Malala's Actions: Lawful Or Not?

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist who has campaigned for women's rights and education since she was 11 years old. In 2012, when she was just 15, Yousafzai survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban, who targeted her for her activism. She was shot in the head by a masked gunman while on her way home from school. Despite this near-fatal shooting, Yousafzai continued her activism and became the youngest-ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. While Yousafzai has broken no laws, eight of her ten attackers were acquitted, and the Taliban continue to threaten her life.

Malala Yousafzai's activism

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist who has advocated for women's rights and education since she was eleven years old. She is the daughter of Ziauddin Yousafzai, an educator and social activist who ran a girls' school in their village. Inspired by her father, Yousafzai was an excellent student and passionate about knowledge from a young age.

In 2007, when Yousafzai was ten years old, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) invaded the Swat Valley, where she lived, and began imposing strict Islamic law. They banned girls from attending school and destroyed or shut down hundreds of schools. Yousafzai and her family fled the region but returned when tensions eased.

On September 1, 2008, Yousafzai gave her first speech at a local press club in Peshawar, protesting the school closures. Her speech was publicized throughout Pakistan. Soon after, the BBC approached her father, looking for someone to blog anonymously about life under the TTP. Under the name Gul Makai, Yousafzai began writing regular entries for BBC Urdu about her daily life under Taliban rule and her desire to attend school.

In February 2009, Yousafzai made her first television appearance, giving an interview to Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir. She also continued to speak out against the school closures in the media, making her a target for the Taliban.

On October 9, 2012, Yousafzai was shot in the head by a TTP gunman while on her way home from school. She was flown to Birmingham, England, for surgery and survived the attack. The incident sparked protests and international support for her cause. Yousafzai recovered and continued her activism, addressing the United Nations on her 16th birthday in 2013.

In 2014, Yousafzai and her father established the Malala Fund to support and advocate for women's and girls' education globally. That same year, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the youngest person to receive the award. Since then, she has continued her activism, advocating for human rights and education worldwide.

Malala's shooting

On 9 October 2012, Malala Yousafzai was on her way home from school in the Swat District of Pakistan when a masked gunman boarded her school bus and asked, "Who is Malala?". The gunman then shot Yousafzai in the left side of her head. Two other girls were also injured in the shooting.

Yousafzai was airlifted to a military hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan, where doctors performed surgery to remove the bullet, which had lodged near her spinal cord. She was subsequently transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, UK, for further treatment. Yousafzai woke up from a coma 10 days after the shooting.

The shooting sparked international outrage and condemnation from world leaders, including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who called it a "heinous and cowardly act". Yousafzai's advocacy for girls' education in Pakistan had made her a target of the Taliban, who claimed responsibility for the attack.

Following her recovery, Yousafzai continued her activism for girls' education and co-founded the Malala Fund, a non-profit organisation dedicated to giving every girl the opportunity to achieve the future she chooses. In 2014, Yousafzai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the youngest Nobel laureate in history.

Malala's awards

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani female education activist, film and television producer, and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. She is the youngest-ever Nobel laureate, the second Pakistani, and the only Pashtun to receive a Nobel Prize. Here is a list of her awards:

• National Youth Peace Prize (2011)
• Anne Frank Award for Moral Courage (2012)
• Sitara-e-Shujaat, Pakistan's second-highest civilian bravery award (2012)
• Foreign Policy magazine top 100 global thinker (2012)
• Time magazine Person of the Year shortlist (2012)
• Mother Teresa Awards for Social Justice (2012)
• Rome Prize for Peace and Humanitarian Action (2012)
• Top Name in Annual Survey of Global English (2013)
• Simone de Beauvoir Prize (2013)
• Memminger Freiheitspreis 1525 (2013)
• Doughty Street Advocacy award of Index on Censorship (2013)
• Fred and Anne Jarvis Award of the UK National Union of Teachers (2013)
• Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards, Global Trailblazer (2013)
• Time's "100 Most Influential People in the World" (2013, 2014, 2015)
• Premi Internacional Catalunya Award of Catalonia (2013)
• Annual Award for Development of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) (2013)
• International Campaigner of the Year, Observer Ethical Awards (2013)
• Tipperary International Peace Award (2013)
• Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought (2013)
• Honorary Master of Arts degree awarded by the University of Edinburgh (2013)
• Pride of Britain (2013)
• Glamour magazine Woman of the Year (2013)
• GG2 Hammer Award at GG2 Leadership Awards (2013)
• International Prize for Equality and Non-Discrimination (2013)
• World Children's Prize (2014)
• Honorary Life Membership by the PSEU (Ireland) (2014)
• Skoll Global Treasure Award (2014)
• Honorary Doctor of Civil Law, University of King's College, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (2014)
• Nobel Peace Prize (2014)
• Philadelphia Liberty Medal (2014)
• Asia Game Changer Award (2014)
• Time Magazine "The 25 Most Influential Teens of 2014" (2014)
• Honorary Canadian citizenship (2014, 2017)
• Asteroid 316201 Malala named in her honour (2015)
• Grammy Award for Best Children's Album (2015)
• Honorary President of The Students' Union of the University of Sheffield (2016)
• Order of the Smile (2016)
• United Nations Messenger of Peace (2017)
• Honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa (2017)
• Ellis Island International Medal of Honor (2017)
• Wonk of the Year 2017 from American University (2017)
• Harper's Bazaar's list of "150 of the most influential female leaders in the UK" (2017)
• Gleitsman Award from the Center for the Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School (2018)
• Honorary Fellow at Linacre College, Oxford (2023)

Malala's education

Malala Yousafzai was born on 12 July 1997 in Mingora, Pakistan, and is the daughter of Ziauddin Yousafzai, a poet, school owner, and educational activist. Ziauddin ran a chain of private schools and encouraged Malala to follow in his footsteps as an activist. Malala was an excellent student and was passionate about knowledge from a very young age.

In 2007, when Malala was 10 years old, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) invaded the Swat Valley and began imposing strict Islamic law, including banning girls from attending school. Malala and her family fled the region but returned when tensions eased.

On 1 September 2008, Malala's father took her to a local press club in Peshawar to protest the school closings, and she gave her first speech, titled "How Dare the Taliban Take Away My Basic Right to Education?". Her speech was publicized throughout Pakistan.

In late 2008, the TTP announced that all girls' schools in Swat would be shut down on 15 January 2009. The BBC approached Ziauddin in search of someone who might blog anonymously for them about what it was like to live under TTP rule. Under the name Gul Makai, Malala began writing regular entries for BBC Urdu about her daily life. She wrote 35 entries from January to March 2009, which were also translated into English.

In February 2009, Malala made her first television appearance when she was interviewed by Pakistani journalist and talk show host Hamid Mir on the Pakistan current affairs show Capital Talk. In the same month, the TTP agreed to a ceasefire and lifted the restriction against girls attending school, but violence resurged a few months later, and Malala's family was forced to seek refuge outside of Swat.

In early 2009, Malala worked with New York Times reporter Adam Ellick to make a documentary, Class Dismissed, about the school shutdown. Ellick also made a second film with her, titled A Schoolgirl's Odyssey.

In July 2009, Malala and her family returned home and found that her school had sustained only light damage. She continued to appear on television and gave interviews in print to publicly advocate for female education.

In 2011, Malala was nominated by human rights activist Desmond Tutu for the International Children's Peace Prize. In December of that year, she was awarded Pakistan's first National Youth Peace Prize (later renamed the National Malala Peace Prize).

On 9 October 2012, Malala was shot in the head by a TTP gunman while on her way home from school. She was flown to Birmingham, England, for surgery and made a full recovery.

After her recovery, Malala became a more prominent activist for the right to education. In 2013, she co-founded the Malala Fund, a non-profit organisation, with Shiza Shahid. In 2014, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the youngest-ever Nobel laureate.

Malala completed her secondary school education at Edgbaston High School in Birmingham, England, from 2013 to 2017. She then went on to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford, graduating in 2020.

Malala's family

Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1997, in Mingora, Pakistan, to a lower-middle-class family. Her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, was a poet, school owner, and educational activist who ran a chain of private schools known as the Khushal Public School. Ziauddin was also a social activist who encouraged Malala to follow in his footsteps and speak out against the prohibition on girls' education imposed by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Malala's mother, Toor Pekai Yousafzai, was a homemaker. Malala has two younger brothers, Khushal and Atal, with whom she lived in Mingora, along with her parents and two chickens.

In 2012, Malala and her family were the target of an assassination attempt by the TTP due to her activism and outspoken criticism of their restrictions on girls' education. A Taliban gunman shot Malala in the head while she was on a bus on her way home from school. She was airlifted to a military hospital in Peshawar and later transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, for surgery and further treatment.

After her recovery, Malala and her family settled in Birmingham, where she continued her education and activism. In 2013, she co-founded the Malala Fund, a non-profit organisation dedicated to giving every girl the opportunity to achieve a future she chooses. Malala's father has always been her ally and inspiration in her activism, and they have worked together to advocate for girls' education and women's rights.

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