Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai

Who is she?

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist who stood up for girl’s education when the Taliban had taken over her nation and her village, Swat Valley. Malala was born in the 12th July 1997 in Mingora, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. She is now aged 17 years old. She is named after an Afghan heroine, Malalai of Maiwand who is described as a folk hero because she organised Pashtun Fighters against the British troops. Malala has 2 brothers; Atal and Khusal Yousafzai. Her parents are Toorpekai and Ziauddin Yousafzai. Her father was an owner of a few schools, including Malala’s previous school, Khusal Girls High School until the Taliban came to power. Malala’s religion comes from a family who believe in Sunni Islam. She was taught by her father, the laws mentioned in the Qu’ran and examples of it.

What was Malala’s cause?

Malala was motivated to become a doctor but unfortunately this did not come as planned because the Taliban had wanted all girls in Pakistan to stop their education. She was mad that she had to stop going to school but that didn’t mean she had to stop her education forever. At the age of 11, Malala wrote under a pseudonym named Gul Makai on a BBC blog describing how hard life is under the Taliban and how she missed going to school. In May 2009, Malala and her family were forced to flee from their village because it was much too dangerous. On the 9th October 2012, when Malala was on her way back home from school by bus, a group of Taliban men surround the bus shouting “Where is Malala? Speak up or I will shoot you all.” Malala was shot with one bullet in her head which travelled through her neck and down to her shoulder. Two of her friends were shot too; Kainat Riaz and Shazia Ramzan.

Would the world be better or worse if Malala hadn’t lived? How and why?

After Malala was shot, she was airlifted to Peshawar, where they successfully removed the bullet. On 15 October 2012, Malala was airlifted again to Birmingham, United Kingdom, to a hospital called Queen Elizabeth Hospital. When Malala was still in coma, she came out of it, and was discharged from the hospital on the 3rd January 2013. Millions of people across the world couldn’t believe this miracle.

Awards that she won…

2011:

National Malala Peace Prize

2012:

Mother Teresa Awards

2013:

Sakharov Prize, United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights, Goodreads Choice Awards Best Memoir & Autobiography, Ambassador of Conscience Award, Simone De Beauvoir Award, The US Glamour Award for Woman of the Year.

2014:

Nobel Peace Prize

2015:

Shorty Awards for Teen Hero

In what ways does Malala inspire you and do you aspire to be like her? Why or why not?

Malala inspires me as a teen role model because of her actions she did for girls’ education. I would like to aspire to be like her because she is also described as a humanitarian and in the future I want to become a humanitarian standing up for the rights of children who are suffering.

Malala’s Quote…

“I said to myself, Malala, you must be brave. You must not be afraid of anyone. You are only trying to get an education. You are not committing a crime.”

By: Raheal Mengistu