Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, who has been working towards promoting and supporting female education since a teenager, has turned a year older today.
She publicly opposed the ban on girl’s education in her area and advocated the need of educating the female child. Malala gained international attention
After surviving an assassination attempt at just 15 years of age, there is nothing that Malala did not do to surprise the world. From becoming the youngest Nobel Prize laureate to being designated as a United Nations Messenger of Peace, Malala has made Pakistan proud.
Born on 12th July 1997, Malala established the Malala Fund in order to promote education for girls which invests in education activists and advocates. Here are the listed achievements of Malala that encourage every girl with drams of having education rights:
In 2013, the European Parliament awarded Yousafzai the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in acknowledgment of her work.
In 2013, Yousafzai and her father launched the Malala Fund, which works to ensure girls around the world have access to 12 years of free, safe, quality education.
In 2013, Malala wrote an autobiography, ‘I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban’, which became an international bestseller. The book was abridged in 2018 for young chapter book readers as Malala: My Story of Standing Up for Girls’ Rights.
In 2014, Yousafzai became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, at just 17 years old; she received the award along with Indian children’s rights activist Kailash Satyarthi.
In October 2015, a documentary about Yousafzai’s life was released. ‘HE NAMED ME MALALA’.
In 2017, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Yousafzai as a U.N. Messenger of Peace to promote girls’ education.
On her birthday, here are few inspiring quotes of Malala Yousafzai on empowering women:
Malala on women’s empowerment
“No struggle can ever succeed without women participating side by side with men. There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other is the pen. There is a third power stronger than both, that of women.”
“If one man can destroy everything, why can’t one girl change it?”
“I tell my story, not because it is unique, but because it is not. It is the story of many girls.”
Malala on education
“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.”
“Education is neither eastern nor western. Education is education and it’s the right of every human being.”
“Extremists have shown what frightens them most: a girl with a book.”
Malala on courage
“When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.”
“If people were silent nothing would change.”
“We were scared, but our fear was not as strong as our courage.”
Malala on hope
“To me, the moral of the story was that there will always be hurdles in life, but if you want to achieve a goal, you must continue.”
“I think everyone makes a mistake at least once in their life. The important thing is what you learn from it.”
“Kindness can only be repaid with kindness. It can’t be repaid with expressions like ‘thank you’.”
