Malala Yousafzai
Facts
Malala Yousafzai
The Nobel Peace Prize 2014
Born: 12 July 1997, Mingora, Pakistan
Residence at the time of the award: United Kingdom
Prize motivation: “for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education”
Prize share: 1/2
For the right of every child to receive an education
Malala Yousafzai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her fight for the right of every child to receive an education. She was born in the Swat Valley in Pakistan. When the Islamic Taliban movement took control of the valley in 2008, girls’ schools were burned down. Malala kept a diary of the events, which was published in 2009 by BBC Urdu. In her diary she spoke out against the Taliban’s terrorist regime. An American documentary film made Malala internationally famous.
It was not long before the Taliban threatened her life. In 2012, Malala was shot in the head on a school bus by a Taliban gunman. She survived, but had to flee to England and live in exile there because a fatwa was issued against her.
In 2013, TIME magazine named Malala one of “The 100 Most Influential People in the World.” On her 16th birthday she spoke in the United Nations. In her speech Malala called for the equal right to education for girls all over the world, and became a symbol of this cause.
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