Malala Yousafzai

Pakistani Activist

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist for female education. When the Islamic Taliban movement took control of the valley in 2008, girls’ schools were burned down. Malala kept a diary of the events, which was published in 2009 by BBC Urdu. In her diary she spoke out against the Taliban’s terrorist regime.

It was not long before the Taliban threatened her life. In 2012, Malala was shot in the head on a school bus by a Taliban gunman. She survived, but had to flee to England and live in exile there because a fatwa was issued against her.

In 2013, TIME magazine named Malala one of “The 100 Most Influential People in the World.” On her 16th birthday she spoke in the United Nations. In her speech Malala called for the equal right to education for girls all over the world, and became a symbol of this cause. In 2014 she became the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize at age 17.