Malala is Oxford bound

Malala Yousafzai, the youngest ever Nobel peace prize laureate, is now heading to study in Oxford University.

Malala gained global prominence when the Taliban shot her in the head for advocating education for women.

Background

Born in 1997, Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist for female education. She hails from Swat Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Growing up, she was primarily taught by her father, a poet and a school owner called Ziauddin Yousafzai. In 2007, Taliban militants took over control of large portions of the Swat Valley and banned a number of things including owning a television or playing music. In 2008, they issued an edict banning girls from going to school. A young Malala was taken to a press conference by her father that was organized about the development. Here she bravely said, “How dare the Taliban take away my basic right to education?”

In 2009, she began anonymously blogging for BBC Urdu about living under the influence of the Taliban. Her blogs became incredibly popular in the region and in large parts of the world. By 2012, Malala had become a prominent advocate and the Taliban decided to kill her. On 9^th October 2012, a Taliban militant shot her in the head.

Even though she was in a serious condition, she made a full recovery after receiving treatment in both Pakistan and the United Kingdom. She also resumed her advocacy almost immediately. In 2014, it was announced that she will be sharing the Nobel Peace Prize along with Kailash Satyarthi, a children's rights activist from India.

She currently resides in UK along with her family.

Analysis

Through the years, Malala has travelled the world to shine a spotlight on the importance of education. During a speech in 2013 she said, “They (the Taliban) thought that the bullets would silence us, but they failed. And out of that silence came thousands of voices. 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.”

In 2017, she announced that she had applied to the Oxford University. After having received her A-level results, she announced on Twitter that she had gained a place at the prestigious institution. She tweeted, “So excited to go to Oxford!! Well done to all A-level students - the hardest year. Best wishes for life ahead!”

Malala plans on studying philosophy, politics and economics. She has stated that once her education is completed, she wishes to return to Pakistan and enter politics.

Assessment

Our assessment is that Malala stands a shining example of the strength of humanity against the face of evil.