Malala Yousefzai celebrates ‘all children’ on her 16th Birthday!

Malala Yousafzai (Pashto: ملاله یوسفزۍ‎; Urdu: ملالہ یوسف زئی‎ Malālah Yūsafzay, born 12 July 1997) is a Pakistani school pupil and education activist from the town of Mingora in the Swat District of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. She is known for her education and women’s rights activism in the Swat Valley, where the Taliban had at times banned girls from attending school. In early 2009, at the age of 11–12, Yousafzai wrote a blog under a pseudonym for the BBC detailing her life under Taliban rule, their attempts to take control of the valley, and her views on promoting education for girls.

The following summer, a New York Times documentary was filmed about her life as the Pakistani military intervened in the region, culminating in the Second Battle of Swat. Yousafzai began to rise in prominence, giving interviews in print and on television and taking a position as chairperson of the District Child Assembly Swat. She has since been nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize by Desmond Tutu and the Nobel Peace Prize, being the youngest nominee in history for the latter. She is the winner of Pakistan’s first National Youth Peace Prize.

On 9 October 2012, Yousafzai was shot in the head and neck in an assassination attempt by Taliban gunmen while returning home on a school bus. In the days immediately following the attack, she remained unconscious and in critical condition, but later her condition improved enough for her to be sent to a hospital in the United Kingdom for intensive rehabilitation. On 12 October, a group of 50 Islamic clerics in Pakistan issued a fatwā against those who tried to kill her, but the Taliban reiterated its intent to kill Yousafzai and her father, Ziauddin.

Former British Prime Minister and current U.N. Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown launched a United Nations petition in Yousafzai’s name, using the slogan “I am Malala” and demanding that all children worldwide be in school by the end of 2015. Brown said he would hand the petition to Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari in November. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has announced that 10 November will be celebrated as Malala Day.

In the April 29th issue of Time magazine, Malala was featured as one of “The 100 Most Influential People In The World“. Her picture was featured on the front cover of the magazine and was listed in the Icon section. Malala’s section was written by former first daughter of the USA, Chelsea Clinton.

Malala Yousefzai, who was shot by Pakistani Taliban last year, addressed the UN Youth Assembly on her 16th birthday and called for improvements in global education.

Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenage girl who made headlines after the Taliban attacked her for advocating for girls’ right to education, delivered her first public speech to the United Nations Youth Assembly after a lengthy recovery from a gunshot wound to the head.

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed Malala to the UN’s New York headquarters.

Her family sat in on the youth assembly, as 16-year-old Malala delivered a moving 18 minute speech calling for men and women to band together and rally for equality to education.

The teen, wearing a shawl once owned by Benazir Bhutto, started her speech saying she was honoured to be given the opportunity to address the UN.

“I don’t know where to begin my speech. I don’t know what people would be expecting me to say,” she started.

But as she delved further into her address, it seemed Malala knew exactly what would resonate with her audience. Quickly, quotes from her address started being shared on the web.

“When the Taliban shot Malala, they showed what they feared most: a girl with a book.” Ban Ki Moon #malaladay

“They thought that the bullets would silence us, but they failed.” #MalalaDay #EducationFirst #bcimagirl @PlanNorge