Malala Yousafzai is a young woman from Pakistan who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. She is famous around the world for speaking out against the Taliban—an extremist organization that believes women have no right to education.
Malala has been speaking and blogging about the Taliban since she was just 11 years old. In the area where she and her family lived, the Taliban had banned television and music. And girls were not permitted to go to school. They destroyed schools for girls and even stopped women from going shopping. The extremists hated Malala because she was speaking out against them. According to Malala, the Taliban chiefs wanted to silence her because they were scared:
“The extremists are afraid of books and pens. The power of education frightens them. They are afraid of women. The power of the voice of women frightens them.”
In 2012, when Malala was just 15, a Taliban gunman boarded her school bus and shot her in the head. The Taliban leaders did not want her speaking out about girls having the right to go to school.
The bullet narrowly missed Malala's head, but she was in a very serious condition in hospital. After four months of medical treatment, she recovered well. The attack gave Malala and her cause a lot of international support and attention, and it made her more determined than ever to fight against the Taliban. After the attack, she declared:
“Weakness, fear and hopeless died. Strength, power and courage were born. I am the same Malala. My ambitions are the same. My hopes are the same. My dreams are the same.”
Today, the Taliban leaders still want Malala dead, but she continues to fight for the right of every child to have an education. On her 16th birthday, Malala gave a speech at a UN youth event. More than 500 young people from around the world joined Malala at the conference, she said in her speech:
“I speak—not for myself, but for all girls and boys.
I raise up my voice—not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.
Those who have fought for their rights:
Their right to live in peace.
Their right to be treated with dignity.
Their right to equality of opportunity.
Their right to be educated.”
She finished her speech with the words:
“One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world. Education is the only solution. Education first.”