1. Malala
Yousafzai
"I speak not for myself but for those without voice... those who have fought for
their rights... Their right to live in peace, their right to be treated with dignity, their right to
equality of opportunity, their right to be educated."­Malala. Malala is a great person to me,
but you might not know of her. So this is her story.
Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1997, in Mingora, Pakistan. For the first
few years of her life, her hometown remained a popular tourist spot that was known for its
summer festivals. However, the area began to change as the Taliban tried to take control.
Malala went to her dad's school. After the Taliban started to attack girls schools, Malala
gave a speech. "How dare the Taliban take away my basic right to education?"­ Malala.
In early 2009, Malala began blogging for the BBC about living under the
Taliban's threats to her education. In order to hide her identity, she used the name Gul
Makai. But later on the taliban found out it was her.
When she was 14, Malala and her family learned that the Taliban had issued a
death threat against her. Malala thought that the taliban would not harm a child. On October
9, 2012, on her way home from school, a man boarded the bus Malala was riding in and
demanded to know which girl was Malala. When her friends looked toward Malala, she was
given away. The man shot her with his gun hitting Malala in the left side of her head; the
bullet then traveled down her neck. Two other girls were also injured in the attack.
The shooting left Malala in critical condition, so she was flown to Birmingham,
England. Once she was in the United Kingdom, Malala was taken out of a medically
induced coma. Though she would require multiple surgeries—including repair of a facial
nerve to fix the paralyzed left side of her face—she had suffered no major brain damage. In
2013 she was back up and doing speeches.

2. Lastly, despite the Taliban's threats, Malala remains a staunch advocate for the
power of education. On October 10, 2013, in acknowledgement of her work, the European
Parliament awarded her the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. She has also been
nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. Should she win, she will be the youngest honoree in
the history of the award.