Malala Yousafzai

So today I’m celebrating an amazing young woman who advocates for young women everywhere. This is a young woman who is so brave. She is such a huge inspiration.  Malala Yousafzai was born on the 12^th of July 1997 in Mingora, Pakistan. Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest ever Nobel Prize laureate.

Malala shared her father’s passion for learning and loved going to school. In 2009, As the Taliban’s military hold on SWAT intensified, Malala began writing a blog for the BBC Urdu Service under a pseudonym, about fears that her school would be attacked. Malala and her father received death threats but continued to speak out for the right to education. Malala was featured in a documentary made for The New York Times and was revealed as the author of the BBC blog.

In 2011, she received Pakistan’s first National Youth Peace Prize and was nominated by Archbishop Desmond Tutu for the International Children’s Peace Prize. On the 9^th of October 2012, as Malala and her friends were travelling home from school, a masked gunman entered their school bus and asked for Malala by name. She was shot with a single bullet which went through her head, neck and shoulder. Two of her friends were also injured in the attack.

Malala survived the initial attack, but was in a critical condition. She was moved to Birmingham in the United Kingdom for treatment at a hospital that specialises in military injuries. She was discharged in January, 2013. The Taliban’s attempt to kill Malala received worldwide condemnation and led to protests across Pakistan. Over 2 million people signed a right to education petition, and the National Assembly swiftly ratified Pakistan’s first Right to Free and Compulsory Education Bill.

On the 10^th of Dec.2014, Malala accepted the Noble Peace Prize. Malala contributed her entire prize money of more than $500,000 to financing the creation of a secondary school for girls in Pakistan. Malala continues to fight for girls everywhere through the Malala Fund.

These are few inspiring quotes from Malala Yousafzai:

• “I told myself, Malala, You have already faced death. This is your second life, don’t be afraid- If you are afraid, you can’t move forward.”
• “When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.”
• “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.”

She is truly a source of inspiration and a phenomenal woman!

Please drop your comments below or send an email if you have inspiring stories to share with us here. Thanks.

Have a lovely weekend guys.

(www.malala.org)