Malala Yousafzai Articles
An Attack in Pakistan
"An Attack in Pakistan."Time For Kids”, Oct. 10, 2012. <
Background
Malala Yousafzai, 14, is recovering after being attacked yesterday on her way home from school in Mingora, Pakistan. She was shot by a group of fighters called the Taliban. The group’s members follow a strict version of Islam. They believe girls should not go to school. Yousafzai was targeted because she writes about girls’ rights and children’s education in Swat Valley, Pakistan.
Mustafa Qadri, a researcher for Amnesty International in Pakistan, said that the attack shows the dangers of speaking up for human rights in northwestern Pakistan. “Female activists live under constant threats from the Taliban and other militant groups,” he said in a statement.
Speaking Up
AAMIR QURESHI—AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Yousafzai has been an Internet blogger, or writer, since age 11. She writes about girls’ education in Pakistan. In December she was awarded Pakistan’s National Peace Award for her bravery in writing about the difficulties of living in the shadow of the Taliban. She has spoken publicly about children’s rights in Swat and had been nominated for an international children’s peace prize. In an interview last year she said told al-Jazeera news, “If this new generation is not given pens, they will be given guns by terrorists.”
Yousafzai’s blog entries offered a rare window into the lives of an 11-year-old and her friends in one of the most dangerous and remote places in Pakistan. Under the pen name GulMakai, Yousafzai wrote about watching the violence in Swat increase while her personal freedoms shrank. On Jan. 14, 2009, the day before a Taliban rule went into effect closing her school, Yousafzai wrote: “Since today was the last day of our school, we decided to play in the playground a bit longer. I am of the view that the school will one day reopen, but while leaving I looked at the building as if I would not come here again.”
Cowardice and Courage
The Taliban group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) took responsibility for the attack on Yousafzai. The group says it should serve as a warning to others. “She was speaking against [the] Taliban,” a TTP spokesman told the Express Tribune, a Pakistani newspaper.
The assault on Yousafzai is one example of children being targeted in some areas of Pakistan. According to Amnesty International, two other activists working on education rights for girls and women have been killed in the region in the past year. The country's army chief has vowed to continue his country’s fight against terrorism.
Pakistan’s prime minister and president, and the U.S. state department, have all said the attack on Yousafzai was wrong. Support for the girl has poured in over social media and from members of the international human rights community. Many schools in Pakistan’s Swat Valley were closed today in protest of the Taliban’s attack on the courageous 14-year old.
A Heroic Return
"A Heroic Return."Time For Kids”, Mar. 20, 2013. <
On March 19, Malala Yousafzai, a 15-year-old Pakistani student and women’s-education activist, returned to the classroom on for the first time since being violently attacked by a member of the Taliban on October 9, 2012. Malala was shot on her way home from school in Mingora, Pakistan. The Taliban group Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) took responsibility for the attack. The group said the attack should serve as a warning to others. TTP’s members follow a strict version of Islam and believe girls should not go to school. Malala was targeted because she is vocal about girls’ rights to education in Swat Valley, Pakistan.
After a long period of recovery, Malala is starting as a ninth-year student at Edgbaston High School. It is the oldest independent girls school in Birmingham, England. Though she has no concrete plans to return to Pakistan, Malala still speaks out as a voice for change in her country, and everywhere. “I am excited that today I have achieved my dream of going back to school. I want all girls in the world to have this basic opportunity,” Malala said in a statement. “I miss my classmates from Pakistan very much but I am looking forward to meeting my teachers and making new friends here in Birmingham.”
Malala’s Journey
Malala has been an Internet blogger, or writer, since she was 11 years old. In 2011 she was awarded Pakistan’s National Peace Award for her bravery in writing about the difficulties of life and education in the shadow of the Taliban. She has spoken publicly about children’s rights and been nominated for an international children’s peace prize.
After the attack in 2012, support for Malala poured in from around the world. The United Nations declared November 10 Malala Day. Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the day honors Malala and shows the world that people of all sexes, all backgrounds and all countries stand behind her.