MALALA YOUSAFZAI: BIOGRAPHY, PERSONALITY AND MESSAGE - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Malala Yousafzai is a young Pakistani human rights activist who rose to fame after working with the BBC when she was just 11 years old. In addition, she is the youngest winner of the Nobel Prizes: she received her award at the young age of 17.

When she was just a teenager, she raised her voice against the Taliban's control over girls' education. She openly criticized the Taliban decision not to allow the right to education for girls in her country.

By Russell Watkins / Department for International Development. (https://www.flickr.com/photos/dfid/14714344864/), via Wikimedia Commons

In addition to her actions as an activist, Yousafzai gained much greater fame after surviving an assassination attempt when she was 15 years old. The reason she won the Nobel Peace Prize was for her work on behalf of children's rights; the award was obtained in conjunction with Kailash Satyarthi.

Biography

Early years

Malala Yousafzai was born in Swat, Pakistan, on July 12, 1997. Her father was a teacher and social activist, who from an early age encouraged his daughter to follow in his footsteps and become an activist.

Her father was also the founder and manager of a school in Swat that specialized in teaching girls and young women. Yousafzai studied at her father's school, where she stood out for having brilliant student grades.

His life changed, however, when the Taliban invaded the Swat district in 2007. By then, the Swat Valley was only a major tourist destination in the country, but it quickly became a zone of extreme violence.

The Taliban began enforcing a series of extreme Islamic laws, which led to the systematic destruction of educational centers specializing in teaching girls. In addition, women were excluded from important roles in society as a result of Taliban laws.

Yousafzai's family fled the region to ward off the violence, but they returned as soon as tensions subsided in Swat.

Beginnings as an activist

In late 2008, her father took her to a local club where members of the press used to gather. Their goal was to publicly protest against Taliban actions related to girls' education.

During this event, Yousafzai began to gain national recognition which was subsequently translated globally. He gave his first speech as an activist, which also revolved around Taliban law against girls' education. The success of his speech was resounding; it was published throughout all of Pakistan.

However, shortly after his speech, the Pakistani Taliban movement announced that all girls' schools in Swat would be destroyed. Shortly after, the Taliban closed all girls' schools in the region, destroying more than 100 educational institutions in the process.

By early 2009, she became an amateur educator for a Pakistani social program. This program revolved around engaging young minds (particularly school students) to participate in social issues that concern the country through professional journalistic tools.

I work with the BBC

After his speech broadcast across the country, the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) contacted his father to request a blogger capable of describing life in Pakistan under the influence of the Taliban.

Originally, the goal was not for Yousafzai to become a blogger for the BBC. In fact, his father looked hard for someone capable of carrying out this task, but no student was willing to do it.

Malala Yousafzai adopted a new name for these blog posts, which served to protect her identity against potential enemies. She became a blogger for the BBC, creating more than 30 different posts between the end of 2008 and March 2009.

These posts were originally made in Pakistani (Urdu), for the BBC's Urdu channel, but were translated into English by company staff.

Public life

It was in early 2009, in February, that Malala made her first television appearance. This marked her first entry into public life without using a pseudonym in between. He spoke for a current affairs program that airs across Pakistan.

This event was followed by a change in Swat's military activity. The Taliban forces in the region reached an agreement with the government to stop the exchanges of bullets that had not stopped since the time of the invasion.

The agreement had as one of its key points the fact that Pakistani girls could go back to school. However, they were required to wear appropriate Islamic dress.

Peace in Swat was short-lived. Violence resumed shortly after the agreed ceasefire, forcing Yousafzai's family to take refuge in other regions of Pakistan. That same year, in 2009, the Pakistani army managed to drive away the Taliban and retake the region, allowing his family to return to their city of origin.

I work with the United States

After working with the BBC and Swat in a state of temporary calm, a reporter for the prestigious American newspaper, The New York Times, approached her to record a documentary.

This documentary sought to address the inconveniences experienced by girls and families in the region after the closure of various schools by the Taliban. The success of the documentary recording was such that the journalist, named Adam Ellick, sought out the young woman to record an additional documentary about her person.

Both video documentaries were published by the newspaper on its website, where they were seen by thousands of people.

The US special ambassador to Pakistan met with her in the summer of 2009. She requested the help of the United States to protect the education of girls in Pakistan, which continued to be threatened by Taliban ideals.

Recognition

His appearances on television and in local media continued to increase exponentially. By the end of 2009, the assumptions that she was the person who worked with the BBC as a blogger started to get very strong.

His pseudonym lost steam and his true identity was revealed. After the official confirmation of her identity, she began to be publicly acclaimed for her work as a human rights activist.

She was nominated for the International Peace Prize for Children by the South African cleric Desmond Tutu, who had already won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work against apartheid in his native country.

Attempt

In October 2012, a gunman from the Taliban forces attacked the young woman while she was on her way home from school. The attack resulted in a direct shot to the head of Yousafzai, who survived the attack but was seriously injured.

After it was determined that she was still alive, she was transferred to England so that she could receive appropriate medical treatment. She flew from Pakistan to Birmingham, where she underwent surgery to stabilize her health condition. The leader of the Taliban army and the radical Islamist movement took responsibility for the attack.

The attack did not succeed in ending the young woman's life. Rather, it served as a tool to make it known in the eyes of the world. Even the United Nations intervened through its ambassador for education, who chose to summon all the children of the world to return to school.

By December of the same year as the attack, the president of Pakistan started a financing fund in honor of the young woman. In addition, the “Malala Fund” was established, which aims to promote the education of girls around the world.

Activities after your recovery

After recovering from the attack, Yousafzai stayed with his family in Birmingham while he continued his rehabilitation. She continued her studies in England, where she also returned to her cause as an activist.

In 2013, he reappeared in the eyes of the public light for the first time after being a victim of the attack. She did it at the United Nations headquarters in New York, where she gave a speech addressed to all those present, with only 16 years old.

That same year, the United Nations Organization awarded him the Human Rights Prize, an exclusive award of the organization that is given every half decade.

In addition, the prestigious Time magazine named her one of the most influential people of 2013. Her photograph made it to the cover of the magazine.

Yousafzai dedicated herself to writing a couple of texts, the first co-authored with a journalist from The Sunday Times, entitled "I am Malala: The girl who fought for education and was attacked by the Taliban." This book is an autobiography where he recounts the events that occurred during his time as an activist in Pakistan.

The other book is a picture book for children, where he narrates the events that occurred as a student during his childhood. It was nominated for a Little Rebels Award for Best Children's Book.

Awards

The National Constitution Center of the US state of Philadelphia gave him a special award for those people dedicated to the fight for freedom around the world. The award is called the “Medal of Freedom”, and after obtaining it in 2014, Malala became the youngest person to have won the award, at 17 years old.

She was nominated as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013, but it was awarded to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. However, she was nominated again in 2014, the year in which she was awarded the award. She is the youngest person to have won the Nobel Peace Prize, at 17 years old.

Present

After receiving the award, he remained in England. There she continued her studies, but now with more recognition than ever she used her public image to fight for human rights around the world. Then, in 2015, she helped refugees from the Syrian war in Lebanon by opening a school for children in that country.

Today, Yousafzai continues to publish books and, in 2017, she was invited by a conditional offer to the University of Oxford. In August of this same year, she was accepted to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the British university.

Personality

Yousafzai has stood out for being a highly determined person. No obstacle she has faced in her life has made her stop fighting for her cause as an activist. In fact, her personality has inspired thousands of girls and young women around the world.

He is a person full of courage, an attribute that he uses to put aside the fear that the various death threats he receives from the Taliban in his country may cause him.

She is passionate about education and helping her fellow man, which is reflected in the words and actions she transmits to the rest of the world.

Message conveyed

The main message that the young woman transmits is simple: justice for the educational rights of girls and an incessant defense of human rights around the world.

The attention she has received from various people and celebrities throughout her life is used by the young woman as a tool to promote her cause.

People who have gotten to know her think that Yousafzai does not see attention as something that excites her, but rather as something that serves to defend human rights on a large scale.

His fight for the right to education has not stopped, even after being the victim of an attack by the Taliban. Its message translates into the inspiration it generates in thousands of people around the world.

References

1. Malala Yousafzai - Pakistani Activist, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2018. Taken from britannica.com
2. Why Pakistan Hates Malala, M. Kugelman in Foreign Policy, 2017. Taken from foreignpolicy.com
3. Meeting Malala: Her Cause Comes First, M. Mcallester in Time Magazine, 2014. Taken from time.com
4. Malala's Story, The Malala Fund Website, (nd). Taken from malala.org
5. Malala Yousafzai, Biography Webstie, 2014. Taken from biography.com