Malala Yousafzai: The Girl that Changed Pakistan

Malala: A Profile in Courage

Malala was a normal 14 year old girl living in the Swat Valley with her family. A ninth grader who has been promoting education for girls in Pakistan. It has been said she started a blog when she was only 11 years old (under a pseudonym) telling about life under Taliban rule. One of her blog entries tells about when she wore a pink dress to school she was told not to wear it again because the Taliban would not like it

Malala Yousafzai was born 12 July 1997; she is a Pakistani school pupil and education activist from the town of Mingora in the Swat District of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. She is known for her activism for rights to education and for women, especially in the Swat Valley, where the Taliban had at times banned girls from attending school.

In early 2009, at the age of 11-12, Malala Yousafzai wrote a blog under a pseudonym for the BBC detailing her life under Taliban rule, their attempts to take control of the valley, and her views on promoting education for girls.

The following summer, a New York Times documentary was filmed about her life as the Pakistani military intervened in the region, culminating in the Second Battle of Swat. Malala Yousafzai rose in prominence, giving interviews in print and on television, and she was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize by South African activist Desmond Tutu.

See Also

Embracing Infinitely Limited Will

In a sign of her impact, the teen made the shortlist for Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year” for 2012

“The terrorists thought they would change my aims and stop my ambitions, but nothing changed in my life except this: Weakness, fear and hopelessness died,’’ she told the United Nations in July. “Strength, power and courage was born. I am not against anyone, neither am I here to speak in terms of personal revenge against the Taliban or any other terrorist group. I’m here to speak up for the right of education for every child. I want education for the sons and daughters of the Taliban and all terrorists and extremists.”