Top 5 Need to Know Facts About Malala
She's doing important things for feminism and everyone should know more about this important activist! Malala Yousafzai has already a published best selling memoir. At the age of only 16, she co-wrote a memoir with Christina Lamb called “I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban”. It tells the story of her life thus far, detailing the incredible events that led her to where she is today. She's not angry at the man who shot her. When she spoke with Ellen DeGeneres several years later, she revealed that she didn't hold ill will against her attacker. She says the experience made her who she is and that it rid her of all fear. She's been advocating for girl's education from a young age. Her influence has worked- as a result of the attack on her, Pakistan created the Right to Education Bill which was the first of its kind in the country.
#5: She has Already Published a Best-Selling Memoir.
At the age of only 16, she co-wrote a memoir with Christina Lamb called “I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban”. It tells the story of her life thus far, detailing the incredible events that led her to where she is today. The All Pakistan Private School's Federation banned her book in all their schools because it was considered to be disrespectful to Islam. The work became an international best seller, making it to number one on the Amazon charts. The following year, the story was adapted into a children’s book.
#4: She has Several Honorary Degrees
Because of of the impact she has made for female education worldwide, Malala has received many honors recognizing her contributions. Several universities have actually granted her honorary degrees. She holds an Honorary Master of Arts degree from the University of Edinburgh as well as an honorary doctorate from the University of King's College in Halifax and the University of Ottawa in Ontario. She was recently even given honorary Canadian citizenship by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and in 2017 she also begins her post-secondary education at Oxford.
#3: She’s Not Angry At The Man Who Shot Her
In 2012, while on a bus heading home from an exam in Pakistan, Malala was shot by a Taliban hijacker. She was specifically targeted because of the political work she had done. When she spoke with Ellen DeGeneres several years later, she revealed that she didn’t hold ill will against her attacker. She says the experience made her who she is and that it rid her of all fear. This is despite the fact that her gunman is still at large and the men who conspired to assassinate her were released from the justice system because of a lack of evidence.
#2: She Has Been Advocating for Girls’ Education From a Young Age
When she was only 11 years old, Malala was recruited by the BBC to write a blog for them in order to give an inside look at what life was like for a young person in Pakistan. Her father, who was a schoolteacher, was the one who recommended her for the position when all the other candidates declined due to safety risks. Around the same time, the Taliban banned girls from attending school and Malala’s writing about the issue drew attention to it. Her influence has worked- as a result of the attack on her, Pakistan created the Right to Education Bill which was the first of its kind in the country.
#1: She's the Youngest Person to Receive a Nobel Prize
At the age of 17, Malala Yousafzai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work on education rights for young people and girls in particular. Not only was she the youngest person to win the Peace Prize, but also the Nobel in general. Before her, the youngest was Sir William Lawrence Bragg who won the Nobel prize for Physics in 1915 at the age of 25. Because she split the prize with another activist, Kailash Satyarthi, she received half of the prize money, amounting to approximately half a million dollars in US funds.
