Malala Day 2022: Celebrating the voice of girls' education rights
She is an advocate for girls’ education worldwide, a UN messenger of peace and a Nobel laureate. Malala Day has been instituted by the United Nations, to be celebrated on July 12 every year, to recognise the contributions of Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai towards raising awareness on the education rights of girls.
She is one of the youngest activists worldwide to have raised her voice for girls’ education rights.
Born on July 12, 1997, in Mingora, a city in the Swat Valley of Pakistan, Malala was inspired by her father Ziauddin Yousafzai, a teacher who ran a school and advocated the need for the education of every child.
The Taliban’s control over the Swat Valley followed socio-political changes where girls were banned from attending schools and taking part in cultural activities. In 2009, deeply disturbed by the situation, a young Malala started penning down blogs for BBC under the pseudo-name ‘Gul Makai’. In all her letters she firmly spoke about her rights and that of her friends who wanted to learn.
From internally being displaced from her own town in 2009 to surviving a shot in the neck and head by a Taliban gunman in 2012, Malala rose as a symbol of resilience and strength.
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Airlifted to a military hospital in Peshawar, Malala was then shifted to an intensive care unit in Birmingham, England where she went through a series of surgeries.
Nine months after being shot, Malala delivered a powerful speech at the UN headquarters on her 16th birthday and thereafter the day was celebrated as ‘Malala Day’ in celebration of her long fight.
“Dear brothers and sisters, do remember one thing. Malala Day is not my day. Today is the day of every woman, every boy and every girl, who have raised their voice for their rights,” Malala said in the speech.
Speaking about the shooting incident, she said that the Taliban hoped to silence her with a bullet.
“But nothing changed in my life except this. Weakness, fear and hopelessness died, strength, power and courage were born,” she said and received recognition for her speech.
In 2014, Malala co-founded the ‘Malala Fund’ with her father which could empower girls to pursue education and achieve their full potential as individuals.
The same year Malala bagged the Nobel Peace Prize at the tender age of 17. She was the youngest person to receive the honour. Accepting the award, Malala said: “This award is not just for me. It is for those forgotten children who want education. It is for those frightened children who want peace. It is for those voiceless children who want change.”
From taking a firm stance on disturbing incidents like the Boko Haram kidnapping to advocating educational rights for girls in Afghanistan and Africa, the activist continues to use her voice for establishing gender equality.
