malala yousafzai biography

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“I tell my story not because it is unique, but because it is the story of many girls.”

Malala's Story

Learn how malala began her fight for girls — from an education activist in pakistan to the youngest nobel peace prize laureate — and how she continues her campaign through malala fund., i was born in mingora, pakistan on july 12, 1997..

Welcoming a baby girl is not always cause for celebration in Pakistan — but my father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, was determined to give me every opportunity a boy would have.

My father was a teacher and ran a girls’ school in our village.

I loved school. But everything changed when the Taliban took control of our town in Swat Valley. The extremists banned many things — like owning a television and playing music — and enforced harsh punishments for those who defied their orders. And they said girls could no longer go to school.

In January 2008 when I was just 11 years old, I said goodbye to my classmates, not knowing when — if ever — I would see them again.

I spoke out publicly on behalf of girls and our right to learn. And this made me a target.

In October 2012, on my way home from school, a masked gunman boarded my school bus and asked, “Who is Malala?” He shot me on the left side of my head.

I woke up 10 days later in a hospital in Birmingham, England. The doctors and nurses told me about the attack — and that people around the world were praying for my recovery.

After months of surgeries and rehabilitation, I joined my family in our new home in the U.K.

It was then I knew I had a choice: I could live a quiet life or I could make the most of this new life I had been given. I determined to continue my fight until every girl could go to school.

With my father, who has always been my ally and inspiration, I established Malala Fund, a charity dedicated to giving every girl an opportunity to achieve a future she chooses. In recognition of our work, I received the Nobel Peace Prize in December 2014 and became the youngest-ever Nobel laureate.

I began studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford.

And every day I fight to ensure all girls receive 12 years of free, safe, quality education.

I travel to many countries to meet girls fighting poverty, wars, child marriage and gender discrimination to go to school. Malala Fund is working so that their stories, like mine, can be heard around the world.

We invest in developing country educators and activists, like my father, through Malala Fund’s Education Champion Network. And we hold leaders accountable for their promises to girls.

I graduated from Oxford University!

I will always treasure my time at Lady Margaret Hall — the lectures, club meetings, balls and late nights (some spent finishing papers, some just chatting with friends in the dorm). Although a global pandemic meant I spent my final months as a university student in my parents' house, I'm grateful that I was able to complete my education. After taking time to relax, I am more dedicated than ever to my fight for girls.

With more than 130 million girls out of school today, there is more work to be done. I hope you will join my fight for education and equality. Together, we can create a world where all girls can learn and lead.

Support Malala’s fight for girls’ education

With more than 130 million girls out of school today, she needs your help breaking down the barriers that hold girls back.

Your gift today is an investment in Malala Fund programmes that help girls around the world go to school.

Malala Yousafzai

At age eleven, Malala Yousafzai was already advocating for the rights of women and girls. As an outspoken proponent for girls’ right to education, Yousafzai was often in danger because of her beliefs. However, even after being shot by the Taliban, she continued her activism and founded the Malala Fund with her father. By age seventeen, Yousafzai became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for her work.

Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1997 in Mingora, Pakistan. Mingora is the largest city in the Swat Valley of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in Pakistan. Yousafzai was the first of three children born to Ziauddin and Tor Pekai Yousafzai. Although it was not always easy to raise a girl child in Pakistan, Malala Yousafzai’s father insisted that she received all of the same opportunities afforded to boy children. Her father was a teacher and education advocate that ran a girls’ school in their village. Due to his influence, Yousafzai was passionate about knowledge from a very young age, and she would often waddle into her father’s classes before she could even talk. However, by the time she was ten years old, Taliban extremists began to take control of the Swat Valley and many of her favorite things were banned. Girls were no longer able to attend school, and owning a television, playing music and dancing were all prohibited. Girl’s education was specifically targeted by the Taliban and by the end of 2008 they had destroyed over 400 schools. At eleven years old, Yousafzai decided to stand up to the Taliban.

Yousafzai started by blogging anonymously for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in early 2009. She used the penname, “Gul Makai,” and spoke about her life under Taliban rule and how much she wanted to attend school. Her first BBC diary entry entitled, “I Am Afraid,” detailed her nightmares about a full-blown war in her hometown. Her nightmares started to become reality, as Yousafzai and her family were soon forced to leave their home due to rising tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban. This did not stop Yousafzai from advocating for her right to attend school. Over the next few years, she and her father began speaking out on behalf of girls’ education in the media. They campaigned for Pakistani girls’ access to a free quality education. By 2011, Yousafzai was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize. Although she did not win, that same year she earned Pakistan’s National Youth Peace Prize. Yousafzai was now a household name. However, this also made her a target.

On October 9, 2012, fifteen-year old Yousafzai was on the bus returning from school with her friends. Two members of the Taliban stopped the bus and asked, “Who is Malala?” When they identified Yousafzai, they shot her in the head. Fortunately, she was airlifted to a Pakistani military hospital and then taken to an intensive care unit in England. After ten days in a medically induced coma, Yousafzai woke up in a hospital in Birmingham, England. She had suffered no major brain damage, but the left side of her face was paralyzed, and she would require many reparative surgeries and rehabilitation. After months of medical treatment, Yousafzai was able to return to her family that now lived in England. In March 2013, Yousafzai began attending school in Birmingham. Although she was now able to attend school in England, she decided to keep fighting “until every girl could go to school.” [1] On her sixteenth birthday, Yousafzai spoke at the United Nations in New York. That same year she published her autobiography entitled, “I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban.” She was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament for her activism.

In 2014, Yousafzai and her father established the Malala Fund to internationally support and advocate for women and girls. Through her charity, she met with Syrian refugees in Jordan, young women students in Kenya, and spoke out in Nigeria against the terrorist group Boko Haram that abducted young girls to stop them from going to school. In December of 2014, Yousafzai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work. At age seventeen, she became the youngest person to be named a Nobel laureate. Since then, Yousafzai has continued to advocate for the rights of women and girls. The Malala Fund advocates for quality education for all girls by funding education projects internationally, partnering with global leaders and local advocates, and pioneering innovative strategies to empower young women. Yousafzai is currently studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford.

[1] Yousafzai , Malala. “Malala's Story: Malala Fund.” Malala Fund. Accessed March 14, 2020. https://malala.org/malalas-story.

• Brenner, Marie. “Malala Yousafzai: The 15-Year-Old Pakistani Girl Who Wanted More from Her Country.” Vanity Fair. Vanity Fair, January 29, 2015. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/politics/2013/04/malala-yousafzai-pakistan-profile.
• The Nobel Foundation. “Malala Yousafzai: Biographical.” NobelPrize.org. Accessed March 14, 2020. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2014/yousafzai/biographical/
• Yousafzai, Malala, and Christina Lamb.  I Am Malala: the Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban . London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2013.
• Yousafzai , Malala. “Malala's Story: Malala Fund.” Malala Fund. Accessed March 14, 2020. https://malala.org/malalas-story.

Photo: Public domain.

MLA – Alexander, Kerri Lee. “Malala Yousafzai.” National Women’s History Museum, 2020. Date accessed.

Chicago – Alexander, Kerri Lee. “Malala Yousafzai.” National Women’s History Museum. 2020. www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/malala-yousafzai.

• BBC News. “Profile: Malala Yousafzai.” BBC, August 17, 2017. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-23241937.
• Time Magazine. “Malala Yousafzai: 100 Women of the Year.” Time, March 5, 2020. https://time.com/5793780/malala-yousafzai-100-women-of-the-year/.

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Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai became an international symbol of the fight for girls’ education after she was shot in 2012 for opposing Taliban restrictions on female education in her home country of Pakistan. In 2009, Malala had begun writing a blog under a pseudonym about the increasing military activity in her home town and about fears that her school would be attacked. After her identity was revealed, Malala and her father Ziauddin continued to speak out for the right to education. The Taliban’s attack on Malala on 9 October 2012 as she was returning home from school with her friends received worldwide condemnation. In Pakistan, over 2 million people signed a right to education petition, and the National Assembly ratified Pakistan's first Right to Free and Compulsory Education Bill. In 2013, Malala and her father co-founded the Malala Fund to bring awareness to the social and economic impact of girls' education and to empower girls to demand change. In December 2014, she became the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Secretary-General António Guterres designated Malala as a United Nations Messenger of Peace in 2017 to help raise awareness of the importance of girl’s education.

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Quality education is the foundation for improving people’s lives and for sustainable development. Major progress has been made towards increasing access to education at all levels and increasing enrolment rates in schools, particularly for women and girls. The world has achieved equality in primary education between girls and boys. However, few countries have achieved that target at all levels of education. Moreover, 57 million children still remain out of school. Bolder efforts are needed to achieve universal education goals. In September 2015, at an historic UN Summit, world leaders adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals intended to mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change. Goal 4 is aimed at ensuring inclusive and quality education for all and promoting lifelong learning. The targets for Goal 4 include eliminating gender disparities in education by 2030.

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