One year ago, when she was 15 a young Pakistani girl called Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head on orders from the Taliban. The Islamic extremist organization targeted the young girl for promoting female education. The Taliban believes that girls and women should not be educated. Malala, who has a passion for math and chemistry advocated for women's education, making her a target by the Taliban. On October 9, 2012 Malala was on the bus heading home from school when a Taliban member boarded the vehicle.
Malala had made her advocacy for women's education known to the public by writing a blog. When the Taliban member entered the bus he asked the children, which of them was Malala, when she answered the man shot her in the head. "We are not against Malala herself but we are against her ideology," said Shahidullah Shahid a Taliban member speaking with the British paper The Telegraph. The Taliban member was speaking from an undisclosed location and told The Telegraph that Malala is still a target.
"She accepted that she attacked Islam so we tried to kill her, and if we get another chance we will definitely kill her and that will make us feel proud. Islam prohibits killing women, but except those that support the infidels in their war against our religion," Sky News reports Shahid as saying. Malala survived her encounter with the Taliban and is now living the life of a 16-year-old girl in Birmingham, England. She still supports the education of women in Pakistan.
While living in England, Malala returned to school and began working on a book with the help of British journalist Christina Lamb. "I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up For Education And Was Shot By The Taliban." Will be released Tuesday October 8. In the memoir Malala recounts her life both before and after she was shot on her school bus. The Associated Press says that in her book Malala briefly describes the shooting but does so "vividly." Malala described the things she smelled after the bullet struck her.
"The air smelt of diesel, bread and kebab mixed with the stink from the stream where people still dumped their rubbish," Malala writes in her book. Malala also describes the region of Swat, where she grew up as "the most beautiful place in the world." Malala also remembers how her home changed when the Taliban started to take over. "They destroyed everything old and brought nothing new," Malala says. Malala also tells the story of her birth and how nobody congratulated her father for the birth of his daughter.
Malala's father had a different view of the place of females in society and instilled that in his daughter. Her father also gave Malala a thirst for knowledge, keeping a school for girls open despite protests and threats. Malala is now a candidate for a Nobel Peace prize. In an interview with the BBC the 16-year-old said she would not be silenced from advocating a better place in the world for women like her. "When I was shot they thought the people would be silenced, they thought that no one would talk," Malala said.
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