When I held a copy of British Vogue in my hands, I was incredibly proud that our BABY SCENT had made it into such a prestigious magazine. I was even happier that it was in an issue featuring Malala , the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner and one of the most committed children's rights activists . If you don't know much about this brave woman, I've put together a short summary about her here.
Malala Yousafzai in her speech to the UN General Assembly
This quote clearly demonstrates the importance Malala places on education. For her, education is a valuable asset, a key to the future and to new worlds, a source of pleasure and joy, but also a weapon in the fight against those who hinder education and for her own ideals and values.
Growing up in the idyllic Swat Valley in Pakistan as the daughter of a teacher , Malala witnesses how the original paradise transforms into a war-torn landscape under the Taliban's reign of terror . Her normal childhood is profoundly disrupted by the Taliban's rigid bans and cruel punishments. She sees these measures as a threat to her beloved school and her right to education .
Since January 3, 2009, when she was eleven years old, Yousafzai wrote a blog diary in Urdu on a BBC website under the pseudonym "Gul Makai" about her feelings and fears due to the violence in the Swat Valley, as well as her daily life under the rule of the Pakistani Taliban.
In this way, she offers a first form of resistance: she wants the world to be able to get an idea of the situation through the BBC . Aware of the danger, but also determined to take action, she acts as a critic before the Peshawar Press Club and allows a journalist to accompany her with a camera in her daily life for two days.
The threat of school closures by the Taliban jeopardizes their exams and the girls' right to education. The rapid collapse of the peace agreement and the subsequent military offensive force Malala's threatened family into exile, which lasts longer than expected. Her time abroad fuels Malala's desire to become a politician so she can help people . Upon her return after about three months, the family finds Mingora partially destroyed and partially deserted.
Over the next two years, Malala's presence and the harshness of her statements in the media increased. The threats against Malala and her father became increasingly concrete, so much so that a friend advised them to go abroad. But the advice came too late: On October 9, 2012, on the way home from school, a young man carried out a targeted attack on Malala , injuring two of her friends. With government support, the severely injured Malala was flown to a hospital in Birmingham , where she underwent several operations. The worldwide expressions of solidarity and wishes for her recovery gave her and her family support and the strength to start a "new life."
Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, now the UN Special Representative for Global Education, initiated a petition in Yousafzai's name "in support of what Malala fought for." In December 2012, the Malala Fund was established in collaboration with UNESCO to promote children's right to education worldwide.
Malala's "new life" began at a girls' high school in Birmingham . From March 20, 2013, she attended Edgbaston High School for Girls in Birmingham.
She expressed her wish that all girls in the world should have the opportunity to attend school .
Various initiatives called for Yousafzai to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
On February 7, 2013, Yousafzai was finally able to leave the hospital in Birmingham and on February 8 it was announced that she had been officially nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo.
On July 12, 2013, her 16th birthday , she spoke before the UN Youth Assembly . It was her first public speech since the assassination attempt. She presented the four-million-signature petition for the education of all children to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who was present. The UN aimed to achieve this goal by the end of 2015. He announced that the UN would celebrate November 10 as "Malala Day ."
If you would like to learn more about this courageous woman, there is a biography available to purchase at Orell Füssli or your favorite bookstore.
Enjoy reading
Ursula
Advertising: by mentioning the book and VOGUE magazine
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