Malala, Girl Hero

Sometimes, someone comes along, and you know that they have a great destiny. By now, most people know about Malala Yousafzai, the sixteen-year-old Pakistani girl who was deliberately shot by the Taliban last year while boarding her school bus. She is recovering and moving forward with plans to realize her dream of education for herself and others. She seems like a world leader already!

This year, she spoke to the UN Youth Assembly on July 12, 2013, which was also her sixteenth birthday. She created and was the first to sign her “Malala Petition”, which now has three million signatures, which encourages the UN to recommit to Millennium Goal 2; the establishment of universal primary education for children around the world.

According to BBC News:

“Malala - who is considered a contender for the Nobel Peace Prize - said she was fighting for the rights of women because ‘they are the ones who suffer the most.’”

Malala also launched, “The Malala Foundation”, a non-profit educational organization. Her goal with that project is to begin by educating forty girls, and eventually forty million. Please watch this video and donate if you can.

Malala is a reminder to all of us, but especially to young people in western countries, that freedom and opportunities should never be taken for granted. It is alleged that she is still targeted by the Taliban so her family is now living in England. She is grateful for the prayers and outpouring of support from people around the world.