Malala Yousafzai, the girl who got shot for attending school
How has Malala Yousafzai contributed to society through her passion for girls’ rights to education and how can I identify with her great acts of bravery?
Emma Matemera
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“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” ― Malala Yousafzai, I Am Malala
I have chosen to write my book about one of the bravest women I know of, her name is Malala Yousafzai. Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani girls’ education activist, she got attacked by the Taliban at the age of 14 and later became the youngest Nobel laureate for fighting for her and many other girl’s rights to education.
I chose her because Malala has not only stood up for her rights to education but for all girls around the world. She is such an inspiration and has impacted the lives of many girls. Malala’s story begins in Mingora, Pakistan in the Swat valley.
From when Malala was just a young girl she loved learning and enjoyed going to school. Her father Ziauddin Yousafzai ran a learning institution. On the 15th of January 2009 the Taliban shut down all the girls’ schools in the Swat. This left Malala devastated so she took matters into her own hands.
On September the 1st 2008, when Malala Yousafzai was 11 years old, her father took her to a local press club in Peshawar to protest against the schools closing. She delivered her speech and it was publicized throughout Pakistan. I have given my fair share of speeches and I’ve taken part in many competitions like Chatterbox and Public Speaking but I could never compare to what Malala did at the young age of 11.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) approached Malala’s father in search of someone who could blog about what it was like to live under the Taliban rule. Malala began writing regular entries for BBC under the name Gul Makai about her daily life, which resulted in her writing 35 entries that year. Meanwhile, the Taliban shut down all girls’ schools in Swat and blew up more than 100 of them.
In late February of 2009 the Taliban granted the girls access to attend school, in response to the retaliation throughout Pakistan. The condition was that the girls must wear burkas. However, violence made a comeback in May, and the Yousafzai family had to seek refuge outside of the Swat until the Pakistani army was able to push the Taliban out.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) approached Malala’s father in search of someone who could blog about what it was like to live under the Taliban rule. Malala began writing regular entries for BBC under the name Gul Makai about her daily life, which resulted in her writing 35 entries that year. Meanwhile, the Taliban shut down all girls’ schools in Swat and blew up more than 100 of them.
In late February of 2009 the Taliban granted the girls access to attend school, in response to the retaliation throughout Pakistan. The condition was that the girls must wear burkas. However, violence made a comeback in May, and the Yousafzai family had to seek refuge outside of the Swat until the Pakistani army was able to push the Taliban out.
Malala Yousafzai made many television appearances and did coverage in the local and international media. By December 2009 it had become evident that Malala was the BBC’s blogger. Now that her identity was well known, she started to receive recognition from across the globe for her activism. In October 2011 she was nominated by the South African human rights activist Desmond Tutu for the International Children’s Peace Prize. In December of that year Malala was awarded the first Pakistani National Youth Peace Prize which later got renamed the National Malala Peace Prize.
On the fatal day of October the 9th 2012 Malala had finished her school day and entered the school bus. Now that Malala was well known her mother Tor Pekai, had said that she was no longer allowed to travel by foot, so Malala would always go to and from school by bus. She recalls that the road seemed deserted on that day. 100 yards from the school gates the bus was stopped by two young men. One of them proceeded to ask “Who is Malala?" All the girls in the bus turned their heads toward Malala, innocently pointing her out. Three bullets left his gun and one entered the left side of her head. The news of the shooting spread like a wildfire and people from all around the world prayed for Malala’s recovery. Ten days after the attack Malala woke up in a hospital in Birmingham, England.
I have only been to the hospital twice in my life, the first time was when I was born and the second time was when I had an operation done at the age of six. Malala’s hospital experience was longer and much more difficult than mine but she remained strong and fought for her life. In an interview with ABC News Malala said "I think death didn't want to kill me.” She believes that God was with her as well as the prayers of many people around the world.
I have only been to the hospital twice in my life, the first time was when I was born and the second time was when I had an operation done at the age of six. Malala’s hospital experience was longer and much more difficult than mine but she remained strong and fought for her life. In an interview with ABC News Malala said "I think death didn't want to kill me.” She believes that God was with her as well as the prayers of many people around the world.
