Malala Yousafzai: A Story of Courage and Strength

Born in Swat Valley, Pakistan. Daughter to local education activist, Ziauddin Yousafzai and Toor Pekai Yousafzai. No one could even fathom what the girl would grow up to be. This is the story of that girl. This is the story of Malala...

On July 12th, 1997, a girl named Malala was born in the valley of Swat. She grew up along with two younger brothers, Khushal and Atal. She was an ordinary girl of the valley although gifted with a lot of abilities recognized early on. At the age of ten, Malala could already speak Urdu, Pashto as well as English. 

But all of that changed in 2007 when the Taliban Fundamentalist Army took control of the area. Putting into motion strict rules like banning television and dance but most importantly they decided that girls couldn’t go to school and women were not to be seen in public places such as markets. 

The Taliban destroyed several schools and institutions for girls, threatened locals and the extremism so far to the point that beheaded bodies on the streets became a daily sighting. But all of that didn’t stop Malala. In fact, inspired by her family, she started giving speeches defending the right of education for each girl. She also participated in several programs to help students across the region and even made an appearance in Pakistani media. All of this attention made her a massive target for the radical extremists in the area.

In 2009, BBC Pakistan was looking for a student in the Swat valley to write a blog for their web explaining in excruciating detail what it was like living under the influence of the Taliban. Malala shared her story with the rest of the world under the pen name Gul Makai meaning corn flower. But eventually all of this attention made her the target of the Taliban.



In 2012, Malala boarded the school bus on the way to her school, talking about homework with her friends when suddenly a man stepped in the bus and called for Malala by name. She was shot three times, once in the forehead. The bus driver notified the locals immediately and she was transported to a hospital in Peshawar through a helicopter. Against all odds Malala had survived and was transported to a hospital in the UK all thanks to the UAE government for providing a jet so that she could be transported comfortably and quickly. 

In the UK, Malala received classes and began a new life. Her story made it to the news, making her a symbol of peace and education. In 2013, Malala spoke for the United Nations and published her biography ‘I Am Malala’. She also managed to make her own foundation called ‘Malala Fund’ to help other child  victims.

Her biggest achievement yet came in 2014 when she became the youngest person ever to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts towards helping children around the world acquire the right to education.

The part that most people find so incredible is that despite of the trauma and suffering she has gone through, Malala never conveyed feelings of anger or vengeance towards her wrongdoers. That is what people find her so inspiring. Anyone who has gone through suffering thinks of vengeance but only a few think about helping other victims who have gone through the same suffering.

Recently Malala Yousafzai graduated from Oxford with a degree in Philosophy and Politics and still continues to fight for the right that every child deserves, an education.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Look At History’s Greatest Fathers

Image
History’s August 31 2018 article titled History’s Finest Fathers state some of the remarkable parental related deeds of many reputed figures throughout history including Czar Nicholas II, Charlemagne, Mark Twain and even the father of modern science, Charles Darwin.  So in light of Father’s Day, let’s make an attempt to break down the qualities listed in their specific paragraphs, a few intriguing similarities arise to the surface and perhaps give us an idea of what the role of a good father actually entails. Sacrifice, Endless Duty and Responsibility are common terms thrown around during the conversation of father figures but what exactly are those sacrifices, duties and responsibilities. Can some acts be considered lower or larger compared to others? Are these norms beneficial to parenting or harmful? And perhaps most importantly, what attributes constitute a good father all in all? From the consortium of personalities in the article, we see that many of the men listed here had broke
Read more

How Pablo Escobar’s Hippos are still a problem in Colombia

Image
December 1993, The infamous Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar dies in a shootout with the Colombian Law Enforcement. But something of the notorious criminal remains to this day, something no one thought would be both a problem and a tourist spot for Colombia ...  Most of you know the drug lord Pablo Escobar because of the hit gritty - original Netflix series ‘Narcos’. But there is much more to him then just simply drugs. Pablo Escobar was one of the most successful drug kingpins in the world and with all of that drug money he wanted to make a private zoo. So he imported several animals from different countries like giraffes, exotic animals etc. Along with theses animals he brought in four hippos. Hippopotamuses weren’t native to South America, in fact they were imported from Africa, where they are naturally found.  When Pablo Escobar was killed, the government reclaimed Pablo's estate. Giving off the animals to different zoos and sanctuaries. All animals except the hippos
Read more

Tales of Crime and Justice : From Fence to Thief Taker General Jonathan Wilde

Image
Charles Hitchens several years ago, had paid £700 to become the Under Marshal of London, the highest rank of law enforcement in London at the time. Charles needed a protégé and so he approached the increasingly popular fence, Jonathan Wilde to work under him as an extortionist and errand boy.  Jonathan continued to work for him but started realizing some of the major flaws of Charles criminal system. For instance, Charles when writing threatening letters, used to sign under his own name. Jonathan began finding Charles methods pathetic and became more and more greedy, wanting the throne of the Under Marshal for himself. Turns out luck was on Jonathan’s side when Charles became involved in an anti-corruption scandal and city officials although not arresting Charles, demanded he take a break from the duties of Under Marshal. This is where Jonathan came in, he would be the acting Under Marshal, running Charles’s gang until he could make his marvelous return.  But as soon as Hitchen left, W
Read more