People say nowadays it’s impossible for one person to make a change.
But there is a pákistáni teenager who’s the living proof that it IS possible.
Her name is Malála Yousafzai, she stood her ground against a whole army, and she is the
youngest person to ever win the Nobel Peace Prize in history.
Malala, whose name means “grief-strícken” in Úrdu, was born on July 12th 1997 in the
valley of river Swat, in the northwest of Pakistan.
Daugther of Toorpékai and Ziáuddin, she has 2 little brothers, Khushál and Atál.
Her parents were in charge of a schools network, and they soon realized about her abilities.
When she was 10, Malala already spoke 3 languages: páshto, úrdu and English, and she wanted
to be a doctor.
But politics and civil rights were her biggest concern, so her dad encouraged her to become
an activist.
She had a promising future ahead of her, but in 2007 everything changed for her and everything
around her.
That year, the Táliban fundamentalist army took control over the area where she lived.
They imposed their new rules, banning cultural activities such as dance or tv.
They decided girls couldnt go to school, and so destroyed hundreds of female schools.
People were threatened to death, and every day they’d find beheaded bodies in public
squares.
But seeing this, Malala didn’t hide, in fact, she took a step forward.
When she was 11 year old, encouraged by her family, she started giving speeches in several
social forums defending girls’ right to education, and she participated in different
programs to help young students in the region.
She even made it to a debate on the pakistani tv claiming “"How dare the Taliban take
away my basic right to education?".
With her efforts, her message was spread, and she became a public figure in the area.
But she also called the atttention of radical talibans.
In 2009, the local editorial office of the BBC in Pakistan, decided to search for a student
from the Swat valley to write a blog for their web, explaining what it was like to live under
the influence of the talibans.
Malala shared her story with the world under the pseudonym “Gul Makai”, an urdu name
for cornflower.
She would handwrite her posts and sneak them to a reporter.
I had a terrible dream yesterday with military helicopters and the Taliban.
My mother made me breakfast and I went off to school.
I was afraid going to school because the Taliban had issued an edict banning all girls from
attending schools.
In the morning of October 9th 2012, same as every Tuesday, Malala was in the bus on her
way to school.
She was talking about homework with her friends when two members of the taliban army stopped
the vehicle and asked for her.
They shot her three times, one of them in her forehead.
She was severely wounded and she had to be taken by helicopter to a hospital.
Hundreds of people protested in the streets of her city, and the news were spread all
around the world.
Against all odds, Malala survived the attack, and was transferred to a hospital in Birmingham,
England, where she resumed her classes and started a new life.
“Going back to school makes me so happy.
My dream is for every kid in the world to be able to go to school, its their basic right.
Tho I can’t still make my brothers do their homework!”
The news about her courage and her example turned into an international support movement.
In 2013, Malala spoke for the United Nations in New York and published her biography “I
am Malala: the story of the girl who stood up for education and was shot by the taliban”.
She was also able to create her own foundation with her dad, and try to help other child
victims, for instance the nigerian girls kidnapped by the terrorist group, Boko Harám.
The biggest recognition to her work came in 2014, when she was awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize for her fight for the right of education for all children.
Only 17 years old, and she became the youngest winner of the prize in history, and one of
the 100 most influential people in the world, according to the Time Magazine.
Nowadays, Malala is still studying and fighting for the rights of thousands of girls
in the world.