The Girl Who Stood Up for Education
Malala Yousafzai was born in 1997 in Mingora, Pakistan, a tourist town that seemed worlds away from the danger she'd later face. When she was just 11 years old, she started blogging for the BBC about what life was really like under Taliban rule.
The Taliban had been threatening to close girls' schools across Pakistan, and Malala wasn't having it. Her brave decision to speak out publicly about women's rights to education put a massive target on her back. Death threats started rolling in, but this fearless girl kept going to school anyway.
Everything changed on 9 October 2012 when Taliban gunmen boarded her school bus and shot her three times in the head. After emergency treatment in Pakistan, Malala was flown to England where doctors worked to save her life. Against all odds, she survived.
Remember this: Sometimes the most powerful weapon against injustice is simply refusing to stay silent, even when it's dangerous.
