Author of I am Malala

Malala Yousafzai is more wildly known for her own biography titled I am Malala. Yes that's right, she wrote her own biography at the age of 16. I can barely get through writing a 3 paragraph blog post while she writes a 263 paged book. She completely raises the bar on everything. She is also known for being the girl who survived being shot in the head by the Taliban. Like I said before ,she is truly unstoppable.

Malala was born on July 12, 1997 in Mingora, Pakistan. She was aware of woman's rights at a young age, and standing up for them too. Her father owned a school that enrolled both boys and girls. It was a vey successful school too, as many kids were enrolled. This school got many threats form outsiders who did not support education for girls, and for the most part wanted to see an end to it. Her father, Ziauddin was an advocate for everyone getting an education so he became a well known speaker in his country for rights which were being taken away. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree I guess you could say, because as Malala grew up she began to join with this opinion of unfairness with rights. She started to speak for Women's rights and education for girls. She would give speeches such as one called ,"How Dare the Taliban take away my rights to an education?". Along with this she began to secretly blog about living in Pakistan and her conditions that she had to go through. This is one of the reasons the Taliban went after her. She was on her way to school on her school bus when to men stopped the vehicle and stepped inside. They asked who Malala was, and in cold blood they shot her in the head. She had to be flown England for better medical treatment from a more prestigious hospital.

As she was straddling the moments between life and deaths, her story became known worldwide. Everywhere, people became outraged at the thought of  a 15 year old girl getting shot in the head by the Taliban. As Malala began to heal, important figures worldwide began to show up to meet her. Her family began to realize just how influential Malala was. On her 16th birthday, Malala gave a speech in front of the United Nations about the rights that were being taken away from the girls, and about her own story. After her speech, she got a standing ovation. Today, Malala has her own biography titled I am Malala. She also was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and was the youngest person to ever win this award. Her story and her stamina for equality is what gives many young girls inspiration today. Malala Yousafzai is the definition of a role model.

From the Book to the Real World

Malala Yousafzai is a role model for young girls everywhere. I'm sure you already know her; maybe you've read about her from my last blog post or even read her own memoir, I am Malala. Her memoir starts off with the day she got shot. In the head. By the Taliban. Yes that's right, she is one tough cookie. If you don't already know about her background, I'll tell you.

 She is a 17 year old girl who at a young age, was aware of the lack of rights girls had in her country. Her father created his own successful school, where Malala was enrolled. There were boys and girls enrolled in the school, but in Pakistan, giving a girl an education was frowned upon. The Taliban were against girls rights, as they felt it went against what their religion stated. Malala and her father were outraged by the inequality given to a girls rights to an education, so they both became public speakers against the Taliban's reasoning. You have to understand how big of a deal this is as the Taliban would kill anyone who opposed them as a threat and would even go and bomb schools that went against them. As Malala started to become more famous in her country as a Woman's rights activist, she also became a target. One morning on the way to school, men from the Taliban stopped the bus and demanded for Malala. They shot her in the head in cold blood. But this isn't the end of her story, as she is still alive and fighting for her rights today. She is a strong role model for girls everywhere as she teaches us the lesson that its okay to not always stick to the status quo, and to fight for what you believe in. Not only is she a published author with her memoir, but she is also the youngest person to ever be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, and the youngest to ever win this award.

While reading this book, I got a really strong sense of the importance of education in peoples lives. Malala's father owned and operated his own school, where she and her brothers also attended. He made sure that anyone that wanted to go to school could; often giving away free tuitions to people in need. As Malala began to grow up, she always loved to learn and was the top of her class. But, the government didn't support a girls education so they soon forbid them from going to school. Malala and her family were furious with this, as they all loved to learn and go to school everyday to fulfill their dreams.

This idea of education can really be found worldwide. I became interested with how different an education is for girls at different parts of the world. I came across an article that was about a woman (Ann Cotton) who won an award for launching a campaign for education for girls who are less privileged, such as in Africa ( I'll
put the link to the article below). What really interested me about this story was how in places like Africa, girls will grow up without an education. But with people like Ann, who really believe for making these girls rights better by letting them go to school and be anything they want to be in the future. I believe that there should be more people like Ann and Malala in the world today, or at least more people who can learn from their example. These two ladies really never let anyone stop them from helping to get people out of harsh situations, and this is what truly will make a difference in the world today.

Link to Article : http://www.bbc.com/news/education-29880500