characterized by acts of generosity, also was dedicated to the rewarding pursuits of education, and also helped humanity by her sharing of her valiant decision based on her inalienable right not to be forced to indignities and unspeakable suffering prior to coming to her inevitable life’s end.

Brittany should not have had to move to Oregon to be guaranteed her right to die with medical assistance anywhere in the United States of America, since in such universally applicable situations, this nation must not be seen as if it was the “Fragmented States of America”.   No religious institution and no big pharma/hospital complex, and much less any so called “tradition” can be invoked as justifying the interference with inalienable right of any human being to have his/her life terminated at the time and by the method of their choice.   We all have equal rights under the law which are Constitutionally guaranteed – one only must read the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

While many men and women have availed themselves of humanitarian means to end their lives, the way Brittany Maynard has done it, was particularly touching and heroic and inspiring and it calls for immediate and urgent bipartisan support for such Death with Dignity Acts to be legislated in every state or, if there is politically biased undue interference by special interest groups in any state, then the federal government must step it and implement such constitutional protection by whatever means available.