Malala Yousafzai is an activist for the right to
education, especially female education. She was born in Mingora, Pakistan on
July 12 in 1997. Her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, was the owner of a chain of schools known
as the Khushal Public School and an education activist in Pakistan. Now he is
the United Nations Special Advisor on Global Education and also the educational
attaché of Pakistan in its consulate in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Her mother,
Tor Pekai Yousafzai, is a housewife. Recently she has learned to read and write,
and to speak a bit of English. Malala has two younger brothers, Khushal and Atal.
Although her family didn't have much money and
life was difficult in Pakistan, Malala Yousafzai had a happy childhood. She went to school in Mingora, one of her father's schools. She was a very good student because she loves
learning and going to school. She wanted to become a doctor.
She became interested in girls education and got involved in it because of the injustice that was happening in her country
and with the support of her family, especially his father, who always
encouraged her. She began speaking about education rights in September 2008, when
her father took her to Peshawar to speak at the local press club. In January
2009, Malala began writing a blog under the pseudonym Gul Makai for the BBC
detailing her life under Taliban occupation. At that time the Taliban banned
television and music, women were prevented from leaving home alone and girls
were forbidden to go to school. In summer 2009, a journalist for the New York Times
made a documentary about her life in Pakistan. Then she was revealed as the author
of the BBC blog. Malala and her father received death threats but continued to
speak out for the right to education. Since then she has become more known by giving
interviews in print and on television. In 2011 she received Pakistan's first
National Youth Peace Prize and was nominated for the International Children's
Peace Prize.
On October 9, 2012, when Malala and her friends were going back home by the school bus, a masked gunman got on the bus and shot her. The
bullet went through her head, neck and shoulder. Two other girls were also
wounded in the shooting. Malala survived but was in a critical condition. She was quickly moved to a military hospital in Peshawar where doctors operated her as an emergency because her brain was swollen. Two days later the doctors decided to
take her to a military hospital in Rawalpindi. On October 15, she was moved to
Birmingham, United Kingdom for treatment at a hospital that specializes in
military injuries. A few days later she came out of the coma and was responding
well to treatment. On October 25, she was reunited with her family. Until then, she had not cried, but when she saw them, she collapsed. They all ended up crying. On 3
January, 2013, Malala was discharged from the hospital to continue her
rehabilitation at her new home. The Taliban's attempt to kill Malala received
worldwide condemnation and led to protests across Pakistan. While she was in hospital she received much support from people around the world.
In March 2013, she returned to school in
Birmingham. On July 12 2013, Malala's 16th birthday, she spoke at the United Nations to call for
worldwide access to education. The UN
dubbed the event "Malala's Day". In that speech she said: "One
child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world". Since then
this sentence has become her motto. In that same month, Malala met Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. In October her autobiography was published and she met Barack Obama and his family. In that year, Malala and her father co-founded
the Malala Fund, a nonprofit association to bring awareness to the social and
economic impact of girls' education and to encourage girls to raise their
voices, to unlock their potential and to demand change. In May 2014, she participated in the campaign
for the release of the young Nigerian, who was abducted while studying by an Islamic
group that rejects women education.
On 10 December, 2014, Malala won the Nobel
Peace Prize. She is the youngest person ever to win a Nobel Prize. She contributed
her $1.1 million prize money to financing the creation of a secondary school
for girls in Pakistan. On 12 July 2015, her 18th birthday, she opened a school
in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, near the Syrian border, for Syrian refugees. On
20 August she got good grades in her GCSE exams. She had achieved six A*s and
four As. In October a documentary entitled ""He named Malala"" was released. In November, she met Emma Watson. During the interview Malala told her that thanks to Emma Watson's speech at the United Nations , she had become feminist.
She plans to remain in the UK for the rest of her education. She wants to go to a good university and study politics. She
hopes to become prime minister of her country some day. She and her family hope
to return to his beloved Pakistan.
I admire her a lot because she has been and still is very brave. It is a role model and an inspiration. Her effort
and dedication encourages me to be care more for other people and a better person. We need more
people like her in the world. I wish her all the best in life because she deserves it.
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