“Dear Friends, on the 9th of October 2012, the Taliban shot me on the left side of my forehead. They shot my friends too. They thought that the bullets would silence us. But they failed. And then, out of that silence came, thousands of voices. The terrorists thought that they would change our aims and stop our ambitions but nothing changed in my life except this: Weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born. I am the same Malala. My ambitions are the same. My hopes are the same. My dreams are the same.”
The unimaginable violence that made Malala Yousafzai famous around the world did nothing to shake her amazing spirit. The horrors that this young girl faced in her lifetime, did nothing to stop her mission of equal education for all.
Malala was born in Mingora, Pakistan to parents that advocated education. Her father, who ran a learning institution, encouraged Malala in her education. Things changed for her and her family when, in 2007, the Taliban gained control of their region. Many things were prohibited under the Taliban rule, including television, but most importantly, girls were banned from attending school and the Taliban destroyed hundreds of schools during the first year of their control.
In 2009, Malala started an anonymous blog on the BBC website. There she wrote about her life under Taliban rule and about not being able to attend school. She was 11 years old when she wrote her first blog post.
Over the next few years, Malala and her father became great voices advocating for girls’ access to education. She was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize in 2011 and was awarded Pakistan’s National Youth Peace Prize in that same year.
She became more worldly known in the fall of 2012 when she was shot by the Taliban. While on a bus heading to school, the 15-year-old was shot in the head. Malala was airlifted to a Pakistani military hospital and was later moved to Birmingham, England. After multiple surgeries, Malala began attending school in Birmingham in March 2013.
On July 12, 2013, Malala spoke at the United Nations in New York. Later that same year, she published her first book, “I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban”. On October 10, 2013, the European Parliament awarded Malala the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
In October 2014, along with children’s rights activist Kailash Satyarthi, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She became the youngest person to receive the prize at the age of 17.
Malala and her father have founded an organization called the Malala Fund. The organization works to empower girls through education to become confident leaders. The organization funds educational projects in six countries.
Attached is the speech that Malala gave at the United Nations Youth Assembly in New York in 2013. She delivered the speech on her sixteenth birthday and that day is also now known as “Malala Day”. In this particular speech, Malala focuses on the power and importance of equal education for all, something that she has been advocating for a great portion of her life.
“So let us wage a global struggle against illiteracy, poverty and terrorism and let us pick up our books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons.
One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world.
Education is the only solution. Education First.”
"Malala Yousafzai - Biographical". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 7 Nov 2017.
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2014/yousafzai-bio.html
"Malala Yousafzai addresses United Nations Youth Assembly." YouTube, United Nations, 12
July 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rNhZu3ttIU. Accessed 15 Nov. 2017.
Yousafzai, Malala. United Nations, 12 July 2013, New York,
www.un.org/News/dh/infocus/malala_speach.pdf. Accessed 15 Nov. 2017.
The unimaginable violence that made Malala Yousafzai famous around the world did nothing to shake her amazing spirit. The horrors that this young girl faced in her lifetime, did nothing to stop her mission of equal education for all.
Malala was born in Mingora, Pakistan to parents that advocated education. Her father, who ran a learning institution, encouraged Malala in her education. Things changed for her and her family when, in 2007, the Taliban gained control of their region. Many things were prohibited under the Taliban rule, including television, but most importantly, girls were banned from attending school and the Taliban destroyed hundreds of schools during the first year of their control.
In 2009, Malala started an anonymous blog on the BBC website. There she wrote about her life under Taliban rule and about not being able to attend school. She was 11 years old when she wrote her first blog post.
Over the next few years, Malala and her father became great voices advocating for girls’ access to education. She was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize in 2011 and was awarded Pakistan’s National Youth Peace Prize in that same year.
She became more worldly known in the fall of 2012 when she was shot by the Taliban. While on a bus heading to school, the 15-year-old was shot in the head. Malala was airlifted to a Pakistani military hospital and was later moved to Birmingham, England. After multiple surgeries, Malala began attending school in Birmingham in March 2013.
On July 12, 2013, Malala spoke at the United Nations in New York. Later that same year, she published her first book, “I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban”. On October 10, 2013, the European Parliament awarded Malala the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
In October 2014, along with children’s rights activist Kailash Satyarthi, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She became the youngest person to receive the prize at the age of 17.
Malala and her father have founded an organization called the Malala Fund. The organization works to empower girls through education to become confident leaders. The organization funds educational projects in six countries.
Attached is the speech that Malala gave at the United Nations Youth Assembly in New York in 2013. She delivered the speech on her sixteenth birthday and that day is also now known as “Malala Day”. In this particular speech, Malala focuses on the power and importance of equal education for all, something that she has been advocating for a great portion of her life.
“So let us wage a global struggle against illiteracy, poverty and terrorism and let us pick up our books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons.
One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world.
Education is the only solution. Education First.”
"Malala Yousafzai - Biographical". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 7 Nov 2017.
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2014/yousafzai-bio.html
"Malala Yousafzai addresses United Nations Youth Assembly." YouTube, United Nations, 12
July 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rNhZu3ttIU. Accessed 15 Nov. 2017.
Yousafzai, Malala. United Nations, 12 July 2013, New York,
www.un.org/News/dh/infocus/malala_speach.pdf. Accessed 15 Nov. 2017.