Here’s a look at the life of education activist and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Malala Yousafzai.
Personal:
Birth date: July 12, 1997
Birth place: Mingora, Swat Valley, Pakistan
Father: Ziauddin Yousafzai, educator and activist
Mother: Toorpekai Yousafzai
Other Facts:
The youngest recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize.
Her name means “grief stricken.”
An asteroid, 2010 ML48, was officially named “316201 Malala” after her.
Timeline:
September 1, 2008 – At a local press club in Peshawar, Malala gives her first speech, “How Dare theTalibanTake Away my Basic Right to Education?” in protest of school closings.
January-March 2009 – Malala, using the pen name Gul Makai, blogs for the BBC about her life under Taliban rule.
2009 – Is the subject of a New York Times documentary, “Class Dismissed,” by Adam B. Ellick.
November 24, 2011 – Malala is awarded Pakistan’s first national peace prize.
October 9, 2012 – In an assassination attempt, Malala is shot in the head by Taliban gunmen. The attack takes place when Malala is riding a bus on her way home from school; two other girls are injured.
October 15, 2012 – Malala is airlifted from Pakistan to England in order to be treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
February 3, 2013 – Undergoes her last surgery after being shot in the head.
February 8, 2013 – Malala is released from Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
March 19, 2013 – Returns to school attending Edgbaston High School for Girls in Birmingham, England.
April 2013 – The Malala Fund is established, which helps to provide grants for the education of girls.
April 18, 2013 – Is listed as one of Time’s Most Influential People of the year.
July 12, 2013 – Malala addresses the United Nations in New York. This is her first formal public speech since her attack.
September 6, 2013 – Is awarded the International Children’s Peace Prize.
October 2013 – Receives an Honorary Master of Arts from The University of Edinburgh.
October 2013 – The Malala Fund Organization is founded.
October 8, 2013 – Her autobiography written with Christina Brown,“I Am Malala,” is published.
November 20, 2013 – Receives the Sakharov Prize for her bravery against the Taliban.
December 10, 2013 – Malala is awarded the United Nations Human Rights Prize, an award that is only given every five years.
April 15, 2014 – Receives an honorary doctorate of civil law from University of King’s College.
July 14, 2014 – Malala appeals to Boko Haram militants to “stop misusing the name of Islam.”
September 12, 2014 – 10 people are arrested for the attempted murder of Malala.
October 10, 2014 – Is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Kailash Satyarthi for activism on behalf of children’s rights.
October 13, 2014 – Is listed as one of Time’s 25 Most Influential Teens.
October 21, 2014 – The House of Commons unanimously votes to make Malala an honorary Canadian citizen.
2015 – Receives a Grammy Award for Best Children’s Album for “I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World.”
June 5, 2015 – It is announced that two people have been sentenced to life in prison for the 2012 attack on Malala. Eight other suspects have been acquitted.
April 10, 2017 – Is designated a UN Messenger of Peace.
August 17, 2017 – Announces she has been accepted to study at the University of Oxford.
March 29, 2018 – Malala returns to Pakistan for the first time since she was attacked by Taliban militants.
January 8, 2019 – Her book, “We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories From Refugee Girls Around the World,” is published.
