“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” ~ Malala Yousafzai, Female Education Activist
Summary: Malala is a Pakistani activist for female education rights and has been engaged in activist work since she was only 11 years old. She began by writing blogs for the BBC about her life under Taliban rule and her views on the importance of education for girls all over the world but especially in her country. After Yousafzai was profiled in a New York Times documentary, she rose to fame as a speaker promoting education for girls in the Swat Valley of Pakistan. After an assassination attempt on Yousafzai’s life, the United Nations launched a campaign calling for the education of all children worldwide and eventually led to Pakistan’s first Right to Education Bill.
Nationality: Pakistani
Industry: Feminist Activism
Q: What’s motivated your passion to empower girls through education? on one.org
A: There are many children across the world – more than 130 million girls who can’t go to school – and if we do not speak out for them, they will be a generation lost. They will never get this opportunity and this is something we should consider an emergency. We should not ignore it. This is the time that we speak out for it now. We tell our leaders – we tell our local politicians – that we want you to focus on education.
