Who is Malala?

- In 1997, Malala was born in Mingora, Pakistan and grew up in Swat Valley
- In 2007, Taliban militants took control over Swat Valley and a year later, banned all girls from attending school
- Under the name ‘Gul Makai’, Malala began blogging for the BBC about her life under Taliban threat
- In 2009, Malala and her family were forced out of Swat Valley
- In 2011, Malala continued to publicly campaign for girls to have the opportunity to attend school. In the same year, Malala was the first to win Pakistan’s National Youth Peace Prize
- In 2012, a masked gunman boarded Malala’s school bus and shot her in the head, neck and shoulder. Malala survived, but remained in a critical condition and as a result, was transported to the United Kingdom for treatment.
- After multiple surgeries and months of rehabilitation, in 2013, Malala was discharged from hospital and re-joined her family home in the United Kingdom.
- Also in 2013, Malala spoke to the United Nations on her 16th Birthday, and continued to campaign for girls' education. With this, Malala set up the Malala Fund- an organisation dedicated to giving all girls access to education.
- In 2014, Malala won the Nobel Peace Prize
- In 2015, ‘He named me Malala’- a documentary on Malala’s inspiring life was released
- In 2017, earlier this year, Malala embarked on a 6 month ‘Girl Power Trip’, visiting many countries and hearing about the challenges girls face and fight for, to attend school.

Malala is an inspiring and motivational young lady. Teachers, I encourage you all to make your students aware of Malala and her many passions.
Click on the link for the ‘He named me Malala’ (2015) film trailer; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE5gSHJkusU
Click on the link to explore and discover the Malala Fund Website: https://www.malala.org/