Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Malala Yousafzai


Today Tuesday October 16, 2012 the Awesome Woman of the day is Malala Yousafzai (born July 12, 1997) from the town of Mingora in Swat District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. She is the incredibly brave 15yr old who defied the Taliban and spoke out about the importance of an education for young women. The Taliban banned her (and all girls) from going to school where she lives in Swat Valley.
Swat, was occupied by the Taliban from March 2009 until May 2009, when the Pakistani Army regained control of the area. During the conflict, when she was 12 years old, she championed the cause of the people of Swat by blogging a diary for the BBC under a pseudonym “Gul Makai” about the atrocities of the Tehrik-i-Taliban regime. She volunteered to contribute to the blog when a journalist friend of her fathers could not find any other young girl to speak out.
In her blogging, she was very confident. In the tribal area where she grew up, it is difficult for a child to talk to their elders, they are often shy, but she is not. She also has a very good political understanding of her area. Her father is a big influence on her, because he was a political activist and he talks to her to explain to her about the environment. Therefore, she has good knowledge of the area and she was trained by her father how to talk to the media. She is also a very keen observer. When she was writing her diary, it was like the voice of Swat Valley. Malala's diary, had a journalistic appeal for the local and international Media. Pakistani media was not highlighting the humanitarian issues but trying to show the world that it was only a security problem. However, this diary gave a humanitarian face to the tragedy, which attracted the International Media.

For her courageous and outstanding services for the promotion of peace under extremely hostile conditions, she was awarded the first National Peace Award by the Pakistani government on 19 December 2011. Speaking to the media afterwards, she expressed her intent to form a political party focused on education.
The Government Girls Secondary School, Mission Road, was immediately renamed Malala Yousufzai Government Girls Secondary School in her honour.She was named after Malalai of Maiwand, a Pashtun poet and warrior woman.

The international children’s advocacy group KidsRights Foundation included Yousafzai among the nominees for the International Children’s Peace Prize, making her the first Pakistani girl nominated for the award. South African Nobel laureate Desmund Tutu announced the nominations during a 2011 ceremony in Amsterdam, Holland, but Yousafzai did not win the prize.
On 9 October 2012, Yousafzai was shot in the head and neck in an assassination attempt by Taliban gunmen while returning home on a school bus. Ihsanullah Ihsan, the chief spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, officially claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that she is symbolic of obscenity and has spread negative propaganda.
A group of 50 Islamic clerics in Pakistan have issued a fatwā against those who tried to kill her. The Taliban has reiterated its intent to kill Yousafzai and her father, Ziauddin.
She is currently fighting for her life after being transported to a Hospital in the UK.
Today Tuesday October 16, 2012 the Awesome Woman of the day is Malala Yousafzai (born July 12, 1997) from the town of Mingora in Swat District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. She is the incredibly brave 15yr old who defied the Taliban and spoke out about the importance of an education for young women. The Taliban banned her (and all girls) from going to school where she lives in Swat Valley. Swat, was occupied by the Taliban from March 2009 until May 2009, when the Pakistani Army regained control of the area. During the conflict, when she was 12 years old, she championed the cause of the people of Swat by blogging a diary for the BBC under a pseudonym “Gul Makai” about the atrocities of the Tehrik-i-Taliban regime. She volunteered to contribute to the blog when a journalist friend of her fathers could not find any other young girl to speak out. In her blogging, she was very confident. In the tribal area where she grew up, it is difficult for a child to talk to their elders, they are often shy, but she is not. She also has a very good political understanding of her area. Her father is a big influence on her, because he was a political activist and he talks to her to explain to her about the environment. Therefore, she has good knowledge of the area and she was trained by her father how to talk to the media. She is also a very keen observer. When she was writing her diary, it was like the voice of Swat Valley. Malala's diary, had a journalistic appeal for the local and international Media. Pakistani media was not highlighting the humanitarian issues but trying to show the world that it was only a security problem. However, this diary gave a humanitarian face to the tragedy, which attracted the International Media. For her courageous and outstanding services for the promotion of peace under extremely hostile conditions, she was awarded the first National Peace Award by the Pakistani government on 19 December 2011. Speaking to the media afterwards, she expressed her intent to form a political party focused on education. The Government Girls Secondary School, Mission Road, was immediately renamed Malala Yousufzai Government Girls Secondary School in her honour.She was named after Malalai of Maiwand, a Pashtun poet and warrior woman. The international children’s advocacy group KidsRights Foundation included Yousafzai among the nominees for the International Children’s Peace Prize, making her the first Pakistani girl nominated for the award. South African Nobel laureate Desmund Tutu announced the nominations during a 2011 ceremony in Amsterdam, Holland, but Yousafzai did not win the prize. On 9 October 2012, Yousafzai was shot in the head and neck in an assassination attempt by Taliban gunmen while returning home on a school bus. Ihsanullah Ihsan, the chief spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, officially claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that she is symbolic of obscenity and has spread negative propaganda. A group of 50 Islamic clerics in Pakistan have issued a fatwā against those who tried to kill her. The Taliban has reiterated its intent to kill Yousafzai and her father, Ziauddin. She is currently fighting for her life after being transported to a Hospital in the UK.
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