March 1st, 2021

I tell my story not because it is unique, but because it is the story of many girls.

Malala Yousafzai’s remarkable journey as an educational activist began when she herself was a young child. Malala was born on July 12, 1997, in Mingora, the largest city in the Swat Valley in what is now the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. Education was extremely important in Malala’s home. Malala’s father, a passionate education advocate himself, ran a girls’ school in their village. In 2007, when Malala was ten years old, the Taliban began to control the Swat Valley and quickly became the dominant socio-political force throughout much of northwestern Pakistan. Girls were banned from attending school, and cultural activities like dancing and watching television were prohibited.

Malala was just 11 years old when she wrote her first BBC diary entry. She described her fear of a full-blown war in her home of Swat Valley and her nightmares about being afraid to go to school because of the Taliban. Her activism resulted in a nomination for the International Children’s Peace Prize in 2011. That same year, she was awarded Pakistan’s National Youth Peace Prize. However, not everyone was in support of her activism and determination to bring change to Swat Valley. On the morning of October 9, 2012, 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai was shot by the Taliban. This event would galvanize the world and bring attention to the dire circumstances that young girls like Malala were up against.

Malala would go on to make an incredible recovery. This would be a pivotal moment where Malala could have chosen to go quiet and live a normal life in the United Kingdom. However, on her 16th birthday in 2013, Malala visited New York and spoke at the United Nations. Later that year, she published her first book, an autobiography entitled “I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban.” On October 10, 2013, in acknowledgment of her work, the European Parliament awarded Malala the prestigious Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

At age 17, Malala became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Accepting the award, Malala reaffirmed that “This award is not just for me. It is for those forgotten children who want education. It is for those frightened children who want peace. It is for those voiceless children who want change.”

Malala Yousafzai UN Speech