Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani human rights advocate and activist for female education focusing primarily on the education of women and children from Swat Valley. During the Taliban occupation of Swat, Malala began blogging for the BBC under the pseudonym, “Gul Makai,” where she described her experiences after girls were banned from attending schools. Malala soon became a target due to speaking against the Taliban and on October 12, 2012, Malala and two other women were shot by a Taliban gunman while on a bus in the Swat District. Her assassination attempt led to international support for Malala and female rights. After intensive rehabilitation and recovery, Malala began the Malala Fund, a non-profit organization continuing the fight for education.

In recognition of her work, the United Nations declared July 12 “Malala Day” and in 2014, she received the Nobel Peace Prize for her fight against the oppression of children and women’s education rights. At the age of 17, Malala was the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate.