The Teen Who Won a Nobel Prize

 

Social Studies: Civics & Government, World History

Skills & Strategies: Main Idea

Social & Emotional Learning: Perseverance, Goal Setting

• Grade: 8

USAID Pakistan

an all-girl class in a school in Pakistan

Extremists couldn’t stop Malala from inspiring girls around the world.

When 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai stepped onto her school bus on October 9, 2012, she had no idea that her life would change forever. As the bus rolled through her hometown of Swat Valley, Pakistan, she sang songs with her friends.

Then, two men approached the bus. They were members of the Taliban—an extremist group that began taking over the valley in 2008. The men boarded the bus, asked who Malala was, and then shot her in the face.

From a very young age, Malala had been well known in the region as a fighter for girls’ education. She had the support of her father Ziauddin, who rebelled against the Taliban’s belief that girls should be kept out of school, and had opened a girls’ school in the valley. By age 11, Malala began writing—anonymously—a blog that told the truth about life under Taliban oppression. She wrote fiercely about how the militant group was forcing girls out of school. When Malala was revealed as the author of the blog, the Taliban targeted her.

Moving to a New Country

After Malala was shot and critically wounded, her family moved to Birmingham, England, so she could recover in safety. By March 2013, she was well enough to start attending school in England. The attack had only made Malala’s conviction fiercer. She began to speak publicly about what had happened to her.

On her sixteenth birthday in 2013, Malala gave a speech at the United Nations focusing on education and women’s rights. Calling on world leaders to act, she reminded people that if half the world is uneducated, everyone loses. “The extremists were, and they are, afraid of books and pens. The power of education frightens them… The power of the voice of women frightens them… Let us pick up our books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world.”

Malala has tirelessly continued her work ever since. In 2013, she and her father created the Malala Fund, which works to ensure that girls everywhere have access to free, quality education. In 2014, at just 17 years old, Malala became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2015, she opened a school for Syrian refugee girls in Lebanon. Two years later, she began studying philosophy, politics, and economics at Oxford University.

Graduating During a Pandemic

In June of 2020, Malala graduated from Oxford, and gave a touching virtual commencement address to her fellow graduates. She commiserated about graduating during the COVID-19 pandemic, and reminded her classmates to fight for girls in developing countries who won’t have the privilege of returning to school.

Malala consistently reminds us that, as she said in her speech to the U.N., “We cannot succeed when half of us are held back.” In 2020, the Malala Fund released a strategic five-year-plan to get even more girls into school.

Now, even though she is still a young woman, Malala’s life has already revealed two very different stories: the horror of what can happen when militant groups of men are scared of the idea of educated women—and the brilliance that educated women bring to the world.

Vocabulary Activity

conviction 

synonyms:

• position 
• opinion 
• belief 

oppression 

synonyms:

• tyranny 
• domination 

Comprehension Questions

1.

What has Malala Yousafzai fought for from a young age? 

1. clean water for everyone 
2. an end to world hunger 
3. religious tolerance 
4. girls’ education 

2.

Malala was targeted by the Taliban because she was fighting for girls’ education. What effect did the Taliban attack have on Malala’s dedication to education issues? 

1. The attack scared her so badly that for many years she did not publicly admit what had happened to her. 
2. The attack made her switch her focus from education for women to gun safety laws around the world. 
3. The attack made her more fiercely committed to speaking out about education for women. 
4. The attack made her reconsider her focus on education, but ultimately, after many years, she returned to the issue. 

3.

Read these sentences from the text.

“On her sixteenth birthday in 2013, Malala gave a speech at the United Nations focusing on education and women’s rights. Calling on world leaders to act, she reminded people that if half the world is uneducated, everyone loses.”

What conclusion can you draw about what Malala probably believes in based on this information?

1. She probably believes that the most important issue throughout the world right now is pollution and air quality. 
2. She probably believes that educating girls and women and making sure they have equal rights is a good thing for everyone. 
3. She probably believes that world leaders are too stubborn to listen to what anyone else says about important issues. 
4. She probably believes that woman’s rights are not very important but should still be talked about. 

4.

What is one thing that Malala has done to work towards her goal of ensuring that girls get educated around the world? 

1. She moved back to Pakistan and became a teacher. 
2. She convinced England to change its entire school system. 
3. She opened a school for Syrian refugee girls in Lebanon. 
4. She created a scholarship at Oxford for girls to attend. 

5.

What is the main idea of this text? 

1. Malala Yousafzai moved to Birmingham, England and started attending school in England in 2013, and she later went to college there as well. 
2. Malala Yousafzai is a passionate and dedicated advocate for girls’ education whose personal experience inspired her to work for change in the world. 
3. On her sixteenth birthday, Malala Yousafzai gave a passionate speech to the whole United Nations about education and womens’ rights. 
4. The Malala Fund, started by Malala Yousafzai and her father, raises money to ensure quality, free education for girls all around the world.