I Am Malala - A Study in Courage

Malala Yousafzai - the youngest person in the world to be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize - was on The Daily Show on Tuesday night. 

A year ago, she was shot in the head as she rode a schoolbus by a Taliban gunman near her home in Pakistan's Swat Valley.  She almost died and it's a miracle that she survived.  The Taliban has vowed to do it again and said they would be "proud" to kill her.   She has not returned to her home since the shooting.

She is probably one of the most impressive children on the planet.  I don't know where that courage comes from but she is a gift to the planet.  Today, she won the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. 

Notable quotes from the interview:
"Education is very important and education is the power for women and that's why the terrorists are afraid of education."

"Why should I wait for someone else?  Why don't I raise my voice?

She was asked about when she became aware that the Taliban was after her.
"Even after we saw, I was not that worried about myself that much, I was worried about my father.  Because we thought the Taliban are not that much cruel that they would kill a child."

She thought about it"
"If he comes, what would you do Malala?  I thought I might take a shoe and hit him but then I said, if you hit a Taliban with your shoe, then there is no difference between you and the Taliban.  You must not treat others with cruelty and harshly.  You must fight others but through peace and dialog and education."   

She went on to say she would tell him about education for his children and then tell him, "Do what you want." 

She has written a book, "I am Malala" and has a foundation, the Malala Fund.  CNN is doing a feature on her with Christiane Amanpour's, The Bravest Girl in the World, on Sunday, October 13, 7pm ET.

This is a girl to inspire children and anyone else who cares about education.  

Comments

Karen said…
WOW!!!!!!! She speaks better than many native English speaking children. Wow. Thanks for posting this. What a fun way to watch her, too, on the Daily Show! I also love to see John make her laugh!
Anonymous said…
Unlike Malala, people on this blog frequently throw verbal shoes at others, I'm thinking recently of the many negative comments about the Mann building negotiations. This young woman is the definition of a saint, one who lives the words of peace and love for others. With luck, she will be a political powerhouse in the world of the future. The irony is that the US funded the Taliban into being, essentially, and if Malala had a quarrel, it would be with us. We have used her country and her fellow citizens as pawns in our global chess game. When those chickens come home to roost, and they have tried a few times(9/11, Boston, etc. and our kids get what Malala got, were going to be less magnanimous than she, I'm afraid.
Dale
EastWHC1301 said…
Im glad I found this forum. Just recently my school brought this young lady up in my advocacy session. We looked at the interview she had and also and a small comic detailing what occured and my class was truly inspired. A word that came up was grit. Our class had a discussion and everyonne got to share a time when they showed grit. However, none came as close to an impact as hers did. What she did was truly inspirational and it made us all value what we take for granted such as the chance to an education and the right to a voice. It even inspired my teacher who said "i wasnt even going to come today because i felt very sick But after watching this and what the she and the principal were willing to do then i see no reason why i cant come either." It was without a doubt the best day at school. Problems after problems we solved it. Essays after essays we wrote them. I am eternaly grateful for being able to get an education. I know i may not be the smartest, especially for grammar, but I will learn and improve and try to make this place a better place the same way she will.

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