“I spoke out publicly on behalf of girls and our right to learn. And this made me a target,” said Malala Yousafzai, the woman, who from a young age, defied the Taliban. The youngest Nobel Prize Laureate, and a fierce champion of female rights and education, Malala has many accolades to her name. But the most talked about is the strength with which she stood upright in her life’s purpose despite being shot at by the Taliban, the terrorist group gaining control of Afghanistan after the withdrawal of US troops.
Here is her story:
Born in Pakistan to a Father Who Believed in Educating Females
Malala Yousafzai was born in Pakistan’s Swat Valley in 1997. Many Pakistani children, especially females, are unable to attend school, but Malala’s father believed strongly in the need of education and ran a school.
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“Welcoming a baby girl is not always cause for celebration in Pakistan — but my father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, was determined to give me every opportunity a boy would have,” says Malala in her own words.
2008: Taliban Gain Control, Malala’s Blog for the BBC
The Taliban gained control of the Swat Valley when Malala was about 12 years old. They did not want girls to attend school, so many schools were closed. Malala began writing a blog for the BBC, but she did so under a pseudonym. She wrote about life in her town and expressed concern that her school will be closed down.
Taliban’s Warning to Malala and Her Father
Malala’s father was told by the Taliban that he had to close his school. Even though it was extremely risky, Malala and her father continued to advocate for the right to education. The Taliban warned them to stop or they would be killed, but Malala and her father refused.
In October 2012, on my way home from school, a masked gunman boarded my school bus and asked, “Who is Malala?” He shot me on the left side of my head. I woke up 10 days later in a hospital in Birmingham, England. The doctors and nurses told me about the attack — and that people around the world were praying for my recovery: Malala says on her website.
“I loved school. But everything changed when the Taliban took control of our town in Swat Valley. The extremists banned many things — like owning a television and playing music — and enforced harsh punishments for those who defied their orders. And they said girls could no longer go to school. In January 2008 when I was just 11 years old, I said goodbye to my classmates, not knowing when — if ever — I would see them again,” she says.
2012: Attacked by the Taliban
Malala earned Pakistan’s National Youth Peace Prize in 2011. Even though she was still a youngster, the Taliban decided to try to kill her since she was getting renowned. Malala and her friends were riding the school bus home from school on October 9, 2012.
A shooter boarded the vehicle and inquired as to which girl was Malala. Then he shot her in the head with a rifle. Two of her friends were harmed as well. Malala made it out alive, although she was severely injured. She was airlifted to a hospital in the United Kingdom after being treated in a Pakistani hospital. She had to spend more than two months in the hospital.
People all across the world were surprised to learn that the Taliban attempted to assassinate a 15-year-old girl simply for speaking out in favour of education. Malala was widely praised for her bravery, and she became a symbol of children’s right to education.
“In October 2012, on my way home from school, a masked gunman boarded my school bus and asked, “Who is Malala?” He shot me on the left side of my head. I woke up 10 days later in a hospital in Birmingham, England. The doctors and nurses told me about the attack — and that people around the world were praying for my recovery,” Malala says on her website.
Journey to the Nobel Peace Prize, and Later Oxford University
Malala began attending school in the United Kingdom when she was released from the hospital, but she was even more determined to fight for children’s right to attend school. She was now well-known, and she gave a speech at the United Nations Youth Assembly on her 16th birthday.
Malala received the Nobel Peace Prize for her work “for the right of all children to education” in December 2014. She was the youngest person ever to receive the award. She utilised her award money to help build a secondary school for females in Pakistan, and she continued to advocate for universal education.
She celebrated her eighteenth birthday by establishing a school for Syrian girls in a Lebanon refugee camp. Malala went on to study Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.
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