Malala Yousafzai: This girl is sixteen and she is one of the 100 most influential persons on earth but the Taliban wants to kill her

She was born in 1997 in Pakistan. She is an education and women’s rights activist and was almost killed in an assassination attempt last year. She is one of the most famous teenagers on earth and one of the 100 most influential people in the world. She is also a Nobel Peace Prize nominee. Who is this 16 year-old?

Malala Yousafzai began blogging for BBC News at age 12 under a pseudonym, depicting her daily activities under Taliban rule and her views on education for girls. Her profile began to rise when she started appearing on television to publicly advocate for female education. She had earlier appeared in a documentary by New York Times. As Malala became more popular, she started receiving death threats. In fact, death threats against her were published in newspapers.

Last year at age 15, a Taliban gunman boarded Malala’s school bus in northwestern Pakistan, shot her and two other girls in an attempt to kill her. The bullet went through her head and neck, and lodged in her shoulder. The Taliban, by the incident, wanted to show what would happen to anyone who had the courage to stand up for education, freedom and self-determination, particularly for girls and women. Malala was flown to the UK for treatment at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham and on February 2nd, 2013, she underwent a five-hour operation to reconstruct her skull and restore her hearing. The Taliban has threatened to kill her if she returns to Pakistan.

Today, a global campaign in Malala’s name, spearheaded by the United Nations (UN) Special Envoy for Global Education, Gordon Brown, a former prime minister of Britain, is already on in support of what she stands for. The main focus of the campaign is that no children will be left out of school by 2015. On her 16th birthday on July 12th 2013, she spoke at the UN to call for worldwide access to education. The UN called the event "Malala Day”. Hear this extract from her speech at the UN:

"The terrorists thought they would change my aims and stop my ambitions, but nothing changed in my life except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born ... I am not against anyone, neither am I here to speak in terms of personal revenge against the Taliban or any other terrorist group. I'm here to speak up for the right of education for every child. I want education for the sons and daughters of the Taliban and all terrorists and extremists."

It is obvious that this young girl has succeeded in affecting the world. Her story is a lesson on the power of a vision and doggedness. I came across an online publication that states ten ways in which Malala has changed the world and I share it below:

1.      She has sparked a dialogue about children's education throughout the world
2.     Three million people have signed the Malala Petition
3.     Her ability to be fearless is inspiring beyond measure
4.     She has created the Malala Fund
5.     She has taught us all about forgiveness
6.     She has shown us that there is no age limit to stand up against injustice
7.      Her story has reminded children throughout the world not to take anything for granted
8.     She has challenged us all to wage a war...
9.     She has illustrated the importance of peaceful conflict resolution
10. She has caused the UN to recommit to Millennium Development Goal 2

Malala’s story has taught me that I can affect the world from my own little corner and that I should never give up on a cause I believe in. What about you?