Malala Yousafzai biography

Malala Yousafzai (July 12, 1997), activist defending the right to education for women. Born in the Mingora region, Jaiber Pastunjuá, Pakistan. Her family consists of his father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, her mother and two brothers. Her family had a privileged economic status. At the age of 13, her figure, under the pseudonym Gul Makai, began to be recognized thanks to a blog she wrote for the BBC where she narrated her life and the experience of being under the Tehrik-i-Taliban regime; terrorist organization related to the Taliban movement, which embrace Islamic religious extremism and jihadism as a flag. The TTP, as it is known, militarily broke into the valley of the Swat River.

The atrocities experienced by the population of this area were multiple. The Taliban closed private schools and prohibited girls from receiving education between 2003 and 2009, stating that women should be relegated to the domestic space. In a report, the Army said that the Taliban had decapitated 13 girls, dismantled 170 schools and bombs exploded in another five. While this was happening, Malala Yousafzai discreetly denounced with great relevance each of the acts and all her writings consigned in the blog carried senses called to reflection. Finally, when the military managed to put an end to the tyranny of the Taliban in Swat. A tyranny that declined little by little for several reasons: the death of its leader, Baitullah Mehsud in 2009, the differences between the tribal groups that made up the organization, the lack of control of the successor leader Hakeemullah Mehsud, accompanied by strong Pakistani military pressure on border tribal areas.

As the social situation of the territory improved; Malala Yousafzai increased her writings focused now on the promotion of women’s right to education; She was also part of the movement against child labor. Her story began to reach the ears of several organizations around the world that bet on equal education between women and men. For this reason, she was contacted in 2009 by the directors Adam Ellick and Irfan Ashraf of the New York Times to participate in the production of the documentary: Loss of classes, the death of women’s education. In this documentary, her father also participated, who has supported her blindly in her struggle. The documentary shows the harsh reality and the difficult situation that girls like her experienced in this period of terror.

“My dream is that every child in the world can go to school.” Malala Yousafzai

When she was on the bus that was taking her to school, on October 9, 2012, a militiaman from Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan broke into the bus route and violently entered it, with the intention of murdering Malala Yousafzai. So, she fired her pistol repeatedly against her; impacting it in the area of ​​the skull and neck. The spokesman of the TTP, Ehsanullah Ehsan, declared that the young woman is an enemy of the Islamism and that they will attempt to attempt against her life again. Two other students were seriously injured in this attack. Soon this news shocked the whole world, largely the BBC and the New York Times newspaper, which made a full coverage.

The young activist was assisted in a medical helicopter and taken to a military hospital where she underwent surgery. The reactions of the community of Mingora did not wait, in the vicinity of the school where young people study hundreds of people protested by the terrible event. Malala was supported by figures such as Asif Ali Zardari, Desmond Tutu, Ban Ki-moon, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and many others. Medical expenses and great support were given to her family.

On October 15, 2012, under better health conditions, she was transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, United Kingdom, in order to ensure their safety, to end the recovery and then perform reconstructive surgery. The operation was a success, she was implanted with a titanium plate and an auditory device. Finally, she was discharged three months later. The following year, his father occupied the position in the education office of the consulate of Pakistan; while her daughter entered a secondary school in Birmingham. Her activism and fighting spirit remained equally unstoppable. She participated in the campaign to free young Nigerian students, who were kidnapped by an Islamist group.

Malala Yousafzai has received the love and support worldwide from politicians, human rights activists and people in general. Therefore, she has been worthy of several awards given in different countries. For example, in November 2012, the UN dedicated one day on her behalf to the universal right to education, in 2013 the Time magazine mentioned her as one of the most influential personalities in the world; She was also awarded the Unicef ​​Prize of Spain and the XXV Premio Catalunya, in France the Simone de Beauvoir. Also, on October 10, 2014, she received the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the youngest winner to receive the award. She was recognized for her struggle against child oppression and for the right of all children to education.

In addition, she was contacted by the British journalist Christina Lamb in order to make her autobiography entitled I am Malala, in which she describes her life in two moments: before and after the attack. In the book, the young Pakistani affirms that she wants to influence politics. Subsequently, he received the award with the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Conscience granted by the European Parliament.

Finally, she received the Manuel Broseta Coexistence Prize in the Spanish city of Valencia, in this tribute, she gave a speech where she affirmed that it was necessary to claim the power of the word to reject terrorism; She also affirmed the importance of equality and respect for other cultures and religions. In conclusion, thanks to her determined struggle, she has become the figure in favor of the right of girls to education.