A Heroic Return

Malala Yousafzai Articles
Name: __________________________
Date: __________ Period: __________
An Attack in Pakistan
"An Attack in Pakistan." Time For Kids”, Oct. 10, 2012. <http://www.timeforkids.com/news/attack-pakistan/52351>.
Background
Malala Yousafzai, 14, is recovering after being attacked
yesterday on her way home from school in Mingora, Pakistan.
She was shot by a group of fighters called the Taliban. The
group’s members follow a strict version of Islam. They believe
girls should not go to school. Yousafzai was targeted because
she writes about girls’ rights and children’s education in Swat
Valley, Pakistan.
Mustafa Qadri, a researcher for Amnesty International in
Pakistan, said that the attack shows the dangers of speaking
up for human rights in northwestern Pakistan. “Female
activists live under constant threats from the Taliban and
other militant groups,” he said in a statement.
Malala Yousafzai, 14, was harmed by the Taliban yesterday on her
way home from school in Mingora, Pakistan.
Speaking Up
AAMIR QURESHI—AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Yousafzai has been an Internet blogger, or writer, since age 11. She writes
about girls’ education in Pakistan. In December she was awarded Pakistan’s
National Peace Award for her bravery in writing about the difficulties of
living in the shadow of the Taliban. She has spoken publicly about children’s
rights in Swat and had been nominated for an international children’s peace
prize. In an interview last year she said told al-Jazeera news, “If this new
generation is not given pens, they will be given guns by terrorists.”
Yousafzai’s blog entries offered a rare window into the lives of an 11-yearold and her friends in one of the most dangerous and remote places in
Pakistan. Under the pen name Gul Makai, Yousafzai wrote about watching
the violence in Swat increase while her personal freedoms shrank. On Jan.
14, 2009, the day before a Taliban rule went into effect closing her school, Yousafzai wrote: “Since today was the last
day of our school, we decided to play in the playground a bit longer. I am of the view that the school will one day
reopen, but while leaving I looked at the building as if I would not come here again.”
Activists carry posters for victim Malala
Yousafzai at an anti-Taliban protest in
Islamabad, Pakistan.
Cowardice and Courage
The Taliban group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) took responsibility for the attack on Yousafzai. The group says it
should serve as a warning to others. “She was speaking against [the] Taliban,” a TTP spokesman told the Express
Tribune, a Pakistani newspaper.
The assault on Yousafzai is one example of children being targeted in some areas of Pakistan. According to Amnesty
International, two other activists working on education rights for girls and women have been killed in the region in the
past year. The country's army chief has vowed to continue his country’s fight against terrorism.
Pakistan’s prime minister and president, and the U.S. state department, have all said the attack on Yousafzai was wrong.
Support for the girl has poured in over social media and from members of the international human rights community.
Many schools in Pakistan’s Swat Valley were closed today in protest of the Taliban’s attack on the courageous 14-year
old.
A Heroic Return
"A Heroic Return." Time For Kids”, Mar. 20, 2013. <http://www.timeforkids.com/news/heroic-return/85451>.
On March 19, Malala Yousafzai, a 15-year-old
Pakistani student and women’s-education activist,
returned to the classroom on for the first time
since being violently attacked by a member of the
Taliban on October 9, 2012. Malala was shot on
her way home from school in Mingora, Pakistan.
The Taliban group Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
took responsibility for the attack. The group said
the attack should serve as a warning to others.
TTP’s members follow a strict version of Islam and
believe girls should not go to school. Malala was
targeted because she is vocal about girls’ rights to
education in Swat Valley, Pakistan.
After a long period of recovery, Malala is starting
as a ninth-year student at Edgbaston High School.
Malala Yousafzai gets ready for her first day back at school on March 19, just
It is the oldest independent girls school in
weeks after being released from the hospital.
Birmingham, England. Though she has no concrete
plans to return to Pakistan, Malala still speaks out
as a voice for change in her country, and everywhere. “I am excited that today I have achieved my dream of going back
to school. I want all girls in the world to have this basic opportunity,” Malala said in a statement. “I miss my classmates
from Pakistan very much but I am looking forward to meeting my teachers and making new friends here in
Birmingham.”
Malala’s Journey
Malala has been an Internet blogger, or writer,
since she was 11 years old. In 2011 she was
awarded Pakistan’s National Peace Award for her
bravery in writing about the difficulties of life and
education in the shadow of the Taliban. She has
spoken publicly about children’s rights and been
nominated for an international children’s peace
prize.
After the attack in 2012, support for Malala poured
in from around the world. The United Nations
declared November 10 Malala Day. Former British
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the day honors
Malala and shows the world that people of all
sexes, all backgrounds and all countries stand
behind her.
Malala recovers from the attack at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in
Birmingham, England.