Malala Yousafzai

Context & Background

Malala Yousafzai is a young Pakistani education activist who, at the age of 17, became the youngest person to win a Nobel peace prize in 2014.

Malala was born on 12 July, 1997 in the Swat district of Pakistan. She is the daughter of Ziauddin Yousafzai and Toor Pekai Yousafzai. Her father was also an education activist, and he ensured that Malala was well-educated and fluent in Pashto, Urdu and English.

When she was only 11 years old, Malala started advocating for education rights, challenging the Pakistani Taliban which often took away and banned women’s rights to education in the area. She wrote blog posts from January to March 2009 under the pseudonym 'Gul Makai' for BBC Urdu, drawing attention to the conflict in her home region.

Malala continued to lobby for female education, moving away from her pseudonym and appearing as herself on TV and at political events. She began to garner national and global attention for her activism.

Unfortunately, as Malala's profile increased, so too did the threats against her. On 9 October 2012, a Taliban gunman shot 15-year-old Malala as she rode home on a bus after taking an exam in Pakistan's Swat Valley. The attempted murder sparked worldwide outrage, and many politicians and celebrities expressed sympathy and support for Malala's cause.

Malala survived the attack, and continued with her education, finishing her schooling in the UK and attending The University of Oxford. She is still fighting for education and other social justice causes today.

Impact & Relevance

Malala is one of the most influential voices for female education. She has received many accolades for her human right activism. Most notably, Malala was announced as one of the recipents of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for her struggle for the right of all children to education. She was also awarded the International Children's Peace Prize in 2013 and named an United Nations Messenger of Peace in 2017.

Malala has also published three books: a memoir, I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban, in 2013; a picturebook, Malala's Magic Pencil, in 2017, and a nonfiction book, We Are Displaced: True Stories of Refugee Lives, in 2018. She is also the subject of numerous documentaries and films.

Defining life moments

12 July, 1997

Malala Yousafzai was born in Mingora, Swat, Pakistan.

3 January, 2009

Using the pseudonym 'Gul Makai,' Malala published her first blog post for BBC Urdu, detailing her life under the Pakistani Taliban in Swat. She would write until 9 March, 2009.

October 2011

Malala's activism caught the attention of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a South African activist, who nominated her for the International Children's Peace Prize. She did not win, but this brought her further into the spotlight.

December 2011

Malala was awarded Pakistan's first National Youth Peace Prize.

9 October, 2012

Malala was shot by a gunman on her way back from an exam.

October 2013

Malala published her memoir, I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban.

10 October, 2014

Malala was announced as the co-recipient of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize.

8 January, 2019

Malala published her second non-fiction book, We Are Displaced: True Stories of Refugee Lives.

19 June, 2020

Malala graduated with honours from University of Oxford having studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE).

2022

Malala was elected World's Children's Prize Decade Child Rights Hero, amongst previous recipients of the World's Children's Prize.

Key Quotes

“Let us pick up our books and our pens; they are the most powerful weapons.”
“We must tell girls their voices are important.”
“Education is one of the blessings of life — and one of its necessities.”
“The extremists are afraid of books and pens: the power of education frightens them.”
“One child, one teacher, one pen, and one book can change the world.”