By: Laila Schwin, Alisha Bains, and Brittney Corrado
March 23, 2021
Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1997, in Mingora, Pakistan. She is an activist for women’s education throughout the world, but she got her start fighting for these same rights in her home country. Her story has since become known worldwide and has inspired the fight for equal educational access for women in many other countries.
Yousafzai became a Pakistani education advocate at a young age, even with the odds stacked against her. In early 2009, at only 11-years-old, she began speaking out against the Taliban (a terrorist organization who did not allow women and girls to get any sort of education) online under a pseudonym. She gained prominence because of her articles and interviews, but she also drew the ire of the Taliban.
On October 9, 2012, a Taliban gunman shot Yousafzai and two other young girls when they were on their way home from school. Malala was shot in the head and was in critical condition because of the attack, but she eventually pulled through. She survived and continued to speak out on the importance of women’s education. In 2013, she gave a speech to the United Nations and published her first book, I Am Malala.
From that moment, after almost being killed in her fight to ensure education for Pakastani women, Yousafzai became internationally-known. She spoke out about the educational conditions in various other countries and protecting the rights of women, most importantly their right to get an education that many do not have. To support the fights for educational rights, she co-founded the Malala Fund, a non-profit group in Birmingham, England, with Shiza Shahid, another Pakistani activist. In 2012, she received Pakistan’s first National Youth Peace Prize, and in 2013, she received the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought for her dedication to the support of human rights. She then co-authored the book I Am Malala in 2013, detailing her fight for educational rights, the assassination attempt made against her, and the life that she had lived through her activism. In 2017, she was awarded an honorary Canadian citizenship and became the youngest person to ever address the Canadian House of Commons.
Amongst all of the awards and activism, Yousafzai finished her secondary education at Edgbaston High School in Birmingham. She then went on to Oxford University. While there, she received a three year Bachelor of Arts degree for philosophy, politics, and economics. She graduated in 2020 and went on to continue her influence in educational activism.
Malala Yousafzai received a joint Nobel Peace Prize with Kailash Satyarthi in 2014. She received this award at just 17-years-old which makes her the youngest person ever to receive a Nobel Peace Prize. They were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.” When she received this award, she was also in high school taking exams and did not have much time to write her acceptance speech. However, in the end, she wrote a wonderful speech explaining everything that happened to her and many other children.
“This award is not just for me. It is for those forgotten children who want education. It is for those frightened children who want peace. It is for those voiceless children who want change.”
Overall, Malala Yousafzai has been and continues to be a beacon of hope for women’s education around the world, and her influence is immeasurably-important. Fighting for educational rights for herself and others continues to this day, and her prideful activism will not cease anytime soon.
{Editor’s Note: Information for this article was retrieved from Biography.com.}
THE RETURN OF THE EYE 