The Life of Malala Yousafzai
The incredible life of Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, who doesn’t have a cell phone or use Facebook and once left Jon Stewart speechless
By Shana Lebowitz From Business Insider
Pakistani Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai arrives to celebrate her 19th birthday at the Dadaab refugee camp near the Kenya-Somalia border, July 12, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya
At age 20, she’s already one of the most accomplished and most celebrated people in the world. Yousafzai pictured.Thomson Reuters
At age 20, Malala Yousafzai is one of the most accomplished and most celebrated people in the world.
Five years ago, she was shot by the Taliban in her native Pakistan for defying the ban against women going to school. Since then, she has won the Nobel Peace Prize, traveled all over the world, authored two books, and started studying at Oxford University.
We rounded up some of the highlights of Yousafzai’s incredible life.
Malala Yousafzai is 20 years old. She is a Pakistani activist, an author, and the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Thomson Reuters
Source: The New York Times
Yousafzai began studying at Oxford University in October 2017. She will study philosophy, politics, and economics.
Wikimedia Commons
Source: The New York Times, Business Insider
Yousafzai grew up in the Swat Valley in Northwest Pakistan. The Taliban took control of the area in 2007. She defied the ban preventing women from attending school: “I just could not imagine a life limited to the four walls of my house and never be myself.”
Thomson Reuters
Source: TODAY
In 2012, Malala was 14 when she was shot by a member of the Taliban. A bullet narrowly missed her brain.
Handout/Getty
Source: The New York Times
In 2013, Yousafzai and her father, Ziauddin, established the M
alala Fund to give girls all over the world access to education.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
Source: Malala Fund
That same year, Yousafzai published a memoir titled “I Am Malala,” co-written with Christina Lamb.
Amazon
Source: The Washington Post
S
he appeared on The Daily Show and left Jon Stewart speechless when she explained what she would do should someone from the Taliban come after her again: “I will tell him how important education is and that I even want education for your children as well. And I would tell him, ‘That’s what I want to tell you. Now do what you want.'”
Screenshot
Source: Business Insider, Comedy Central
Yousafzai met with President Barack Obama and challenged him on the drone strikes in Pakistan: “Innocent victims are killed in these acts, and they lead to resentment among the Pakistani people. If we refocus efforts on education it will make a big impact.”
The White House/Handout/Getty
Source: CNN
In 2014, Yousafzai became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. She said the award was also “for those frightened children who want peace. It is for those voiceless children who want change.”
Nigel Waldron/Getty Images
Source: The New York Times
As of 2014, Yousafzai didn’t have a cell phone or use social media, so she could focus on her education. She does use Twitter, though. Recently, she crowdsourced tips on packing for college.
Richard Stonehouse/Getty Images
Source: Business Insider, The New York Times, Twitter
Yousafzai recently published a children’s book titled “Malala’s Magic Pencil.” “The magic is in their voice, in their words, in their writings,” she said of the kids who read her book. “They should dream beyond limits and believe that there is magic in them.”
Reuters
In April, Yousafzai went on a “Girl Power Trip” to meet with women around the world and was designated a UN Messenger of Peace. After winning the award, Yousafzai told the audience that the most difficult period of her life was between 2007 and 2009 in the Swat valley: “We were at a point of making a decision about whether to speak out or remain silent. And I realized that if you remain silent, you are still going to be terrorized. So speaking out, you can help people.”
Drew Angerer/Getty
Source: NPR, United Nations
