Malala Yousafzai Biography

Fast Facts

• Nominated for the 2011 International Children's Peace Prize by Desmond Tutu
• Recipient of Pakistan's first-ever National Youth Peace Prize in December of 2011
• Named the inspiration for the "I am Malala" education petition, started by former British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown
• Her father, Ziauddin, runs several schools within the Khushal public school system
• Survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban on October 9th, 2012, after receiving a single gunshot wound to the head
• Made her first public speech to the United Nations on her 16th birthday, later dubbed international Malala Day
• Began blogging anonymously in 2008 at 11-years-old for BBC on her day-to-day struggles while living in Swat Valley, one of the most dangerous places in the world that is under Taliban scrutiny
• Forced to flee her hometown during the Second Battle of Swat, she would eventually be banned to return to school by local Taliban militants
• Published her first memoir, I Am Malala, in October of 2013
• Began speaking throughout her native country in 2008 after following her father, who is also an education activist
• Named after the Pashtun poet and warrior, Malalai of Maiwand