Friday, October 10, 2014

Malala Yousafzay: A Portrait In Courage

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go...T.S. Eliot



Malala Yousafzay, 17, Youngest To Win Nobel Prize


Those who read my blog on a regular basis know I focus almost entirely on the courage and heroism of our military personnel and first responders. Today, I'm making an exception. Heroes, after all, come in all sizes.

Malala Yousafzay was 15 years of age when Taliban thugs boarded her bus and shot her in the head. 

A few years earlier, when she was just 11 years of age, she made a speech in the Swat region of Pakistan. Earlier, the Taliban had gained control of the region and closed several hundred schools. Malala was angry. So angry she gave this speech at a  press conference. It was entitled, "How Dare The Taliban Take Away My Basic Right To Education?"

Shortly thereafter, she began writing a blog under an anonymous name describing what life was like living under Taliban rule. A few days later, all girls schools were closed. In 2009, she had been outed as the author of the blog. Perhaps she didn't realize at the time but she became a target of Taliban thugs. On October 12, 2009, she was shot on the bus. She survived after several operations in England. 

Little did this courageous young girl know then she would become a symbol of conspicuous courage and a global advocate for the education of women. In 2013, she gave a speech to the UN. She also created the Malala Fund to help empower young women around the world.

In that UN speech, she declared, "They thought that the bullets would silence us...But they failed." She continued, "And then out of the silence came thousands of voices...Weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage were born."
Time, CNN, ABC News








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