Works and Achievements of Malala Yousafzai

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WORKS AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF MALALA YOUSAFZAI

Introduction

Early life

Early activism

Shot by Taliban

Speech at UN

Malala Day

Awards

Malala Fund

Books

College

Early Life:
Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1997 in Mingora, Pakistan. Mingora
is the largest city in the Swat Valley of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province
in Pakistan. Yousafzai was the first of three children born to Ziauddin and
Tor Pekai Yousafzai. Although it was not always easy to raise a girl child in
Pakistan, Malala Yousafzai’s father insisted that she received all of the
same opportunities afforded to boy children.

At a very young age, Malala developed a thirst for knowledge .Her father,
Ziauddin Yousafzai, a social activist and educator, had established several
schools in the area known as the Khushal Public Schools. she attended
one of these schools, the Khushal Girls High School and College in
Mingora. but In 2007 when malala was 10 years old, the situation in swat
valley began to rapidly change.The Taliban began to control the Swat
Valley. They began enforcing strict Islamic law. They shut down and
demolished girls’ schools and banned women from having any active role
in society. Girl’s education was specifically targeted by the Taliban and by
the end of 2008 they had destroyed over 400 schools This event of the
Taliban taking over early in Malala’s life left an impact that would spur
her journey to make a change.

Early Activism
At eleven years old, Yousafzai decided to stand up to the Taliban. Malala
began her public activism on September 1, 2008, when her father took her to a local press club to
protest the schools closing. It was here that the then-eleven-year-old Malala gave her first speech,
entitled “How Dare the Taliban Take Away My Basic Right to Education?” This presentation was
publicized throughout Pakistan. Soon the British Broadcasting Corporation, known as BBC, began
publishing journal entries from Malala under the pseudonym ‘Gul Makai.Yousafzai
began writing regular entries about her daily life.. Meanwhile, the Taliban
shut down all girls’ schools in Swat and blew up more than 100 of them.
She continued writing until the school reopened. Subsequently, Malala and
her friends started attending classes as they did before. She then gave her
school exams and ended the blog in March 2009.In December of 2009, Malala’s
identity as the BBC blogger was revealed, and she received much support and recognition for her
work. However, this growing fame would eventually lead Malala to be a target of the Taliban
Over the next couple of years, she continued gaining popularity, even was
nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize in 2011 due to her activism and was awarded
Pakistan’s National Youth Peace Prize that same year. The Prime Minister of Pakistan later renamed
the award the National Malala Peace Prize in her honor.

SHOT BY THE TALIBAN


Yousafzai and her family learned that the Taliban had issued a death threat
against her because of her activism. Though Yousafzai was frightened for
the safety of her father ,an anti-Taliban activist , she and her family initially
felt that the fundamentalist group would not actually harm a child

However,October 9, 2012 was a life-changing day for Malala and her future. While she
was on the bus on her way home from school one day, a Taliban gunman climbed aboard the
vehicle and shot Malala in the head. Almost miraculously she survived the assassination
attempt, and was flown to Birmingham, England to recover. This event sparked major
outrage and uproar and provoked the story of Malala to be heard of worldwide.

Malala has since recovered from the horrendous attack. Despite all that she has been through
and the threats from the Taliban, Malala has continued her pursuit of education for all
children with an even fiercer passion. 

Speech at the U.N.

Nine months after being shot by the Taliban, Yousafzai gave a speech at


the United Nations on her 16th birthday on 12th July,2013. She became only the
second person in history after Nelson Mandela, whose birthday was celebrated in the U.N.
She was especially invited to the UN headquarters at New York to address youth assembly.
On this occasion, two prominent world leaders, Gordon Brown and Ban Ki Moon were
present. It was her first public speech since the shooting. She addressed the General
Assembly at this time. The speech delivered by her on this occasion was telecasted all over
the world. Yousafzai highlighted her focus on education and women's rights,
urging world leaders to change their policies.She presented her views forcefully
before the delegates from all the countries of the world highlighting the necessity of universal
education. She appealed for free education for all children in the world. In the main chamber
of the UN, she was given the seat which is generally reserved for the heads of Nation or
Government.

Malala Day

At Yousafzai’s 2013 speech at the United Nations, Secretary-General Ban


Ki-moon pronounced July 12th – Yousafzai's birthday – 'Malala Day' in
honor of the young leader’s activism to ensure education for all children. At
the announcement, Ban said:

“Malala chose to mark her 16th birthday with the world. No child should have to
die for going to school. Nowhere should teachers fear to teach or children fear
to learn. Together, we can change the picture.”
Awards

She was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the
European Parliament for her activism.
2013: Malala receives the United Nations Human Rights Prize, an award that
is only given every five years.
1. 2013: Malala continues garnering honors for her activism,
receiving the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, joining
other Sakharov recipients like Nelson Mandela and the United
Nations as a whole.

In October 2013, the European Parliament awarded Yousafzai the


Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in acknowledgment of her
work. In October 2014, Yousafzai became the youngest person to
receive the Nobel Peace Prize, at just 17 years old; she received the
award along with Indian children's rights activist Kailash Satyarthi

 In December of 2014, Yousafzai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for
her work. She used her prize money to build a secondary school for girls in
Pakistan and continued campaigning for education for all children . At age
seventeen, she became the youngest person to be named a Nobel laureate
Since then, Yousafzai has continued to advocate for the rights of women
and girls.

She celebrated her 18th birthday by opening a school for Syrian girls in a refugee
camp in Lebanon. Malala then went on to study for a degree in Philosophy, Politics
and Economics at the University of Oxford, UK. 

In congratulating Yousafzai, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said:


“She is the pride of Pakistan, she has made her countrymen proud. Her
achievement is unparalleled and unequaled. Girls and boys of the world
should take lead from her struggle and commitment." Former U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described Yousafzai as "a brave and
gentle advocate of peace who, through the simple act of going to school,
became a global teacher.”

In April 2017, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres


appointed Yousafzai as a U.N. Messenger of Peace to promote girls
education. The appointment is the highest honor given by the United
Nations for an initial period of two years.

Yousafzai was also given honorary Canadian citizenship in April 2017. She
is the sixth person and the youngest in the country’s history to receive the
honour.

The Malala Fund


In 2014, Yousafzai and her father established the Malala Fund to
internationally support and advocate for women and girls. Through her
charity, she met with Syrian refugees in Jordan, young women students in
Kenya, and spoke out in Nigeria against the terrorist group Boko Haram
that abducted young girls to stop them from going to school. 

The Malala Fund advocates for quality education for all girls by
funding education projects internationally, partnering with global
leaders and local advocates, and pioneering innovative strategies to
empower young women.

In 2013, Yousafzai and her father launched the Malala Fund, which works


to ensure girls around the world have access to 12 years of free, safe,
quality education. The fund prioritizes assistance to its Gulmakai Network
— a reference to the pseudonym Yousafzai used when she wrote her BBC
blog about life in Pakistan under Taliban rule. These countries, including
Afghanistan, Brazil, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey, are
where most girls miss out on secondary education.

For her 18th birthday, in July 2015, Yousafzai continued to take action on
global education by opening a school for Syrian refugee girls in Lebanon.
Its expenses covered by the Malala Fund, the school was designed to
admit nearly 200 girls from the ages of 14 to 18. "Today on my first day as
an adult, on behalf of the world's children, I demand of leaders we must
invest in books instead of bullets," Yousafzai proclaimed in one of the
school's classrooms.

That day, she wrote on The Malala Fund website: 

“The shocking truth is that world leaders have the money to fully fund primary
AND secondary education around the world - but they are choosing to spend it
on other things, like their military budgets. In fact, if the whole world stopped
spending money on the military for just 8 days, we could have the $39 billion
still needed to provide 12 years of free, quality education to every child on the
planet.
Return to Pakistan

On March 29, 2018, Yousafzai returned to Pakistan for the first time since
her brutal 2012 attack. Not long after arriving, she met with Prime Minister
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, and delivered an emotional speech at his office.
"In the last five years, I have always dreamed of coming back to my
country," she said, adding, "I never wanted to leave."

Yousafzai also visited her former home and a military-run cadet college in
Mingora during her four-day trip. 

Books

'I Am Malala'
I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the
Taliban is an autobiography by Malala Yousafzai released in October 2013.
It became an international bestseller. The book was abridged in 2018 for
young chapter book readers as Malala: My Story of Standing Up for Girls'
Rights.

'Malala's Magic Pencil'


Yousafzai published a children's picture book about her life in October
2017. Malala's Magic Pencil introduces her childhood in Pakistan through a
well-known TV show where a young boy uses his magic pencil to help
people. In the book, the magic pencil instructs readers how to make the
world a better place. "My voice became so powerful that the dangerous
men tried to silence me. But they failed," Yousafzai writes.

'We Are Displaced'


Published in 2018, We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from
Refugee Girls Around the World explores Yousafzai's story as well as the
stories of girls she met in her travels to refugee camps in Colombia,
Guatemala, Syria and Yemen.

'He Named Me Malala' Documentary

In October 2015, a documentary about Yousafzai's life was released. HE


NAMED ME MALALA, directed by Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient
Truth, Waiting for Superman), gave viewers an intimate look into the life
of Yousafzai, her family, and her commitment to supporting education for
girls around the world.

College

Yousafzai began studying at Oxford University in 2017, graduating in June


2020 with a degree in philosophy, politics and economics.

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