Malala's Journey: From a Pakistani School Girl to a Global Peace Icon

MALALA'S JOURNEY From a Pakistani School Girl to a Global Peace Icon "EDUCATION IS NEITHER EASTERN NOR WESTERN. EDUCATION IS EDUCATION AND IT'S THE RIGHT OF EVERY HUMAN BEING". On July 12, 1997, Malala was born in Mingora, Pakistan, located in country's Swat Valley. Early Life Her hometown was a famous tourist spot that was known for its summer festivities. The area began to change until the Taliban tried to take control. Malala attended school found by her father Ziauddin Yousafzai in Swat. After Taliban began attacking girls' schools in Swat, Malala gave a speech in September 2008. Initial Activism In 2009, Malala began writing a diary for BBC Urdu about life under the Taliban. By December 2009, her BBC blogging identity was being revealed and appeared on television to publicly advocate for female education. BBC At the age of 14, Malala and her family learned that Taliban had issued a death threat against her. October 9, 2012 Malala got shot by a gunman when she was traveling home from school. Targeted by the Taliban Malala was in critical condition and was flown to a military hospital in Peshawar. For further care, she was transferred to Birmingham, England. March 2013, Malala rejoined school after her recovery in Birmingham. Post Attack On her 16th birthday in 2013, Malala gave a speech at the United Nations. Life She works as a blogger for BBC and activist for rights to education and for women. 2011, International Children's Peace Prize (nominee) 2011, National Youth Peace Prize October 2012, Sitara-e-Shujaat, Pakistan's third-highest civilian bravery award November 2012, Foreign Policy magazine "Top 100 Global Thinker" November 2012, Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice January 2013, Top Name of 2012 in Annual Survey of Global English January 2013, Simone de Beauvoir Prize 2013, International Children's Peace Prize, Kids Rights Awards & Prizes Achieved (2011-till date) 2013, Anna Politkovskaya Award, Reach All Women In War 2013, Honorary Master of Arts degree awarded by the University of Edinburgh October 2013, Pride of Britain October 2013, Released her autobiography, I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban. 2013, Glamour magazine Woman of the Year 2013, International Prize for Equality and Non-Discrimination 2014, Nominee for World Children's Prize also known as Children's Nobel Prize 2014, Nobel Peace Prize, shared with Kailash Satyarthi 2014, Philadelphia Liberty Medal 2014, she was named one of "The 25 Most Influential Teens of 2014" by Time magazine. SOURCES http://www.biography.com/people/malala-yousafzai-21362253#after-the-attack http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malala_Yousafzai http://www.malala-yousafzai.com/p/about-malala.html http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-23241937 http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-19899540 SurveyCrest