Imagine living in a community where gender equality is hindered so far, that

even standing up for the freedom and equality of education resulted in a bullet to
the head. In 2009 Malala Yousafzai was 11 years old when she wrote a blog under
a pseudonym to the BBC about her life under Taliban rule.
The Taliban in short, are a terrorist group that arose following the Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan in 1979. The Taliban emerged as a resistance movement aiming to eject
the Soviet troops from Afghanistan. In late 1994, Pakistan chose the Taliban to guard
a convoy trying to open a trade route from Pakistan to Central Asia. With Pakistan
providing weapons, military training, and financial support, the Taliban gained control
over several Afghan cities and successfully captured Kabul in September 1996.
Eventually the Taliban had control over 90% of Afghanistan and Malalas hometown
of Swat Valley. Maulana Fazlullah, the ruthless cleric and militant commander who
led the original Swat uprising in 2007, had evaded capture and risen to greater heights
as the supreme leader of the Pakistani Taliban. Years later, Pakistani soldiers flooded
into Swat as part of an operation to banish the Taliban from the valley. The offensive
became a cherished victory for Pakistani generals, who presented it as evidence of
their counterinsurgency prowess.

Taliban fighters have slowly crept back to attack and kill pro-government
community leaders. The army faces accusations of gross human rights abuses,
including the execution of at least dozens of detainees whose bodies have
recently been returned to their families. Bloodied bodies no longer hang from
traffic lights in the town square where the Taliban once executed their enemies.
Markets are bustling, and more girls are attending school. (Walsh)
While Swat Valley began to receive some power back, the Taliban was
resenting the efforts and urged the eradication of girls attending school or leaving
their homes. Malala described the Talibans attempt to take over her hometown

and their efforts to restrict education for girls in her blog. Having written this, she
gained a lot of attention from New York Time Journalists describing her life in a
region under the Taliban, giving interviews in print and on television. Malala was
nominated for the international Childrens Peace prize that year for her
courageous efforts as an activist for womens rights and education. Malala is an
inspiring young woman who has been through so much to stand up for her, girls
who are oppressed, and education for women. Malala has gone through a lot, but
is still inspiring many people around the world.
By the time Malala was born, her father founded his own school in their
hometown of Swat. The school began with only a few students and grew into
educating more than 1,000 boys and girls. Malala as a child went on to join a school
also. In 2008 Militants had destroyed over 150 schools alone. By 2009, the Taliban
controlled much of the Swat Valley and applied their austere interpretation of Sharia
law. ("Malala Yousafzai: Portrait of the Girl Blogger.")
Malala was only eleven years old at the time when she wrote her first blog to the
BBC. She started writing when Aamer Ahmed Khan of the BBC Urdu website and

his colleagues had discussed a way to get coverage about the Talibans influence in
Swat Valley. The correspondent had been in touch with Malalas father asking if
students were willing to do it, but most said it was far too dangerous due to the
Taliban; this is when they discovered Malala. Malala was a volunteer out of the
many students who were asked to do the blog. She felt that it was necessary that her
word get out, even if impetuously.
"When the Taliban came to Swat they banned women from going to the
market and they banned shopping," Malala told BBC. ("Malala Yousafzai: Portrait of
the Girl Blogger.") Malalas primary objection was to the Talibans prohibition of

female education. Threats became more prevalent for female students and the fear
to be attacked or killed in retaliation was growing. I was getting ready for school
and about to wear my uniform when I remembered that our principal had told us not
to wear uniforms and come to school wearing normal clothes instead. So I decided
to wear my favorite pink dress. Other girls in school were also wearing colorful
dresses. During the morning assembly we were told not to wear colorful clothes as
the Taliban would object to it." ("Malala Yousafzai: Portrait of the Girl Blogger.")
Malala told BBC.
As threats grew from the Taliban Malalas father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, who ran
another school nearby recognized the threats as a real possibility. "People don't need
to be aware of these things at the age of nine or ten or eleven but we were seeing
terrorism and extremism, so I had to be aware," Malala says. (Housain) She knew
that her way old life was being threatened. "I wanted to speak up for my rights," she
says. I didn't want my future to be just sitting in a room and be imprisoned in my
four walls and just cooking and giving birth to children. I didn't want to see my life
in that way." (Housain). Sending her blog was the biggest step toward Malala

creating a movement to make aware of the rights that were being taken away from
women.
Malala herself was terrified that the Taliban would target her father as a result
for continuing to educate students. "Life was normal for normal people, but for
those people who had raised their voice, it was now a risky time," says Malala
(Housain). No one thought the Taliban would target a child, but in 2012 a man shot
Malala in the head. She walked out of school like any normal day and boarded onto
a bus waiting outside the gates to take students and teachers home. Moments later
the bus was flagged down by two young men. Then she heard one ask Who is
Malala? (Husain). Within seconds of other girls on the bus innocently identifying
her, she was shot. Malala was taken to a military hospital that would soon lead her
not just away from her home, but away from Pakistan altogether.
On October 15, 2012, Malala
arrived at the Queen Elizabeth
hospital in Birmingham, where she
would remain for the next three
months. "I opened my eyes and the
first thing I saw was that I was in a hospital and I could see nurses and doctors," she
says. "I thanked God - 'O Allah, I thank you because you have given me a new life
and I am alive. (Husain) On July 12, nine months after the shooting came a major
milestone- Malala stood up at the UN headquarters in New York and addressed a
special youth assembly. This being her 16th birthday, and her speech broadcasted
around the world. "One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the
world," she said. Malala spoke to over 400 youth and people from more than 100

countries. "Education is education," she says. "I am still the old Malala. I still try to
live normally but yes, my life has changed a lot. (Yousafzai Standing up for girls)
The power one person, or child
can do is phenomenal. Malala stood up
for what she believed and took the
daring initiative to put her opinions out
there to the world, even if it meant
threatening her own life. People all around the world face an amazing amount of
injustices whether due to race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc. When more
people like Malala come together and stand up for the injustices others face you are
bound to change the world.
Malala is still working today to bring attention the problems that are being faced
in now other countries too. Malala spent her 17th birthday in Nigeria, spreading
awareness about the plight of the more than 270 young girls kidnapped by Boko
Haram, another terrorist group against giving women rights and an education.
(Robach et al.) Malala is an inspiring young person who has been through so much
to standup for herself, girls who are oppressed, and education for women.

Works Cited bibliography

"Malala Yousafzai: Portrait of the Girl Blogger." BBC News. BBC News, 10 Oct. 2012.
Web. 11 Sept. 2014.
Husain, Mishal. "The Girl Who Was Shot for Going to School." BBC News. BBC, 7 Oct.
2013. Web. 11 Sept. 2014.
Robach, Amy, Teri Whitcraft, and Kaitlyn Folmer. "Malala's Mission: 'Bring Back Our
Girls, Now and Alive'" ABC News. ABC News Network, 14 July 2014. Web. 11
Sept. 2014.
Shackle, Samira. "The Girl Who Played with Fire: The Shooting of the Brave Child
Activist Malala Yousafzai." The Girl Who Played with Fire: The Shooting of the
Brave Child Activist Malala Yousafzai 141.5129 (2012): 28. Literature Resource
Center. Web. 10 Sept. 2014.
Van Glider Cooke, Sonia. "Pakistani Heroine: How Malala Yousafzai Emerged from
Anonymity | TIME.com." World Pakistani Heroine How Malala Yousafzai
Emerged from Anonymity Comments. Time, 23 Oct. 2012. Web. 11 Sept. 2014.
Walsh, Declan. "With Talibans Revival, Dread Returns to Swat Valley.
"The New York Times. The New York Times, 26 July 2014. Web. 08 Nov. 2014.
Yousafzai, Malala, and Christina Lamb. I Am Malala. 1st ed. New York, NY: Little,
Brown, 2013. SLCC Libraries Catalog. Web. 10 Sept. 2014.
Yousafzai, Malala. "Malala Yousafzai: Standing up for Girls." Editorial. Washington
Post 14 July 2014: n. pag. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 10 Sept. 2014.